By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic tennis player Blake Hussey is two victories away from adding a state singles championship to the doubles title he won last season.
Hussey received the top seed in the boys singles bracket for the state tournament that began Tuesday on indoor courts in Lexington. The junior won two matches in straight sets to reach the semifinals and will play South Warren freshman Harris Shahbaz at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
CovCath doubles partners William Tribble and Jacob Kramer got to the state semifinals for the second straight year with a pair of victories on Tuesday, but the second one didn’t come easily.
They had to win a third-set tiebreaker, 10-5, to get past No. 3 seeds Marion Whitfield and Sushanth Muthuluru of Louisville Manual in the quarterfinals.
Tribble and Kramer will face top-seeded Logan Elliott and Aditya Shah of Louisville St. Xavier in the semifinal round at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Last year, Shah and a different partner defeated the CovCath duo in the semifinals.
Neel Reddy and Andrew Dunaway of Beechwood lost to No. 4 seeds Ben Hanson and Nolan Parsons of Elizabethtown, 6-2, 6-3, in the boys doubles quarterfinals.
In the girls state tournament, Avery Love and Niveditha Selvaraju of Ryle won their first match and then lost a battle with No. 3 seeds Helen Bai & Emma Zelichenok of Louisville Manual, 7-5, 7-5.
The last Region 9 girls doubles team that made it to the state semifinals was Elizabeth Hamilton and Halimae Laurino of Ryle in 2019 when they won the state title.
STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT MATCHES
BOYS SINGLES
Blake Hussey (CovCath) def. Navneeth Selvaraju (Ryle), 6-4, 6-0.
Blake Hussey (CovCath) def. Sam Gurevich (North Oldham), 6-3, 6-4.
BOYS DOUBLES
Jacob Kramer & William Tribble (CovCath) def. Gavin Turner & Bradley Johnson (Morgan County), 6-0, 6-0.
Jacob Kramer & William Tribble (CovCath) def. Marion Whitfield and Sushanth Muthuluru (Louisville Manual), 6-7 (7-5), 6-1, 10-5.
Neel Reddy & Andrew Dunaway (Beechwood) def. Walker Gaddis & John Clay Ford (Owensboro), 6-3, 6-3.
Ben Hanson & Nolan Parsons (Elizabethtown) def. Neel Reddy & Andrew Dunaway (Beechwood), 6-2, 6-3.
GIRLS DOUBLES
Avery Love & Niveditha Selvaraju (Ryle) def. Hallie Barnett & Bonnie Smith (Boyd County), 6-2, 6-0
Helen Bai & Emma Zelichenok (Louisville Manual) def. Avery Love & Niveditha Selvaraju (Ryle), 7-5, 7-5.
Baseball, softball region tournament schedules revised
Schedules for the 9th Region softball, 10th Region baseball and 10th Region softball tournaments were revised after games on Tuesday were cancelled due to rain that swept across the area.
The 10th Region baseball tournament is set to resume on Wednesday at Brossart. Softball games were moved back to Thursday at Thomas More University for the 9th Region and Bracken County Middle School for the 10th Region.
First rounds in the baseball and softball state tournaments in Lexington are scheduled for June 4-6 with the final rounds on June 12-13.
Region softball tournaments
9TH REGION AT THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY
Thursday
Dixie Heights (16-15) vs. Ryle (21-11), 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Notre Dame (13-11) vs. Highlands (30-6), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, time to be determined
10TH REGION AT BRACKEN COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Thursday
Brossart (24-11) vs. George Rogers Clark (34-5), 5 p.m.
Harrison County (32-6) vs. Campbell County (22-8), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship game, 1 p.m.
Region baseball tournaments
9TH REGION AT THOMAS MORE STADIUM
Thursday
Championship game: Ryle (25-14) vs. Beechwood (31-9), 8 p.m.
10TH REGION AT BROSSART HIGH SCHOOL
Wednesday
Campbell County (23-13) vs. George Rogers Clark (18-14), 5 p.m.
Montgomery County (29-7) vs. Scott (17-18), 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Championship game, 6:30 p.m.
8TH REGION AT THOMAS MORE STADIUM
Wednesday
Simon Kenton (21-11) vs. South Oldham (25-8), 5:30 p.m.
North Oldham (22-6) vs. Henry County (21-12), 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Championship game, 5 p.m.