If junior Elaine Cloern of the Upper Arlington High School girls tennis team offers any advice to her freshman partner, Audrey Berger, this week as they prepare for the Division I state tournament Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22, at Ohio State, it might be to make sure she seizes the moment.

Cloern and Berger placed fourth in doubles in the district tournament Oct. 14 and 15 at Hilliard Davidson, losing to Watterson’s Katie Sheppard and Lauren Ghidotti 6-3, 6-2 in a semifinal before losing to Hilliard Bradley’s Lauren Thai and Ashley Thai 6-1, 6-1 in the consolation final.

Cloern will be making her second state appearance. She advanced to state in 2009 but failed to advance last season, as she and senior Grace Buse lost to Watterson’s Olivia Ott and Courtney Brown 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a district quarterfinal.

“(Failing to return to state last year) was a big motivation,” Cloern said. “My freshman year was my first time going and I didn’t know what to expect. Last year I knew what to expect, but I didn’t make it. This year I am looking forward to going further.”

The second day of district play should give Cloern and Berger a good idea about the level of competition they will face at state. Last season, Sheppard and Ghidotti placed fourth at state in Division I, while the Thai cousins won the Division II state title.

“I’m still trying to get over the fact that I have made it to states,” Berger said. “As we progressed through the tournaments, the teams are getting tougher and tougher. It’s a little overwhelming right now, I guess.”

Having a partner who has state experience could help Berger. Two years ago, Cloern was in Berger’s position, making her debut at state as a freshman, and she and senior Caroline Pema lost to Richfield Revere’s Natalie Robson and Brittany Miller 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.

UA coach Shaun Stamps saw a difference in the way Cloern approached this season.

“I’ve seen (that drive) in her singles matches,” Stamps said. “You can tell that over the winter she worked on her game. She’s fearless right now.”

The Golden Bears had six players competing at district, but Cloern and Berger were the only ones to advance. The top four finishers in singles and doubles at district qualified for state.

In singles, sophomore Beniva Ganther lost to Dublin Coffman’s Ashwatha Thenappan 6-4, 6-2 in the first round and junior Andi Smart lost to New Albany’s Cristina DiLorenzo 6-0, 6-0 in the first round.

“Our team obviously has played Coffman before, but (Thenappan) plays first singles,” said Ganther, who usually played second doubles during the regular season. “I knew that, but I tried to push that out of my head and play as I would any other match. I have never been to the districts or to states. Now I know what it is like. I will be ready to come back next year.”

Also in doubles, Pema and Buse lost to Dublin Jerome’s Emma Schnell and Mara Sheley 6-3, 6-3 in the first round.

“It was definitely a struggle,” Buse said. “We came in here knowing it was going to be a tough match. We wanted to play our hardest and we did.”