Girl's Tennis | 10/27/2025 5:09:00 PM
Mt. Pleasant, SC – The members of the Oceanside Collegiate Academy tennis teams wear a bull's eye on their backs when the time comes for playing in the SCHSL championship – and for good reason.
The OCA girls have won four consecutive state titles and the boys, who compete in the spring, have won five in a row. The girls' team will open pursuit of its fifth straight on Tuesday afternoon at Collins Park in North Charleston. The Landsharks (9-2) received a bye in the first round of the tournament and are the No. 1 seed in the Lower State for Class AAA.
The Landsharks will host the Blue Jackets of Aynor High at 4:30 p.m., weather permitting. The Blue Jackets, the No. 3 seed from Region 5, warned a 6-0 victory over Keenan High last Thursday to advance to face OCA in a rematch from last season's state tournament.
Oceanside dispatched the Blue Jackets 6-0 last year to advance in the tournament.
Landsharks coach
Shawn Harris said his squad takes pride in the streak of state titles and wants to see the run continue.
"I try to kind of stay away from talking about this being for our fifth state championship," Harris said. "This is a dynasty team that has had good leadership and good confidence. They're very confident going into this tournament, which is good. They're not arrogant, they're not cocky. But they are very confident. They also know Oceanside has a target."
The only losses for the Landsharks during the regular season were to Wando and Mauldin, two of the largest schools in the state, both playing in Division I of AAAAA, with both earning a bye into the second round of that tournament on Tuesday.
Against teams from their own class, the Landsharks were rarely even challenged. That success this year has come despite the team having just one senior,
Alexia Langhoff, on the roster.
"This is the youngest team I have ever had," Harris said. "We usually have four seniors with a lot of experience and good leadership, but there is a lot of camaraderie on this team, and the young girls have had to step up."
Junior
Addison Levy is the captain of the squad and Harris gives her a tremendous amount of credit for bringing the team together early.
"She is a huge part of our leadership," Harris said. "She did a great job of bringing everyone together and on the same page with her spirit. Carlos (Assistant Coach
Carlos Lozano) and I are excited for this team, even though we know it is going to be tough to win another championship. We had to be a little more vocal with the team, and even with the parents, this year, just with our communication so they could understand what Oceanside tennis is about."
The Landsharks will be led into the tournament by freshman
Maevelyn DeFord as the No. 1 singles player. DeFord is already ranked as a Top 100 national recruit by Babolat and is ranked as the No. 5 singles player in the state. Another freshman,
Sephina Tringali, will play in the No. 2 singles position. She is currently ranked 18
th in the state.
The freshmen will be followed by sophomore
Annsen Saulisbury at No. 3 singles with Levy playing No. 4 and junior
Elloree Besta at No. 5. The No. 2 doubles team will be the duo of freshman
Nora Kiesel and sophomore
Kacy Kesner. If the overall match is tied 3-3, then a No. 1 doubles match would pair DeFord and Tringali.
"We are pretty confident that we will go out there and compete to get back to the state championship, but that lower state championship match will be a good one," Harris said of a likely matchup against Waccamaw for a trip to the state finals.
A victory in that match could set up a rematch of last season's AAA championship against Christ Church Episcopal, which is the No. 1 seed from the upper state.
"I believe in these girls," Harris said. "They work hard on the court and in the classroom. They could do it (win a fifth straight title) if they stay positive and have each other's backs."
The key will be protecting the giant target they wear on their backs as they make their way toward a potential fifth state title.
About Oceanside Collegiate Academy: Oceanside Collegiate Academy (OCA), located in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while earning up to two years of college credit. OCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades
Learn more about OCA by visiting our website at OceansideCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X. For video content, visit our YouTube channel.
