Members of the 2023 all-Southern Ohio Conference girls tennis team are, from left, Notre Dame’s Savanah Holtgrewe (doubles), Notre Dame’s Ella Kirby (doubles), Waverly’s Blossom Smith (singles), Waverly’s Claire Morrison (singles), Minford’s Miranda Johnson (singles), Minford’s Ava Estep (singles), Minford’s Addi Lute (doubles) and Minford’s Kailey Shaffer (doubles).

Courtesy of Kristie Johnson

WEST PORTSMOUTH — While Waverly won the Southern Ohio Conference girls tennis team title, the tournament’s singles and doubles championship trophies remained in Scioto County.

Just as the sites did for the SOC tournament itself —despite needing three different days to finally be completed.

Minford senior Miranda Johnson won the singles tournament championship —and thus gave the Lady Falcons a second consecutive Player of the Year.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, turned the trick on the doubles side —with Lady Titan senior Ella Kirby claiming a back-to-back championship half.

The all-SOC girls tennis teams are announced upon completion of the annual tournament, which for the second straight season started —and ultimately finished —at West High School.

With Wednesday’s second day of the original schedule, a two-hour rain delay forced the singles and doubles championship matches to be moved to Portsmouth High School due to darkness.

The PHS facility has lights while West’s does not, but Wednesday’s weather conditions —rain and subsequent fog rolling in —caused the Portsmouth court conditions to become too slick and thus unplayable.

It was then announced that the matches would be completed at Valley High School’s new courts on Thursday, but rain too washed those out.

Instead, they finished Sunday afternoon at West —with Johnson defeating Waverly’s Blossom Smith, and Kirby and fellow senior Savanah Holtgrewe winning the doubles over Minford seniors Kailey Shaffer and Addi Lute.

Minford senior Miranda Johnson captured the 2023 Southern Ohio Conference girls tennis Singles Player of the Year.

Courtesy of Kristie Johnson

Johnson joined Minford graduate Addy Akers as Lady Falcons winning the POY in back-to-back years.

The runner-up Smith was a repeat selection to the singles first team, as Ava Estep of Minford and Claire Morrison of Waverly were the other two all-SOC singles.

Last season, Kirby and Charlee Lansing won the doubles tournament title for NDHS —with Minford then-juniors Shaffer and Lute the runners-up.

Notre Dame seniors Savanah Holtgrewe (left) and Ella Kirby (right) captured the doubles championship of the Southern Ohio Conference girls tennis tournament.

Courtesy of Matt Payton

This year, Kirby teamed with Holtgrewe — who made the all-SOC unit last year as a singles.

Hence, Holtgrewe and Kirby—and Shaffer and Lute —were once again all-SOC doubles.

Notre Dame won the SOC regular-season championship last year —the first time in program history for Lady Titan tennis.

This year, it went to Waverly’s Lady Tigers —under the direction of head coach Matt Morrison.

Team members included Smith, Claire Morrison, Jada Osborne, Kyndra Barker, Lea Parker, Molly McKenzie, Selina Halko and Jacey Varney.

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on X @paulboggssports © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved