Owensboro Catholic racked up the silverware in regionals last week as they won both the boy’s and girls’ team tournaments while having repeat singles and doubles champions as well. Ella Cason won the girls’ singles championship for an impressive fourth time in a row while Isabelle Reisz and Julia Marshall won their second straight doubles championship. Apollo, Daviess County, Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic all had players advance to the state tournament on May 28.
AHS
The E-gals doubles duo of Ella Hayden/Sophey Jennings advanced to state after they made it all the way to the semifinals.
In the boys’ singles tournament, Ben Austin was eliminated in the round of 16, but Osborne swept his match winning both sets to move on to the quarterfinals. Osborne was eliminated in the quarterfinals after winning the first set, losing the next and falling short in the tiebreaker set. In doubles, the duo of Nolan Duke/Ra Ne Son was eliminated in the first round, but Evan Wilson/Connor O’Bryan had a bye. Wilson/O’Bryan won in the round of 16, but their run was halted after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Madison Ebelhar and Erin McManus were both eliminated in the first round of the singles tournament. Both duos of Macey Woodruff/Jessie Pate and Hayden/Jennings had byes in the first round. After both duos won to move past the round of 16, Woodruff/Pate were eliminated in the quarterfinals after they won the first set, lost the second and were defeated in the tiebreaker. However, Hayden/Jennings won to secure their spot in the semifinals and the state tournament. They were defeated in the semifinals by the eventual champions.
Apollo head coach Janie Walther expressed her pride in Hayden advancing to state for the first time as well as the comeback Jennings made from an injury earlier in the season.
“They played very well in regionals,” she said. “Sophey went to State last year in singles, and this is Ella’s first time to State. Sophey had a tennis elbow injury and was out 2 1/2 months. She came back right before Spring Break, so I moved her to doubles. She worked her buns off to get back! I’m very proud of her and Ella!”
DCHS
Daviess County placed runner-up in both the boys’ and girls’ team tournaments, and they have 3 individuals and one duo heading for the state tournament. Emmie Kate Williams, Allessa Hall and Landon McDuffee all advanced to the state singles tournament, and the duo of Yuna Kani/Eli Bivens advanced to the state doubles tournament.
In boys’ singles, Matthew Dunlay was eliminated in the round of 16, but McDuffee swept his match to move on. He won in the quarterfinals to punch his ticket to state but was defeated in the semifinals. In doubles, both duos of Kani/Bivens and Parth Haria/George Newton advanced all the way to the quarterfinals, but Haria/Newton were eliminated while Kani/Bivens advanced to the semis, and thus state as well. They were defeated in the semis, however.
In girls’ singles, both Williams and Kate fought their way into the semifinal round to secure their spots at state. They were both defeated in that round, however. In doubles, the duo of Kate McCain/Maddy Brown had a bye and Ella Boswell/Alexa Salamah won their first-round match to advance. They were both stopped shortly after however, as both duos were defeated in the round of 16.
Head coach Jack Etchison was pleased with the all-around performance and plans to keep training in preparation for state.
“It was a good year,” he said. “Everyone’s first trip except for Hall, a senior. The rest are freshmen and hopefully they can build off of this. We’ll just continue to try and get a little better every day until state.”
OHS
Owensboro were defeated by Daviess County in the first round of the boys’ team tournament, and they had 1 player advance to state in John Clay Ford.
In girls’ singles, Carsyn Cecil and Anna Travis both won their matches in the first round but were eliminated in the round of 16. In doubles, the duo of Addie Travis/Whitley Ford won their first round while Eleanor Watson/Drew Crandall had a bye. Both duos would then be eliminated in the round of 16.
In boys’ doubles, the duo of Walker Gaddis/Miles McDaniel won their first match to move on while Arlo Johnson/Andrew Diebel had a bye. However, both duos were halted in the next round after being eliminated in the round of 16. In singles, Broderick Divine had a comfortable win in his first-round match, and Ford had a bye. While Divine was eliminated in the round of 16, Ford pushed on with a victory. Ford won his quarterfinal match and secured his place at the state tournament before being taken down in the semis.
Ford’s father and boys’ head coach Clay Ford expressed his pride in his son overcoming a tough quarterfinal match to qualify for state. He also acknowledged the talent within the region and said that he and his team will be cheering everyone on.
“I am proud of John Clay for grinding through a tough match in the quarterfinals and advancing to state,” he said. “It will be a great experience for him. There are some talented young players in this region that we are going to enjoy watching battle each other over the next few years. We’ll be cheering for all of our region’s state qualifiers in Lexington.”
OCHS
The Lady Aces had an impressive outing as Cason and Madison Clark both paved their way through the bracket to the championship. Cason successfully defended her regional title against her fellow teammate and Reisz/Marshall defended their doubles title winning the championship for the second straight year. This also marks Cason’s fourth consecutive regional championship. The duo of Ella Hayden/Maddie Meyer also went on a run as they advanced all the way to the semifinals before being eliminated.
On the boys’ side, the brotherly duo of Houston and Cooper Danzer made it to the championship round for the third straight year, but they were defeated in a tiebreaker set and were unable to win their third consecutive doubles title. The duo of Patrick Hauke/Joseph Merchant had a good performance also as they were victorious all the way up to the semifinal round.
On top of claiming both the boys’ and girls’ team titles, all of Catholic’s participants in the singles and doubles tournament will be moving onto state. Cason, Clark, the Danzers, Hauke/Merchant, Reisz/Marshall and Hayden/Meyer all will be competing in the state tournament on May 28. Head Coach Noel Clayton said the coaching staff is beyond pleased with the overall performances, and he hopes to keep this momentum going into state.
