Norwalk edges Columbian for outright title

NORWALK — This one wasn't drawn up this way. The dominance of Norwalk girls tennis had been well established for many years. But in order for the Truckers to win a fourth straight league title in 2025, they needed to do so with five new players among the seven starting positions. Norwalk also was going to have to overcome a veteran Tiffin Columbian team in the final season of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, which it did with a 3-2 win in Tiffin on Aug. 28. And much like recent years, the Truckers found themselves under the lights against the Tornadoes Thursday night at the Norwalk Middle School courts. Having already clinched at least a share of the league title, the rematch against the Tornadoes came down to a third set at first doubles to decide an outright or co-championship. After the team of juniors Aubrey Kluding and Alyssa Gruhlke let a 5-2 lead slip away in a 7-5 loss in the first set, the pair came back with a 6-2 win to force the decisive third set. At that point, every other match had been decided. "We knew it was either we win our match or we share," Kluding said. "It was a nervous energy, but also exciting." The pair then won several long points over Leah Wahl and Olivia Dotson, ultimately pulling away for the 6-1 win to give the Truckers the match and the final SBC Lake title outright. Norwalk is 12-4 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the Lake. The Truckers went 39-1 over the past four years in winning the league each year, losing just to the Tornadoes in Tiffin back in 2022. The Truckers have beaten the Tornadoes by a 3-2 score in each of the previous three meetings. "We knew the stakes," Gruhlke said. "Coach (Harry) Love came over to us before the third set, and we just kind of talked. We didn't really talk about tennis; we just talked, and it took our minds off of things. "It felt good to win that way," she added. "People thought because we lost five seniors last year we maybe weren't going to play to the same level, but we proved everyone wrong, and we were able to get the outcome we wanted again." At second doubles, senior Chloe Hazelwood and junior Riley Helton rallied from 3-1 down in the first set to force a tiebreaker against Kenzie Felske and Mia Daniel. They then trailed 6-2 in the tiebreak and were facing set point. But the pair rallied all the way back for a 9-7 win to take the set, then played from in front throughout the second set, a 6-3 win. "I think we have really good coaches and a lot of players who were willing to step up, and new players who were willing to step up," Hazelwood said. "We filled those gaps and then some and have shown we have another good team this year." Norwalk's other win came at third singles, where sophomore Leski Jurczek cruised past Angela Nominee (6-0, 6-0). At first singles, junior Lydia Trost fell to Leah Weingart (6-1, 6-0). Junior Addy Rospert lost to Elise Johnston at second singles (6-0, 6-3). Count Love among those who knew the challenge this year was figuring out a lot of unknowns. "We expected some 3-2, closer matches, but we still managed to win them," he said. "This year was not anywhere near as expected, results-wise. After losing the five seniors, we started to think about who went where. We had a lot of options, but it was a lot of trying to figure out the puzzle." Love said things continued to build throughout the summer and early part of the season. "We have a special group here," he said. "It's one of those out of left field situations. We knew we had talent and were deep at JV the last two seasons, but to have those girls come out absolutely ready to go and working hard all summer was huge. "They proved right away they were winning players and a good team. We just perpetuated that throughout the rest of the season." Love knew he needed both doubles positions to come through Thursday. It proved far from easy, including when Gruhlke needed to stop a bloody nose during the third set. "We put our faith in Alyssa and Aubrey, and they delivered tonight," he said. "This was their best match of the year from start to finish, both level-wise and handling the pressure of it all. It's really easy to appreciate the moment from the outside with how cool it was as the last match, under the lights, to decide shared or outright. "But what those girls feel as two players who were full-time varsity for the first time is different," Love added. "To be able to hold their own and mentally stay right where they needed to be was huge. And Chloe and Riley had a really impressive rally and then played a decisive second set." Up next for the Truckers is hosting the SBC Lake tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday. The tournament decides the individual all-league teams across the five positions. As the lone senior in Thursday's lineup, Hazelwood said the four-peat was meaningful. She and Helton are 13-2 this season, including 8-0 in Lake matches. "It feels great to go out on the best note we can," she said. "We couldn't have done better within the league, so to know we're on top and earned it … it feels good to go out that way. I think the team knew what we were doing mentally. "Maybe sometimes we had to develop some of that physical talent back, but we understood the game, the rules, and minor details," Hazelwood added. "It was just bringing up the physicality in practice, and through hard work, we got to where we needed to be." Norwalk also played 10 junior varsity matches on Thursday. Winners included Abby Upton and Roxy Brummit (6-0); Nellie Ferguson and Brooklyn Younce (6-4); Libby Lark and Vanessa Vazquez (6-3); Grace Knight and Lily Ware (6-2); Scarlett Schneider and Emmie Leber (6-0); Ella Borgeson and Natalie Wiegel (6-0); Lily McDuffie and Natalie Morales (6-1); Nora Whaley and Valerie Samano (6-0); Carsyn Swick and Miley Gatchset (6-0). Also playing for Norwalk, which has home matches next week with Edison and St. Mary Central Catholic, was Keelie Cammarn and Genevieve Riley (5-6).