North Canton Hoover Senior Tess Bucher Wins OHSAA Division I Girls Tennis Singles State Championship

Tess Bucher, a senior at North Canton Hoover High School, won the OHSAA Girls Tennis Division I Singles State Championship on Friday at the Aspen Racquet Club in Wooster.

🎾 #OHSAA TENNIS: Congratulations to North Canton Hoover's Tess Bucher, the 2023 Division I singles champion! pic.twitter.com/8Un9WcQ3Zf

— OHSAA Sports (@OHSAASports) October 20, 2023

 

On Friday, Bucher’s first match was the semifinal match against Natalie Smitek, a senior Western Michigan University commit  from Avon High School.

The semifinal match went three sets as Smitek won the first set 7-5.

Bucher came back to win the second and third sets 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the finals.

In the finals, Bucher faced Amara Brahmbhatt, a senior from Westlake High School who will play collegiate tennis at Michigan State University.

Bucher won the first set 6-3. 

Brahmbhatt then won the second set 6-3 to tie the match at 1-1.  In the decisive set for the State Championship, Bucher won 6-4.

For the season Bucher was 33-0 in singles matches. In fact, she had a notable milestone as she became the all time winningest high school tennis player in the history of Stark County.

For her high school tennis career, Bucher participated in the state championships all four years of high school.  

Bucher finished fourth at the State Championships in 2020 and 2021.  Last year, Bucher finished in second place at the OHSAA State Championships. 

After graduation, Bucher will attend the University of Kentucky where she will be a member of the women’s tennis team.

In addition to Bucher winning the State Championship, Avon’s Amara Brahmbhatt finished second while Westlake senior Natalie Smitek finished in third place.

The OHSAA Boys Tennis State Championships will be held at Wooster College in May.