MASON — It’s almost become a guarantee. The odds of sending a player to the Division I state tournament are in favor of the Mason High School girls tennis team.
And there’s a reason for that.
“We get good players,” Comets coach Mike Reid said with affirmation. “I think they get better when they’re here.”
They do. It’s facts.
Mason has won the Greater Miami Conference title 10 seasons in a row. The Comets are 89-0 in the conference and 183-9 during the regular season since 2015, and they went 19-0 to finish the 2024 regular season.
Mason has sent at least a singles player or doubles team to the state tournament every year since 2011.
Even more so, the Comets have reached the state finals in either singles or doubles the last five years. And to top it off, Mason has secured a state title — in some form — three consecutive postseasons.
Here are the Comets’ state finals performances in recent years:
2023 — Mason’s Emma Wagner and Pratyusha Chaudhuri won the school’s first Division I doubles trophy, defeating New Albany’s Richie Francois and Paige Cornelius, 6-0, 6-1, in the state championship match. Wagner, a freshman, and Chaudhuri, a sophomore, were the first Mason tandem to play for a doubles state title and won each of their four matches at the state tournament in straight sets.
2022 — In the Division I singles final, Mason senior Shyla Aggarwal returned to the state championship and secured her second state title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tess Bucher, a junior from North Canton Hoover. Aggarwal helped Mason return to their 12th straight state tournament and secured their second state title.
2021 — In the Division I singles final, Mason junior Shyla Aggarwal returned to the state championship and secured a win with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lilly Black, a junior from Whitehouse Anthony Wayne. Aggarwal helped Mason return to their 11th straight state tournament and secured their first state title.
2020 — In the Division I singles final, Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy senior Elizabeth Pendergast secured a state championship win with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Shyla Aggarwal, a sophomore from Mason.
2019 — Springboro’s Abby Nugent beat Mason senior Ananya Aggarwal in the Division I singles finals 6-4, 7-5.
“We put a big focus on doubles, which they may not have when they come into the program,” Reid said. “We play a lot of doubles. We’re kind of proud with what we do on the doubles court, and that’s a big part of high school tennis that they may not experience during the offseason and tournaments on their own.
“Despite the coaching, they’re doing pretty well. This team, they’re just fun. They all like playing with each other. They don’t seem to have big egos about where they play in the lineup. We have people play all over — singles and doubles. Luckily, we’ve stayed healthy enough to compete. We’ve had some nagging injuries, but we’re doing pretty well at the end of the season.”
This year, Mason will have three singles players and two doubles teams compete for a state title Oct. 17-18 at the College of Wooster.
In singles, Mason junior Addison Cassidy will face Massillon Perry junior Haylee Frearon, Mason junior Ana Gotike goes up against Rocky River Magnificat senior Anna Mancino and Mason sophomore Saanvi Reddy plays Chagrin Falls Kenston senior Brooke McNeal.
“It’s the group of girls that we have,” Cassidy said. “We’re all very talented. We’re all very driven. We’re always all on the same page. We all work really hard.
“It’s always a goal to win state and to keep the legacy going. It’s our hard work and our talent. We’re all very close to each other. We all communicate really well. We come out here every day and we have something that we work on. We always have a goal every practice for what we’re going to do. So, I definitely think it’s our hard work.”
Chaudhuri and Wagner are teamed back up in doubles and will go up against Avon Lakes seniors Elizabeth Meiners and Autumn Korey. Mason will also have junior Adriana Moreno and freshman Bhavana Singidi play Massillon Jackson senior Isha Nagajothi and sophomore Ashley Helle.
“The season has been going really well,” Wagner said. “The team’s definitely gotten a lot stronger this year. We have four freshmen that came in, and we’re so happy to have them and all that.
“Our goal for the rest of this season is definitely to try and win (state) again and keep our streak going,” Wagner added. “Our bonding has gotten a lot better. We’re really close.
“Every day we come out here and work for an hour and a half, two hours. We will just really have a good time. I love going to practice here. I feel like during the season, everybody’s just a lot happier, and it helps us do better in matches.”
