NKY boys, girls fall short of tennis titles
LEXINGTON For the first time in 19 years, Northern Kentucky had boys' and girls' singles finalists at the KHSAA State Tennis Championships, but Saturday wasn't a double-crown day for the area.
The big surprise at University of Kentucky Boone-Downing Tennis Complex was in the boys' final, where top-seeded defending champion Austin Hussey of Covington Catholic was upset by No. 2 seed Brandon Lancaster of St. Xavier in a rematch of last year's final.
The grueling afternoon match went to a supertiebreaker, Lancaster outlasting Hussey, 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8).
"I played well, but he played better," said a dejected Hussey, who was attempting to become the second CovCath player to repeat. The Colonels' Jimmy Roebker won back-to-back titles in 2009-10.
Hussey, the Ninth Region champion, eliminated St. Xavier No. 5 seed Drew Singerman, 6-2, 6-4, in the morning semifinals.
It was not a good day for defending champions.
On the girls' side, Highlands' No. 4 seed Meredith Laskey earned the singles final after upsetting top-seeded defending champion Madeline Rolfe of Sayer, 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Laskey, a junior, played No. 3-seeded freshman Michelle McKamey of McCracken County in the final and lost 6-4, 6-1 in an attempt to become the first-ever Highlands girl to win the singles crown. She was seeking to become just the second girls' champion from the area following Madie Cook in 2012 for Notre Dame Academy. Laskey, the 10th Region champion, made the quarterfinals last year.
"I was very happy with the way I played," said Laskey, who finished with a record of 21-3. "I had a lot of opportunities. But once she was on, she played a great match."
Laskey, the first Highlands girl in the final since Kim Draud made her second appearance in 1990, was trying to become the first Highlands state singles champion since Todd Clements won for the boys in 1980. There was one other Highlands champion -- Joe O'Brien in 1932 -- the first year the boys' tournament occurred. Draud also made the girls' final in 1988. The tournament began in 1960.
Also at Saturday's girls' championships, Highlands' No. 5-seeded doubles team, sisters Abby and Lexi Herman lost 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals to Maci Ferguson and Kierstin Hensley of Russell. Like Laskey, they also improved their advancement after getting eliminated in last year's quarterfinals.
The area had players in both the boys' and girls' singles final for the first time since 1995, when Notre Dame's Kara Molony, Hussey's mother, and Covington Catholic's Ben Schreiber lost in the finals. It was just the third time ever. Locals also made both finals in 1990 when Draud for Highlands and Jason Yeager for Dixie Heights earned championship matches. Yeager won the second of back-to-back titles that year.
Hussey was looking to become the 10th local boys' singles champion after beating Lancaster 6-4, 7-5 in last year's final. He wound up suffering his first loss and finishing 15-1 while having his state tournament 10-match winning streak snapped.
"I think this year, Brandon was much more consistent, and he was able to dictate more points," CovCath coach Al Hertsenberg said. "He had Austin deep on the court more than we would like."
Lancaster capped a 25-3 season with his first state title. "Last year, I think I was shellshocked to be in the final," he said. "This year, I wasn't surprised by the moment, and I knew what to expect, and went out there and played well."
Hussey and Lancaster are ending their junior years. They expect to be the top seeds at next year's tournament. They could meet a third time in the 2015 final.