Olentangy Berlin senior Soleil Cordell won her second straight OHSAA Division I state singles tennis championship Friday, Oct. 16, finishing a perfect 29-0 season.

Cordell defeated Cincinnati Oak Hills junior Renee Harper 6-2, 6-0 in the final at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Rain moved all Friday matches to the center’s indoor courts. She reached the title match by sweeping Cincinnati Turpin sophomore Makayla Malone 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinal earlier that day.

The championship capped a 56-match winning streak spanning two seasons for Cordell, who was the only central Ohio player to reach the tournament's second day for the second year in a row.

"I am proud of myself for pushing that stuff to the side," Cordell said of the weight of defending her title, according to the Dispatch. "I am well prepared and a good player. I just wanted to come out the past two days and play my best tennis."

Harper, who was 32-2 and had originally planned to play doubles before her expected partner sustained a wrist injury, won consecutive games after falling behind 4-0 in the first set. Cordell rarely was threatened in the second, using a strong forehand among other shots to maintain control.

Berlin coach Richard Hunt said Cordell's matches were more competitive than the scores suggested. Her closest match at state came in the first round Oct. 15, a 6-1, 6-3 win over Centerville freshman Mia Trubee. Hunt said players at the state level force opponents to hit multiple shots that would normally be winners, and nobody lets go of a point until it is clearly done.

Cordell is the fourth member of her family across three generations to reach the state tournament, but the first to win a championship. Great-uncles Gary and Craig reached state in 1963 and 1975, and father Cary did so in 1991 and 1992 before playing at Otterbein University. All attended Yellow Springs in Greene County.

"What she did is staggering," Hunt said, adding that he got emotional watching Cordell's final high school match. "Her career at Berlin is over, but her career in tennis is not."

Cordell is committed to play college tennis at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She became the first athlete in Olentangy Berlin history to win a state championship when she captured the Division I singles title as a junior.