By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Three of the four Region 9 champions in boys and girls tennis earned berths in the state tournament by winning two matches in a semi-state qualifier played Wednesday on indoor courts in Lexington.
This is the first year that semi-state rounds were played at four sites. The singles and doubles brackets for the boys and girls state tournament will be comprised of players who reached the semifinals in each qualifier.
Covington Catholic singles player Blake Hussey and doubles partners Will Tribble and Jacob Kramer are the Region 9 boys champions who advanced to the season finale.
The only Northern Kentucky entry in the girls state tournament will be the region champion Ryle doubles team of Niveditha Selvaraju and Avery Love.
The other semifinalists who earned boys state tournament berths are Dixie Heights doubles partners Neel Reedy and Andrew Dunaway and Ryle singles player Navneeth Selvaraju.
Scores from the semi-state matches involving local players are posted on the khsaa.org website.
The singles and doubles state tournament will be played Tuesday and Wednesday at the University of Kentucky. The boys and girls team state tournament is scheduled for May 28-29 at the same site.
First-round matches in the team tournament on May 28 include CovCath vs. Pikeville in boys and Scott vs. Ryle in girls. CovCath won the boys team title the last two years.