It was almost as if the local prep tennis players had to take the postman's oath in order to compete in the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division tournament at Olentangy Saturday, May 8.

Luckily there wasn't rain, sleet, snow or hail, but there was wind, and plenty of it, along with a near-freezing wind chill.

The task for Westerville Central didn't change, however.

In a league flush with great talent from both Olentangy Liberty and Dublin Jerome, the Warhawks were in a position to maintain a third-place standing, and that they did.

"The conditions were tough," Central coach Brian Arnett said. "It was cold and windy and it didn't change all day.

"We were really happy with how things went, though. We started the day in third and the goal was to stay there, so we were happy to do that."

The event, combined with the regular-season dual matches, settled the final standings, which saw Jerome (77) edge out Liberty (76) for first place.

The 'Hawks totaled 49 points and were third, while Scioto (42), Westerville South (34), Olentangy (21), Westerville North (16) and Marysville (8) rounded out the scoring.

Central placed third in all but one of the draws, including No. 1 singles player Luke Buchanan, second singles player Blake Byrns, third singles player Max Hart and first doubles tandem Tallib Karaze and Alex Farabaugh.

"We kind of fell in where, for the most part, it did during the league season," Arnett said. "It was clear throughout the season that Liberty and Jerome were kind of head and shoulders above the rest of the league.

"We went in hoping to hold off Scioto and everything went pretty much the way we hoped it would."

While Central was busy holding off the Irish, South put itself into position to finish ahead of Scioto in the tournament -- the Irish topped the Wildcats in the final standings, however.

Ian Harrah placed fourth in second singles, while James Petit and Graham Russell teamed up to come in fourth in first doubles.

Bryan McKenzie came in fifth.

"I thought he played pretty well," coach John Fill said. "He lost four and two to Buchanan and hung in there after that."

North's Kevin Baum and Blake Brewer won a doubles match at the league tournament.

Meanwhile, local teams are going from league competition to postseason play this week, with Central set to compete in a Division I sectional at Upper Arlington Thursday, May 13, and Saturday, May 15.

Arnett plans to play his regular lineup in the competition.

"We're playing it straight-up and (Buchanan) is the No. 2 seed in our sectional," he explained. "We decided to play our regular lineup and I like our draws. We have some chances to hopefully get some guys to the district tournament."

South is to compete in a sectional at Pickerington Central May 13 and 15, and Fill plans to tinker with his lineup a bit.

McKenzie will join Graham to play doubles, while Petit and Harrah will form a doubles combo.

Keith McBride, Spencer Morris and Alex Potts will all compete in the singles draw.

Fill feels McKenzie and Graham have the best shot to advance to the district tournament by playing as a doubles team.

"If they play well they could run up against a team from Lancaster," Fill explained. "If they play well, they could see the fourth-seeded team from Pickerington Central. I think they have a chance to advance if they play well."

North is to play its sectional action at Hilliard Darby May 13 and 15.

Coach C.J. Simmons plans to combine Daniel Branaghan with Dakota Regan to play doubles at the sectional.

"They've been wanting to play together all season, so they're both looking forward to playing doubles together," Simmons said. "They get a bye in the first round and they're excited to play together."

"It was clear throughout the season that Liberty and Jerome were kind of head and shoulders above the rest of the league. We went in hoping to hold off Scioto and everything went pretty much the way we hoped it would."