West Ottawa girls tennis clinches sixth straight regional title with stellar singles play

HOLLAND TWP. - The West Ottawa girls tennis team used a singles sweep to earn a sixth consecutive Division 1 regional title - and a spot in the state tournament.

The Panthers scored 28 points to take the regional, two points ahead of Rockford (26). Grand Haven scored 18 points to give the region three teams heading to state.

Jessica Zhang defeated Rockford 6-2, 6-1 in the finals at No. 4 singles to cap a singles sweep and clinch the regional title for the Panthers .

"My confidence in my strokes was at its peak. The coaches just encouraged me to let loose. It means a lot to win because we put in a lot of work to represent West Ottawa well," Zhang said. "It is amazing because every day at practice we play together. We are singles, but it has a group feel and we win together."

More: West Ottawa singles dominates way to seventh straight OK Red title

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West Ottawa will compete at the Division 1 state finals on May 31-June 1 in Midland.

Megan Blake continued her dominance with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rockford in the finals at No. 1 singles.

Danielle Lebster was equally as dominant at No. 2 singles. She used a straight sets win over Grandville to get into the finals, then earned a decisive 6-0, 6-0 win over Rockford in the final.

At No. 3 singles, Evie Price won the regional title, capped by a 6-2, 6-0 win over Rockford. Price is 25-1 heading into the state tournament.

West Ottawa's No. 3 doubles team of Kallyn Gaul and Lovelle Kim won the regional crown, capped with a 6-0, 6-0 dominating performance over Grand Haven in the finals.

The No. 1 doubles team of Kayla Jones and Maggie Rothstein avenged two earlier losses to Grand Haven to defeat the Buccaneers in the semifinals before falling 6-4, 6-4 to Rockford in the finals.

Haven March and Eden Hamilton reached the semifinals at No. 2 doubles, as did Kate Greco and Hortense Margez at No. 4 doubles.

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as  Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSport s.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa girls tennis clinches sixth straight regional title with stellar singles play