LEXINGTON — The Galion High School boys tennis team picked up postseason hardware on Thursday at the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference tournament. Due to rain, the doubles tournament was played indoors at the Lakewood Racquet Club in Lexington.
“We had a really fruitful day,” Galion coach Tom Pawsey said. “I knew they’d do well, but I had no idea this was going to happen. They were spectacular.”
The Tigers tandem of Zach Grimes and Jamie Hollis captured the first doubles championship, defeating Evan Booker and Cameron Keller of Ontario in the finals. Grimes and Hollis posted a straight sets win, 6-1, 6-0, to win the title.
They dispatched Marion Harding’s Zane Menzie and Evan Bonsel in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-1. Grimes and Hollis did not lose a set on the way to capturing the doubles title.
“I knew if (Grimes and Hollis) played their best, they had a good chance,” Pawsey said. “They just found the openings and whizzed the ball right through. Once they got going, they made good shots and put the ball where they needed to. Their serving was better than I’d seen earlier this season, too. Jamie and Zach had some really beautiful aces. That last match against Ontario, my kids just had a heyday. They did everything you wanted them to do. After they got going in the middle of the second set, I said, ‘This game’s yours.’ I didn’t bother them.”
Grimes and Hollis improved their record to 12-2 this season with the pair of wins on Thursday.
Galion’s Nate Barre and John Evans finished as the runnerup team in the second doubles tournament. They lost to Greg Tan and Dylan Damron of Ontario in the finals.
Barre and Evans opened play with a straight sets win over Clear Fork’s Joshiah Bailey and Piersen Schilling, 6-1, 6-4. Barre and Evans reached the final by defeating Shelby’s Jake Williams and Joe Williams, 7-5, 6-0, in the semifinal round.
“Nate and John are clutch players,” Pawsey said. “They’ve only been playing together for about a week now. They’re very, very coachable. They’re focused on what they’re doing. You can’t rattle them. You can’t get in their heads. They played as well as they could. I’m very happy with them.”
Galion and Ontario are tied in the team standings with 12 points each after the doubles round. Shelby has six points. Pleasant has four points. Marion Harding and River Valley have three points each. Clear Fork has one point. The singles tournament is set for Saturday at Shelby High School.
“We’re going into Saturday with a good start,” Pawsey said.
Following tounament play this weekend, Galion has four more matches remaining before beginning OHSAA tournament action. The Tigers play at Shelby on Tuesday then return home to face Upper Sandusky on Wednesday. Galion travels to Ontario on Thursday and has a home match against Mansfield Senior on Friday.
