It may have been in completely different styles, but Owensboro Catholic once again swept the doubles titles at the 3rd Region Tennis Tournament Championships. On the boys’ side, Henry Haines and Joseph Merchant made quick work of the top seed Grayson County in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) – securing their first-ever Region titles.
“It feels good practicing every day after school,” Merchant said. “Getting reps in and being able to execute when it matters. It’s a great feeling to win.”
On the other side of the Merchant Centre Court complex, the Lady Aces Madison Clark and Meredith Traylor were pushed to the brink by Daviess County’s Ella Boswell and Ellie Dever, but outlasted them in third set tiebreakers 11-9.
“This is amazing, and I am very grateful,” Traylor said.
Clark and Traylor took the first set 6-4, but dropped the second set 6-7. The third set tiebreakers were back and forth, but the Lady Aces went on a four-point run to steal the momentum and eventually close out the finals.
“We got our momentum up in tiebreakers and the crowd was cheering for us. It really helped,” Clark said.
Girls’ singles were an all Daviess County affair, as Jenna Faulkner upset teammate and top seed Emmie Kate Williams in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). Only an eighth-grader, Faulkner became the first Lady Panther in over 20 years to win an individual tennis region title.
“It just feels incredible because I have my amazing teammate Emmie and my amazing team. We have all been working so hard to get here, and it just feels amazing to see the hard work pay off,” Faulkner said. …Emmie and I are always neck and neck whenever we play, so this match was really unpredictable because it’s really day by day who is doing better. So, it was really exciting to play.”
The boys’ singles championship was a rematch of last year between Edmonson County’s Brayden Johnson and the Panthers Landon McDuffee. Johnson took the first set 7-5, but McDuffee was able to send the second set to tiebreakers. Unfortunately, the junior was unable to finally take down his rival, falling in the tiebreakers 7-3.
Everyone that competed in the finals already clinched their spot in the upcoming semi-state on May 20.
“Well, for our doubles teams, we just need to be better at volleying all around,” Daviess County Head Coach Dylan McDuffee said. “We need to get up to the net and be aggressive. Singles, we just need to work on variety. Our entire team can bang the ball, we just need to work on variety. …I hope that we all win two rounds so we can all make it to Lexington.”
Before semi-state is the upcoming 3rd Region team competition, scheduled for next Thursday and Friday at Merchant Centre Court.
“My team loves the team aspect,” Owensboro Catholic boys’ Head Coach Branden Haines said. “They really look forward to the team regions, and it gives them a chance to all compete. That’s the beautiful part about the team atmosphere. Everyone comes together and plays for something bigger than themselves.”
