Notre Dame High School seniors Savanah Holtgrewe and Ella Kirby, coached by Crystal Thomas, qualified for the girls district tennis tournament after a long two days of sectional play and seeding on Oct. 3 and 4. The district tournament will take place Wednesday at Ohio University in Athens.

Kirby and Holtgrewe also won the doubles section of the Southern Ohio Conference tournament last week. Notre Dame has taken that title for four consecutive years. Holtgrewe and Kirby each have won two tournament championships, but both had different partners for their first titles. Kirby won last year with Charlee Lansing of the 2023 class, and Holtgrewe won her first tournament championship in 2021 with Mollie Creech of the 2022 class.

Sectional play was very difficult for all teams competing due to the unusual-for-October temperatures in the upper 80s. It caused each player participating to have to take longer breaks than usual.

“We used the heat to our advantage,” Thomas said. “We practiced in the heat as much as possible late in the summer.”

Tournament days typically consist of teams playing two to three matches a day and can last over four hours. In the heat, it was fairly rough to be out there for that long, let alone play tennis matches.

“A good night sleep, as well as a Red Bull before [matches] to keep me energized,” Holtgrewe said of her strategy. “I love playing tennis, especially in tournaments, but today was rough with the heat.”

Kirby also noted how important it was to get a good night’s sleep before the day of a tournament.

“Tournament play is really fun,” Kirby said. “I love it. It’s more fun than the regular season because every set could be your last.”

As seniors, Kirby and Holtgrewe were especially motivated to qualify for the district tournament.

“We were leaders this year for the underclassmen,” Holtgrewe said. “We had to go out there and give it our all, not only for ourselves but to set a positive example for the kids that will continue to play as we graduate.”

Kirby added that being a senior definitely made her want to play better, but she also noted that she had given her all in each match she had played over the course of her tennis career at Notre Dame.

Beyond Wednesday’s district tournament, Holtgrewe and Kirby hope to become the first players from Notre Dame since 2012 to reach the Ohio state tournament.