Girls tennis players showcase skillsets during spring sports season

Don't underestimate females.They can play, too.The 2026 Southern Ohio Conference and OHSAA Southeast District tennis season was a prime example of that.

With well over a dozen females taking part in playing against their male counterparts on either teams that had co-ed tennis offerings or even as an individual willing to showcase their game against the boys tennis players at their school, the Southeast District certainly had a great deal of talented girls tennis players in 2026.That was evident in Scioto County alone, where no less than 15 girls tennis players competed against boys tennis players and more than held their own in the process.Their skillsets certainly impressed Clay tennis coach Bobby Blanton and Valley boys tennis coach Miranda Estep, who each had girls tennis players at their No.

1 singles positions throughout the duration of the spring season."Them playing in a boys league and a mixed league, that's something that's going to help them and build their mindset outside of tennis," Estep said of the girls tennis talent present in Scioto County. "It's going to help them challenge and overcome different obstacles in life.""

The number of females competing has been great," Blanton said. "And they're not just playing either — they're competing, and they're winning matches."Clay was led all season long by Caroline Ridenour, a dependable multi-sport athlete who held serve as the team's No.

1 singles player over the course of the season.Ridenour ultimately advanced through the Southeast Sectional Tournament and onto district play alongside fellow tennis player Billy Miller in doubles competition, after the pair were brought together from their singles positions to comprise a doubles team beginning with the sectional stage.Blanton was highly complimentary of Ridenour's growth in terms of her physical and mental toughness, and credited her work as a multi-sport athlete who also plays girls basketball for Clay as a big piece in her growth.

Ridenour, who just comple