By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Glendale Falcons cruised to this year’s Ozark Conference Tournament Championship, held at the Cooper Tennis Complex, in Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
The Falcons rolled over Camdenton 5-0 in their opening round of play, Bolivar 5-0 in the semi-finals and Kickapoo 5-1 in the tournament championship to grab this year’s COC title.
The win made it 17 wins in a row versus no losses for Glendale, a team that looks destined for still yet bigger things to come as the 2022 season progresses.
Although the Lady Falcons may have cruised to the Oc title, they were tested.
“Yeah Kickapoo came out fast in the final. They beat our number one doubles team to definitely get our attention,” said Glendale head coach Andrew Pohlman. “But our number two and three doubles teams went on to win as well as our number one, two and three singles players to get the victory.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
Chloe Stenger, the Falcon’s number one player, said that after having lost her doubles match she entered singles play against Brynley Brotherton a little bit nervous.
“I was nervous. But I felt like I knew how to play Brynley,” she said. “So I just tried to keep my cool and stuck to my strengths, throughout the match, to get the win.”
“Yeah we did get tested during doubles play. But we battled back in singles and now we’re OC champions,” said Stenger. “It’s really a great feeling, I don’t think Glendale has won the OC title since 2010.”
Glendale senior Oliva Edwards said that it took everybody’s best effort to grab this year’s OC championship.
“I think we all played well as a whole today, that’s why we won. We’re a team,” she said. “We also made some great angle shots, shots that have helped us to win a lot of games this year.”
As for leadership, Pohlman credits his team captains Stenger and Ann Beatty for getting his charges ready to play.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE TOURNAMENT
“Chloe and Ann have set the tone for our team all season. They’re very serious kids and they get everybody ready to play,” he said. “We’re all very appreciative of how they’ve led our team, the role they’ve played and the weight they’ve carried in doing so.”
2022 Falcon team members are: 1. Chloe Stenger, 2. Ann Beatty, 3. Lucy Huang, 4. Liliana Strang, 5. Olivia Edwards and 6. Caydence Savage. .
OC Final Standings
1. Glendale
2. Kickapoo
3. Bolivar
4. Lebanon
5. Central
6. Waynesville
7. Rolla
8. Camdenton
9. West Plains
10. Parkview
11. Hillcrest
