16th Region Tennis Finals Held Wednesday
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the Ashland Tennis Center hosted the Regional High School Tennis Championships. As multitudes of young talented tennis players made their way to this familiar place, they all shared a common goal… to represent their school with dignity and grace and to take home the title of regional champions.
While every young man and young lady who took to the courts that day showed up to compete and put on quite an impressive display of sportsmanship, only a few would walk away with the honor of being named regional champion. In singles competition, the courts were hot as Ashland’s Abby Meek dominated Rose Hill’s Laken Deerfield within the first two sets with a score of 6-0 in both. This made Meek’s third consecutive regional championship title.
Ashland Blazer’s Alden Johnson also took home his third consecutive regional championship title in his singles competition against Rowan County’s Chris Gray. After besting his Rowan County opponent in the first set with a score of 6-0, Johnson took the win for second set as well with a score of 6-1 making him the 2023 High School Boys Regional Champion for singles and holding on to his Regional title for the third year in a row.
Johnson and Meek weren’t the only ones to walk away with a win Wednesday evening. In the girls doubles competition, Rose Hill’s Isabel Hensley and Abigail Justus carefully calculated every serve, stroke and set against Russell’s Bella Quinn and Ava O’Neal who did not go down without a fight. Hensley and Justus defeated their Russell opponents in just two sets. The first set was 6-4, and the second set was 7-6 with a tiebreaker of 7-5. This made the third consecutive year that Rose Hill had retained this title.
In the boys doubles competition, it was Russell’s Gunner Cassity and Max Newman who walked away with the crown. This dynamic duo’s win came after an all-out battle with Boyd County’s Ethan Parsons and Dylan Amos, who both put up fight. Cassity and Newman took the first set with a score of 6-1, but it was Boyd County’s Parsons and Amos who took the second set with a score of 6-2. After an edge of your seat tiebreaker, Cassity and Newman took the win with a final score of 10-7.
The 2023 Sportsmanship Awards went to Russell’s Ava O’Neal and Rose Hill’s Benton Rucker. Ashland’s Abby Meek and Boyd County’s Ethan Parsons were both presented with the $1000 Julie Ditty Qualls Scholarship by the GATA. The overall team results are as follows:
GIRLS: 1st Place- Ashland Blazer, 2nd Place- Russell, and 3rd Place- Rose Hill
BOYS: 1st Place- Russell, 2nd Place- Ashland Blazer, and 3rd Place- Rowan County.
A special thanks goes out to Coach Eddie Sizemore who directed the regional tournament, Ashland Tennis Center Manager Jerry Groce, Tennis Association members, and of course all the dedicated coaches, players, and parents. Congratulations to everyone, and good luck in Lexington at the Kentucky State High School Tennis Championships.
