Poland and Boardman, OH -- It was a long, weather-plagued day for the West Branch boys tennis program, but the Warriors showed plenty of fight before seeing their season come to a close at the OHSAA Division 2 Sectional Tournament on Wednesday.
The day began inside at the Avalon Athletic Club in Boardman before moving outdoors when conditions briefly improved, only for the rain to return and push everyone back inside to the Avalon facility to finish. With only three courts available for the remainder of play, the condensed setup stretched what was already a full tournament day into an exhausting grind for everyone involved.
Singles
Sophomore Austin Hawk was the bright spot of the day, rattling off two dominant wins before falling to a tough opponent. Hawk opened with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout over a field opponent before knocking off Heartland Christian 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. His run came to an end against Poland's No. 2 seed, falling 0-6, 0-6.
Junior Damon Edwards also made his mark early, cruising past his opening-round field opponent 6-0, 6-0 before dropping his next match to Cardinal Mooney, 3-6, 1-6.
Sophomore Cameron McCartney fell to Canfield in his opening match, 1-6, 1-6.
Doubles
The doubles pairs battled through tough draws as well. The team of juniors Jeremy Augustein and Blake Robbins faced a grueling match against Poland, dropping a tight first set 7-6 (7-4) before falling in the second 0-6, and ultimately losing the third-set tiebreaker 4-10.
Sophomores Connor Loper and Mason Cosma closed out the day against Cardinal Mooney, falling 3-6, 0-6.
What's Next: The sectional tournament concludes the 2026 West Branch boys tennis season. With no seniors on the roster, the Warriors will return their entire group next year, a promising sign for the program heading into 2027.
