All-Clark County tennis
FIRST TEAM
Singles
Frannie Trempe, Catholic Central, sr.
Kenzie Detrick, Shawnee, soph.
MacKenzie Jenkins, Northwestern, sr.
Alex Thompson, Greenon, sr.
Lauren Davy, Northeastern, jr.
Doubles
Kathy Hua, Northwestern, sr. and Brianna Moore, Northwestern, sr.
SECOND TEAM
Chelsea Diamond, Northwestern, sr.
Manisha Nezhad, Springfield, jr.
Hannah Bentson, Kenton Ridge, jr.
Renae Pavlatos, Catholic Central, jr.
Saarah Kahn, Springfield, soph.
Amanda Neri, Tecumseh, sr.
Player of the Year: Frannie Trempe, Catholic Central
Coach of the Year: Linda Bednar, Northwestern
SPRINGFIELD — The 2010 girls high school tennis season in Clark County was all about doing what had not yet been done.
Never had the Northwestern girls tennis team finished ahead of perennial powerhouse Tippecanoe in the Central Buckeye Conference standings.
And never had Catholic Central tennis veteran Frannie Trempe proven to be a viable No. 1 singles player, let alone the top singles player in the area.
But both were able to accomplish those lofty goals, and as a result they highlight the 2010 News-Sun All-Clark County Girls Tennis Team.
Trempe finished the season 21-6, and she earned the Clark County Player of the Year Award. The Irish senior beat Shawnee’s Kenzie Detrick twice head-to-head, and Detrick beat Northwestern’s MacKenzie Jenkins (who had beaten Trempe in last fall’s sectional tourney) twice in showdowns. And just for an exclamation point on a memorable career, Trempe rolled to a Division II Troy sectional title and became a three-time district qualifier.
“She was the big player for us in singles, and we built around her this year,” said Central coach Bill Herzog. “And she did everything we pretty much had hoped she would do, and a little bit more.”
Even Herzog was unsure how this year was going to turn out, with Trempe replacing the graduated four-time player of the year, Leah Ann Miller.
“The whole year was kind of not knowing what was going to happen,” he said, referring not only to Trempe but his entire team. “She (Trempe) surprised us on a couple of tough matches we had. She was our captain and leader this year, and her play definitely backed that up.”
The Warriors ended a perfect 16-0 campaign in the Central Buckeye Conference to claim their first outright league title in veteran coach Linda Bednar’s career. For that, Bednar was tabbed the News-Sun Clark County Coach of the Year in this her last season coaching. She had announced she was retiring at midseason.
“My philosophy is to take girls who are hard-working and dedicated,” said Bednar, whose team finished 18-0 overall. “I wanted to work with them to give them a sense of belonging, a sense of accomplishment and to give them a lifetime sport.
“I think everybody needs something in high school that they feel they belong to and feel they are good at,” she continued. “It gives them a purpose. The winning is just a sideline. You can learn an awful lot from losing; there’s life skills in that, too.
“All of this is about learning life skills.”
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