Shantha Weit, Port Clinton Girls Tennis (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PORT CLINTON – Port Clinton Girls Tennis started the season with a lot of questions. Would they perform well after losing five of last year’s six top players? Would top performer Shanta Weit transition from doubles to singles well? Could they come close to matching last year’s success after becoming the 2025 SBC champions?

The answers are yes, yes, and a resounding yes. After facing formidable challenges and starting the year with a less experienced team, the Port Clinton Girls Tennis team clinched the 2026 Northern Ohio Conference championship when it defeated Bellevue on Sept. 21. That means some of the girls made history by winning the last ever SBC championship and the first ever NOC championship in tennis.

Lilly Hatt, Port Clinton Girls Tennis (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

The team is coached by Joe Miller, Ryan Evarts, and Lindsay Dunn. Miller said the team’s fragile start was buoyed by strong leadership.

“Coming into the season, we lost 5 of our 6 top players, and we really had players who stepped up,” Miller said. “It started with Shantha and everyone followed her lead. She’s not just an impressive player. She’s also an impressive human being.”

At the beginning of the season, Weit wasn’t confident she could match the success she had as a doubles player, yet her skills exploded this year after facing strong competition in early-season scrimmages that helped her identify her strengths and weaknesses.

“Going into conference play, I had a better understanding of what I needed to do,” she said. “Everyone else really stepped up, too…to get us that title.”

Evalee Cross, Port Clinton Girls Tennis (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

The team grasped the title with a team that included a player new to tennis: Evalee Cross. She said she developed quickly because of the support she received from coaches and players.

“Having a good team and coaches around me really helps, lifting me up and believing in me,” she said. “I go into matches…being confident and trying my best.”

Lilly Hatt faced the challenge of transitioning from second doubles to first doubles with a new partner, Maya Klimentov. She said the pair started off rough but learned to communicate and understand each other’s playing styles, which are very different. Those differences made them a powerful anomaly on the court.

Jae Mazur, Port Clinton Girls Tennis (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“The competition doesn’t know what’s going to go on because we don’t play the same,” Hatt said. “So when they’re ready for me, and they try to go to Maya, it’s a whole different play, so they’re just not ready for it. And I think it’s definitely an advantage for us.”

All three girls credit the coaching staff for the team’s success. Hatt said Miller strengthened her confidence by continually reassuring her when she questioned herself.

“Coach Miller has definitely helped me these past four years, especially this year,” Hatt said.

Calli St. Clair, Port Clinton Girls Tennis (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Cross said Evarts’ response to a loss allowed her to refocus and win future games.

“There was a match I was not playing my best and I was kind of frustrated, and after the match, he was talking to me,” she said. “That really helped me for future matches. It was uplifting.”

Throughout the season, Weit played several back-to-back three-set matches. During a particularly exhausting match, Miller and Evarts helped her push through with advice and encouragement, and she said the coaches’ approach to huddles is instrumental to game success. The coaches have the discretion to push the girls during big matches and give them breathing room on less critical days.

Port Clinton girls tennis coaches, from left, Joe Miller, Lindsay Dunn, and Ryan Evarts. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“They’ve known when to put the pressure on us,” Weit said.

While the girls praised the coaches, Miller praised the girls.

“I want to give a shoutout to all the Lady Redskins for an incredible year,” Miller said. “We obviously lost a lot, and they came right back and one another title – the first every NOC champions in school history.”