Central Cambria continues District 6 Class 2A doubles gold reign

Oct. 6—ALTOONA — Central Cambria senior Ella Persio and sophomore Marley Ratchford were just a few points away from winning Wednesday's District 6 Class 2A doubles title in two sets.

While Central junior Ashlyn Renner and sophomore Julia Ritchey stormed back to win three straight points to force a third set, the Central Cambria duo regrouped in fine fashion. The Red Devils took out their frustration from the previous set to earn the program's sixth straight doubles title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory at the Herb Faris Tennis Courts at Mansion Park.

"We knew that we wanted it more than them, so we just went for it," Persio said of the deciding third set. "We weren't holding anything back in the third set."

Top-seeded Persio and Ratchford will face the District 4 champions on Nov. 4 in Hershey.

Remaining locked in on the task at hand helped the Red Devils pull away in the third stanza.

"I just felt like staying focused was our main thing," said Ratchford, this year's District 6 singles runner-up. "Getting out of our heads was also big. Once we get in our heads, we could have lost that easily. Just trying to stay calm was our main goal."

Eight points went to deuce in the 97-minute match.

Persio and Ratchford, whose older sister Emma won two district doubles titles in 2018-19, were doubles teammates in 2021 and meshed quickly after playing singles this season.

"They didn't have a lot of time to practice together as a doubles team," Central Cambria coach Kim Cavalier said of Persio and Ratchford. "We knew coming in what Central's like, so we developed some strategies and how they can overcome Central's net play.

"They worked really hard.

"They were focused. They wanted it. We strategized and went over the best balls to give them (Central) so they can't make those putaway shots. The girls executed it beautifully. It was a really great match and both teams played well."

The serving team won the first six points of the match.

Central broke Persio's serve to lead 4-3, but Central Cambria rattled off the final three points to prevail 6-4. The Red Devils won a crucial point in deuce to force a 4-all tie.

In the second set, Central and Central Cambria each won three games to force another tie midway through. The Red Devils were leading 40-love and on the verge of leading 5-3, but Central forced the point to reach deuce. Two Ritchey winners helped the Scarlet Dragons force a 4-all tie. Central prevailed in the final two games to extend the match to a third set.

Knowing they had a chance to put Central away in the second set, the Red Devils came back with a vengeance in the third set. Central Cambria went up 4-0 with Persio and Ratchford each taking turns with point-winning shots.

"In the third set, we really came back and we just wanted it," Ratchford said.

"I think we just became more aggressive at the net," Persio said. "We started moving more, communicating."

Central took the next two points to stave off elimination.

However, Central Cambria prevailed in the final two.

Central couldn't return Persio's shot off a serve as the Red Devils secured their seventh district doubles title in eight seasons.

"It's a lot of pressure, but we have to," Persio said of continuing her school's tradition of winning doubles championships. "We couldn't let our school down."

Ratchford joined her sister as a district doubles champ.

"I've been coming here since my sister was a freshman," Ratchford said. "It's a lot of pressure, but I wanted it. I worked really hard to get here, so I'm really happy with everything that happened today."

Last year's experience playing doubles together paid off on Wednesday for Persio and Ratchford.

"It's definitely such a huge challenge," Ratchford said of playing singles all season and then going into doubles. "It's two completely different games.

"I only got three days in between to actually really work in doubles. Thankfully, Ella and I played doubles last year so we did have that chemistry already going."

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.