Owensboro Catholic tennis shines, Cason, Red Devils’ Mather grab singles regional championships

May 26, 2022 | 12:05 am

Updated May 25, 2022 | 11:48 pm

Photo by Gage Johnson

Owensboro Catholic had a clean sweep of the 3rd Region Tennis Championship on Wednesday as the boys and girls claimed regional titles, while Dylan Mather of Owensboro won his second straight regional title in boys singles.

Houston and Cooper Danzer set the tone for the boys team, grabbing the regional title in doubles with a 6-3, 6-3, win. Head Coach Noell Clayton said he was proud of the boys team for claiming the first region championship in a few years, saying that it was a joy to coach such a tight-knit group.

On the girls side it was freshman Ella Cason who led the way, grabbing her second straight regional singles title with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Cason said that the key to her success amongst heavy winds was to just stay even-keeled throughout the match.

“Today I was just working on staying calm and hitting through my shots,” Cason said. “I knew if I stayed calm and did that and focused, I would just be able to hit great today. I did hit great today. Especially my serves, they were on point.”

Cason admitted that there was a little extra pressure the second time around, given the expectations of a defending regional champion. However, playing against and with familiar foes helped her feel more comfortable in the moment.

“Honestly I think it’s a little more pressure since you have a high standard,” Cason said. “But I know a lot of people throughout our region, so playing with my friends just took off a lot of pressure.”

Now with a second chance at a state title, Cason doesn’t want to change a single thing when it comes to her gameplan physically and mentlaly in order to continue to be successful.

“I know just having the same mindset I kind of had going into regionals [will help],” Cason said. “Just staying calm and focused through every match [is key] and I know having everyone’s support behind me, I’m just going to hopefully do my best.”

Cason and Clayton were also very proud of the duo of Elizabeth Hayden and Aisha Merchant, who grabbed the regional doubles championship with a 6-1, 6-1 win.

The Red Devils were represented by a defending regional champion of their own in Dylan Mather, as the senior went toe-to-toe with Grayson County. He came out on top with a 6-1, 6-3, win to grab his second straight championship despite dealing with some adversity with wild winds.

“I had to definitely stay focused on the fact that it was affecting him just as bad as it was affecting me,” Mather said. “It’s tricky wind because it’s vertical, so it’s side to side. One side you’re getting pulled way back to the fence and one side all your balls are going out. So it’s just a huge mental battle.”

With this being his senior year, Mather now turns his attention to state. Mather is hoping to close out his successful high school career on a high note, feeling confident at his chance to win it all at state.

“I feel confident,” Mather said. “I feel really good. I feel better than I did last year. I feel like my fitness is better than it was last year and I’m more comfortable with my game than I did last year.”

May 26, 2022 | 12:05 am

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