Bexley girls tennis' Amiya Bowles caps perfect season with Division II state singles title

Amiya Bowles became the first Bexley girls tennis player to win a state singles title in 40 years. Now comes the matter of whether she will have a repeat performance next fall.

Bowles finished her freshman season 21-0, defeating Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Sophia Thompson 6-0, 6-3 for the Division II championship Oct. 22 at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

The 14-year-old was never forced into a third set all season. In her first nine postseason matches, Bowles won 6-0, 6-0, including in the opening round at state against Clyde’s Curtsin Hackenburg.

Bowles now will focus on her game in the national and international circuits. The decision on her future at Bexley will be made in the coming months.

"I really don’t know right now (if I will play in high school next fall),” said Bowles, who became the program’s first state singles champion since two-time champion Jane Cohodes in 1982. “It depends on how things go. I might want to focus on ITF and WTAs and more national tournaments to get my ranking up. I’ll know that in the coming months.

“I learned a lot. I learned the value of teammates and the value of support. I also learned the value of mental battles. I came in knowing that I would either play high school tennis or continue with my national tournaments. I knew it wasn’t the same pace. I learned how to generate pace from the balls hit and how to maintain my composure in games when I got down.”

The Lions' last state champion came in doubles when Shelby Cheses and Allison Schlonsky won in 1988. Cheses later served as Bexley's coach.

The biggest hurdle of the season for Bowles came Oct. 21 on the opening day of state when she had to rally past Pepper Pike Orange’s Alexis Nyborg 7-5, 6-4 in a quarterfinal. Nyborg, who was runner-up last fall, led 3-0 before Bowles rallied.

“I learned how simple it is to turn the switch on and off,” she said. “When I was down 0-3, I wasn’t trusting my game and I wasn’t playing to my strengths. She was playing to her strengths and that put her up. If I win I have to trust my game and if I lose I have to trust my game.”

Bowles said the quarterfinal also featured the added pressure of playing on center court, the biggest venue in which she had played a match.

“I think I found out that that was one of the biggest courts in the U.S. stadium-wise,” she said. “As a freshman and never playing on this court was different. It was so big.

“The court was the same, but the surrounding (seating) area was a little overwhelming. It had an effect on me at first. I remember watching Serena (Williams) playing out here this past year, so this is a big deal. I just had to maintain my focus and get the job done.”

Bowles then defeated Toledo Ottawa Hills’ Catherine Rhegness 6-0, 6-1 in a semifinal.

She eased through the first set against Thompson in the championship match, but fell behind 2-0 in the second before rallying. After winning match point, Bowles dropped her racket, screamed and pointed to her family and the throng of Bexley fans and students in the stands.

“This (state title) was (Bowles’) goal all along, and she reached it,” said first-year coach Heath Goolsby, whose team finished 10-9 overall and placed third (5-2) in MSL-Ohio Division behind Columbus Academy (7-0) and Columbus School for Girls (6-1). “In the final, we knew (Thompson) would make a run sometime in the match because she’s a talented player. Amiya became more aggressive and went up to the net more and that helped.

“She is a very cerebral player. That got her through. First starting with what she needed to do and not just hacking away at the ball.”

Bowles also won the Lions’ first district singles title since Gretchenn Hackman in 2002. She was the program’s first state qualifier in singles since Madison Morton in 2010.

At district Oct. 15 at Academy, Bowles defeated Worthington Christian’s Meghan Mayotte 6-0, 6-0 in the final.

Senior Ava Foster and junior Mia Ehrsam lost a state-qualifying doubles match at district, and senior Leah Baumann and junior Olivia Ramsden lost their opening-round doubles match.

Will Bowles return for her sophomore season? Her father, Baradino Bowles, wasn’t sure.

“We don’t know if we are coming back just yet,” he said. “We will reevaluate things and make a decision from there.

“Amiya has added a weapon to her game. I have been trying to get her a drop shot for years and she did that. Right now, we’re going to focus on getting USTA and ITF rankings. Her ranking has dropped over the last couple of months because she missed tournaments to play in high school.”

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Bexley's Bowles caps unbeaten season with state singles title