By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the last 41 years, the team that won the most matches in singles and doubles at the Kentucky state high school tennis tournament was declared the overall team champion.
Louisville St. Xavier took 29 of the 41 boys team titles with the last two coming in 2021 and 2022 before Covington Catholic finished on top in last year’s team standings. In the this year’s first actual state tournament for teams, those two will face off in the semifinal round at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the University of Kentucky.
Team members will play three singles and two doubles matches. The one that wins three of them will advance to the boys championship final at noon. Ashland Blazer and McCracken County will meet in the other 9 a.m. semifinal.
In the first two rounds on Monday, CovCath won by 3-0 scores over Lexington Dunbar and Corbin. Brady Hussey and Alex Yeager went 2-0 in singles. The other victories came from two sets of doubles partners — Kalei Christensen and Will Tribble against Dunbar and Blake Hussey and Tribble against Corbin.
The Colonels’ lineup could change for the semifinal matches on Tuesday. But there’s likely to be a rematch between Brady Hussey and William Lewis of St. Xavier at No. 1 singles.
Last week, Lewis was the top seed in state tournament’s singles bracket and Brady Hussey upset him, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, in the semifinals. Hussey, a four-time 9th Region champion, lost in the state final on Thursday and one day later announced that he had accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Dayton.
In the girls tennis team tournament on Monday, Notre Dame defeated Ashland Blazer, 3-0, in the first round and lost to McCracken County, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. The semifinal matches at 10;30 a.m. Tuesday at UK will be McCracken County vs. Corbin and Louisville Sacred Heart vs. South Warren.
Notre Dame basketball player announces commitment with Yale
Notre Dame basketball player Sophie Gibson, one of three local girls selected for the Kentucky Junior All Stars team, has made a commitment with the Yale University women’s program.
The 6-foot-4 center averaged 13.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field in her junior season at Notre Dame. The Pandas posted a 21-10 record with mostly underclassmen in the starting lineup and Gibson was named to the Division I all-conference team.
Like all members of the Ivy League, Yale does not offer athletic scholarships. But Gibson is an outstanding student who maintains a 4.1 GPA and ranks among the top students in her class.
The other local players on the Kentucky Junior All Stars team were Newport Central Catholic guard Caroline Eaglin and Highlands forward Marissa Green. Last weekend, their team won a game against the Kentucky Senior All Stars, 79-78, on a last-second shot and lost to the Indiana Junior All Stars, 111-76.
The Kentucky-Indiana All Stars series for seniors will be this weekend. There are no local players on the Kentucky boys and girls teams that will play Indiana Friday at Lexington Catholic High School and Saturday in Indianapolis.
Walton-Verona will introduce new head football coach on Tuesday
Gary Pence will be introduced as the new head coach of the Walton-Verona football team during a ceremony that begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the high school building.
Pence was an assistant on the Cooper football coaching staff the last 10 years. The Jaguars made it to the Class 5A state championship game last season and finished with a 12-3 record.
“I had the honor of being a part of the state championship run at Cooper last year, and that is what I want to build here at Walton,” Pence said in a post on Facebook.
Jeff Barth resigned as Walton-Verona’s head football coach with a record of 117-63 over the last 15 seasons. His teams posted a winning record for 13 consecutive years and won a playoff game every year except one during that span.