It may have taken just over seven hours, but the opening day of the 2026 3rd Region Tennis Tournament finally came to a close. In one of the deeper tournament fields in recent years, the first two rounds of singles and doubles for the boys’ and girls’ competition saw few surprises in the way of upsets, as every seeded player remains.
AHS: In singles play, Apollo’s Layla Parker, Erin McManus, and Nolan Duke all bowed out in the first round. Over in girls’ doubles, the duo of Morgan Shook and Scout Carroll started with a first-round bye and then made quick work of their second-round opponent. Later this evening, they will face off against the fourth seed in Daviess County’s Alexa Salamah and Maddie Meyer. The E-Gals other doubles team of Jessie Pate and Elise Wilson won their first round matchup, but fell in the second round.
In boys’ doubles, the duo of Ben Halbig and Hser Soe lost their first round matchup, while Emerson Blandford and Lucas Payne lost in the second round.
DCHS: Daviess County didn’t lose a single member of their girls team through the first two rounds as Emmie Kate Williams, Jenna Faulkner, and the doubles teams of Ella Boswell and Ellie Dever, and Alexah Salamah and Maddie Meyer all advanced to the quarterfinals.
On the boys’ side, Landon McDuffee won his second-round matchup and safely advanced to the second day, while Eli Bivens and one of the two Panthers’ doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
HCHS: Hancock County had three singles players in Tyce Boling, Payne Pence, and Ella Chappell, all advance to the second round, but none of them were able to qualify for the second day.
OHS: It was a tough draw for the Lady Devils as Anna Travis and Lala Cecil both lost in the second round of singles play to seeded opponents.
Over on the boys’ side, Miles McDaniel won a thriller over Meade County’s JP Roberts. McDaniel trailed 3-0 in the first set before storming back to win 7-5. After losing the second set 6-0, he outlasted Roberts in tie breakers.
In doubles, the Lady Devils saw both of their doubles teams bow out in the second round. For the Red Devils, John Clay Ford and Walker Gaddis started the evening with a bye and then won their second-round matchup to set up a quarterfinals battle against Grayson County. The second doubles team of Jeremy Gillihan and Drew Johnson beat Muhlenberg County to also advance the quarterfinals.
OCHS: It was a perfect opening two rounds for the Aces as Jack Haines and Oliver Haines and both of their double’s teams all advanced to the quarterfinals.
For the Lady Aces, Sophia Merchant made quick work of both of her opponents, while Mary Grace Edge fell in the second round to Muhlenberg County’s Brinley Sparks. In doubles, the first and third-ranked duos of Madison Clark and Meredith Traylor and Alexis Moyers and Gabrielle Moyers advanced to the quarterfinals.
