Olentangy Berlin's Soleil Cordell wins OHSAA Division I girls tennis state championship
MASON – The end of the Division I girls tennis singles state final was, if not perfect for Soleil Cordell, in line with the Olentangy Berlin junior’s run through the postseason.
In control of the second set with a 3-0 lead on Hudson sophomore Emma Liu, Cordell developed a cramp in her left thigh. After a break of less than 10 minutes, Liu won the next two games, but Cordell recaptured her dominant form at the finish to win 6-2, 6-4 and capture her first state championship Oct. 17 at Lindner Family Tennis Center.
As in the rest of her tournament run to cap a 27-0 season, one in which she dropped only one set, Cordell overcame an obstacle one final time.
“Just how hard I’ve worked, even through (adversity), I knew I had it,” said Cordell, who battled ankle and neck issues during the postseason. “I am a tough player, mentally strong. … I just wanted to play solid. (Liu) is a really good player, and after I got through the semifinal, I told myself to just go out there and play.”
Cordell, a four-star recruit who won her program’s first state title, avenged her loss in last year’s singles final with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over defending champion Addison Cassidy of Mason in a semifinal earlier Oct. 17.
With that match tied 1-1, Cordell won a point that included 11 deuces, then took 11 of the next 12 games to close out a semifinal that lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes.
“That first match was something we had thought about for a year,” Berlin coach Richard Hunt said. “It was some battle. She fought through that one and we knew (Liu) would be a good player. To come back from losing that final last year to get it this year and overcome cramps, that was amazing.”
Cassidy, who forfeited her third-place match against Sylvania Southview freshman Elise Vens because of an injury, and Liu were two of only three players to take four games in a set against Cordell this season.
Columbus School for Girls senior Priya Mehta, a Division II state qualifier in doubles, did so during a 6-4, 6-3 match Sept. 2.
Cordell’s cramp in the final reminded Hunt of a similar occurrence during a 2023 regular-season match against New Albany.
“My heart sunk,” Hunt said. “The trainer said there was a knot, she worked it out and we had to keep playing. Two years ago, we had that match and it was just about the same score line and we had the exact same scenario. I think she learned from that. She played through that. You don’t want to just swing away and go for quick points. You want to keep that edge.”
Cordell was central Ohio’s only representative on the final day of the tournament, something that had not occurred since Centennial’s Zoey Weil finished third in Division I singles in 2016.
The only other times just one local player made the semifinals in the 50-year history of the tournament were 1991, 1979 and the inaugural year of 1976.
“I feel like I’ve really grown as a player since the state tournament last year,” Cordell said. “It was nice making my way back into the state final regardless. I’m really happy.”
Cleveland-area sophomores swept the Division II championships, with Pepper Pike Orange’s Genevieve Hayden winning singles and Gates Mills Gilmour Academy’s Caroline Koch and Grier Peckham repeating in doubles.
Mason senior Adriana Moreno and junior Saanvi Reddy won Division I doubles, in which Mason teams comprised three of the semifinalists.
(This story has been updated to add a second photo gallery.)
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA state tennis title goes to Soleil Cordell of Olentangy Berlin
