By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper senior Kayla Johnson will become her team’s first three-time Region 9 singles champion if she lives up to the No. 1 seed in the girls tournament that’s scheduled to begin Wednesday morning at Boone Woods Park in Burlington.
Johnson was the only underclassmen who reached the final four in last year’s bracket. She defeated Beechwood senior Sadie Jones to repeat as region champion. Cooper’s other two-time region champion in girls singles was Ellie Zureick in 2018 and 2019.
The top seeds in the Region 9 girls doubles tournament are Avery Love and Niveditha Salvaraju of Ryle. They won the doubles title the last two years and this will be their last season together since Salvaraju is a senior.
Notre Dame junior Lilliana Berling landed the No. 2 seed in singles. She made it to the quarterfinals in last year’s tournament. Two of her teammates — Isabella Mcelwee and Malia Christiansen — are seeded No. 2 in doubles.
Dixie Heights doubles partners Cassidy Derry and Isabella Norvell are seeded No. 3 even though they made it to the region final last year.
The singles players and doubles teams that make it to the Region 9 semifinals will advance to a semi-state tournament on May 20 at Lexington Sayre High School. Those brackets will also include finalists from Regions 10, 11, and 12.
The Region 9 boys tennis tournament will begin Saturday at Covington Catholic High School. The seeds and brackets for that tournament should be posted on Wednesday.
TOP SEEDS FOR REGION 6 GIRLS TENNIS TOURNAMENT
SINGLES
1 — Kayla Johnson (Cooper), 2 — Lilliana Berling (Notre Dame), 3 — Natalie Elleman (Conner), 4 — Emma Ahlers (Beechwood), 5 — Brooklyn Espizito (Notre Dame), 6 — Madison Hosea (Highlands), 7 — Linko Nakajo (Ryle), 8 — Sara Saunders (Conner).
DOUBLES
1 — Avery Love & Niveditha Salvaraju (Ryle), 2 — Isabella Mcelwee & Malia Christiansen (Notre Dame), 3 — Cassidy Derry & Isabella Norvell (Dixie Heights), 4 — Aurora Sandfoss & Bethany Arnett (Conner), 5 — Lila Harris & Eva Tully (Notre Dame), 6 — Ava Muzemdar & Sydney Lehman (Highlands), 7 — Grace Fette & Kayleigh McCormick (St. Henry), 8 — Hailey Ryan & Bella Middendorf (Newport Central Catholic).
Ryle advances to Region 6 semifinals in boys volleyball
Ryle and Oldham County, the top two seeds in the Region 6 boys volleyball tournament, advanced to the semifinals with three-set victories Tuesday at Simon Kenton High School.
Defending champion Ryle defeated Collins, 25-21, 25-15, 21-17, in the upper bracket and Oldham County knocked off Scott, 25-5, 25-17, 25-13, in the lower bracket. If both of those teams win semifinal matches on Thursday, they’ll face each other in the region final for the second consecutive year.
Their semifinal opponents will be determined Wednesday when Walton-Verona meets Calvary Christian in the lower bracket at 5:30 p.m. and Simon Kenton takes on North Oldham in the upper bracket at 7 p.m.
Simon Kenton senior outside hitter Nehemiah Kaai was named Region 6 Player of the Year by members of the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association. He leads the Pioneers in kills (201), digs (123) and service aces (57) in the team’s first season of competition.
Heather Kidd of Ryle was named Region 6 Coach of the Year. The Raiders have a 15-3 record that includes an 11-0 mark against region opponents.
Head coach of Holmes boys basketball team resigns
Sam Elsbernd is stepping down as boys head basketball coach at Holmes after his teams posted records of 12-17 and 15-14 over the last two seasons.
The Bulldogs finished 2-22 and 3-22 the two seasons before Elsbernd took charge. At that time, he said he wanted to “restore pride” in the program. This season, Holmes won eight of its last 13 games and the NKAC Division III tournament title.
Elsbernd spent four seasons as Pendleton County boys head coach and two seasons as Bracken County girls head coach before returning to Holmes, where he graduated and began his career as an assistant coach. He was on the staff when the Bulldogs won the 2009 state championship.