Chagrin Falls freshman Andrew Zimcosky made history on Saturday when he won the Division II singles championship at the 2019 OHSAA state tennis tournament.
Zimcosky became the first Tiger to win an individual championship in the sport.
“I couldn’t be happier to bring it home to Chagrin Falls and it’s awesome that it’s the first one,” Zimcosky said. “It probably hasn’t really kicked in as much as it will when I go back to school but it’s pretty incredible. It sucks the way it ended the way it did but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.”
Zimcosky won the championship match by default over Youngstown Ursuline junior Greg Morgione, who he had defeated in the district championship, 6-3, 6-2.
“I have a lot of respect for what he did, “Zimcosky said of Morgione. “He was with the trainer and he asked me to come in and he shook my hand and said he congratulations and he didn’t think he was going to be able to play. It was tough to see but I have nothing but respect for how he handled it and saying congrats to me because that’s tough to do.”
Sophomore Jackson Quinn and Zimcosky became the 11th and 12th state qualifiers from Chagrin Falls but the first since 2005.
Zimcosky is just the school’s second boy to place at the state tournament. Chagrin Falls has had 13 girls qualify for state with three placing second.
He cruised to Saturday’s semifinals with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins on Friday then opened the day with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 come from behind win over Preble Shawnee junior Pierce Elliott.
Zimcosky led 4-1 in the first set before losing the opener.
“He was playing really well in the beginning and I think I got a little frustrated and was making some errors,” Zimcosky said. “In the second set, I really stepped it up and decided I was going to give everything I’ve got on each point and if that’s not enough, that’s fine because he outplayed me today. I just went all in (during) that match and it ended up working out really well. I honestly didn’t think I was going to come out on top in that second set. In the third set, I was thinking I could get it, but in the second set I was kind of nervous.”
After outlasting Elliott, Zimcosky turned his attention to the championship match against Morgione.
“I was ecstatic when I won that match,” he said. “It was such a big match for me coming from behind and the mental stuff I overcame to win. I couldn’t have been happier to win that match but I just had to prepare for the next one. I had to sit down–because it was like 90-degrees–and drink a lot of water and come up with a game plan for the next one.”
Despite the anti-climactic finish due to Morgione’s default, Zimcosky was thrilled to win the state title.
He’s ready to turn his attention to the off-season and will prepare for the defense of his title next year.
“Now that the high school season has come to an end, I’ll focus on some USTA tournaments and when I get to high school next year I’ll see where I’m at and make goals according to that,” he said.
