High school tennis: Megan Nuske continues to improve for Medina as Bees sweep Brunswick

MEDINA — Megan Nuske took a lot of tennis lessons following her sophomore season. Now the 16-year-old junior is giving them free of charge. Much more comfortable and with greatly improved skills in her second season as Medina's No. 1 singles player, Nuske defeated Brunswick's Sofia Droz 6-1, 6-0 Wednesday as the Bees cruised to a 5-0 Greater Cleveland Conference win over the Blue Devils. "I did a lot of work in the offseason and played in a lot of tournaments, so I got used to playing at a higher level," Nuske said. "I knew I wasn't going to be one of the stronger ones last year, so I just tried to get games or a game. "But playing those better players made me a better player. I got used to harder serves and harder shots." Nuske's improvement can be quantified by her two most recent high school matches against Highland players. At the Springside Division I Sectional last year, she lost 6-1, 6-3 in the first round to Ella Tople, who began the 2022 season as the Hornets' No. 8 player. Early this season, she fell just 6-4, 7-5 to current Highland first singles player Ally Haynes, who is widely considered the best player in Medina County. "I wanted to come back and do better," said the 16-year-old Nuske, an All-Gazette honorable mention choice who finished 9-19 last season. "When we played them this year, I did a lot better." After averaging "about eight double faults" per match early in the season, the 5-foot-1 Nuske worked extra hard on her serve and it's paying dividends. She didn't have a double fault in an easy win Tuesday and had just one Wednesday. "I wasn't missing many of my shots today and I've been working on my serve," she said. "I'm a lot more comfortable now." While Nuske won easily as the Bees (6-3, 1-0) swept the Blue Devils (3-4, 1-1), the second singles and second doubles matches were close. Medina's Emersen Willis finished strong for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win over a game Ashley Weers at second singles, while Larken Talley and Claire Kocar downed Ciara Gormley and Kate Muniak 6-3, 7-5 at second doubles. The Bees won handily on the other courts, as fast-improving sophomore Ashley Wallace beat Bella Chismar 6-2, 6-1 at third singles and Julia Kraft and Mandy Caspio posted a double bagel against Abby Ivory and Sophia Angus at first doubles. Kraft and Caspio not only improved to 7-2 in dual matches, they provided an interview for the ages as several of their teammates tried to coach them when they struggled to understand questions. "We're both aggressive and very competitive," Kraft chimed in when Caspio was struggling for words. "We communicate well and we know what each other is going to do." Then the diminutive junior cut to the chase, saying, "Whenever Mandy misses it, I just run after it." That lit a spark under a laughing Caspio, who said, "She yells at me when I mess up, then she goes and does the same thing." On a more serious note, the senior added, "I spent some time working on my game this summer. I feel a lot more confident in my skills this year." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Medina 5, Brunswick 0 Singles: Megan Nuske (M) def. Sofia Droz, 6-1, 6-0; Emersen Willis (M) def. Ashley Weers, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0; Ashley Wallace (M) def. Bella Chismar, 6-2, 6-1. Doubles: Julia Kraft/Mandy Caspio (M) def. Abby Ivory/Sophia Angus, 6-0, 6-0; Larken Talley/Claire Kocar (M) def. Ciara Gormley/Kate Muniak, 6-3, 7-5. Records: Brunswick (3-4, 1-1), Medina (6-3, 1-0).