4th Region Girls Tennis Preview
By Perry Swack
Storylines abound as the 4th Region singles and doubles tennis championships begin this week in Bowling Green. The boys’ singles and doubles events will be held at Buchanon Park, while the girls’ events will be at nearby South Warren High School. The tournaments will begin on Friday, May 17 at 9:30am. It will continue on Saturday, May 18 before the semifinals on 5/20 and finals on 5/21 complete the yearly championship.
On the girls’ side it all begins with three-time defending singles champion, Arden Dethridge of Greenwood. The junior has won the last three region titles in girls’ singles but will compete in the doubles’ event this year with Avery Overmohle. Overmohle reached the quarterfinals of the state doubles in 2023 and the round of 16 in 2022, pairing with Greer Glosick. Although Dethridge and Glosick have as much postseason experience as nearly anyone in the 4th Region, there will be mostly fresh faces behind the Lady Gator duo. “The girls are really young, but are talented,” noted head coach Tim Dethridge. “We will have first-year region players Julianne Ashby, a seventh grader, paired with Meredy Law, a ninth grader.” While Dethridge and Overmohle are seeded first in the event, Ashby and Law are seeded seventh. Both groups will receive a first-round bye.
Although the Lady Gators are the top seed, the Lady Spartans of South Warren have won seven-straight titles in girls’ doubles. Ainsley Stobaugh paired with Morgan Robertson last season to win the region title; however, she will be paired with Cesca Poole this season. The duo are seeded second. Poole was the region runner-up in 2023 in singles and was a semifinalist in the ‘22 doubles alongside Robertson. South also boasts the #3 seed in Peyton Lemily and Paisley Harris. The high seeds are a reflection of a successful season for the Lady Spartans. “We’ve had a really good year,” said head coach Chad Young. “The girls are 17-3 which ties the school record for wins in a season. Both teams have played some of the best teams in the state as well as some quality teams in Tennessee.”
The other pairings that will receive a bye include Allen County Scottsville’s Kennedy Carter and Allison Ford seeded fourth after reaching the region quarterfinals a season ago. Russell County’s Ellie Terry and Breanna Trautman are fifth after also reaching the quarters in ‘23. Barren County’s Madeline Prichard/Lauren Neville duo (sixth) and Metcalfe County’s Bree Jolly/Aubrey Glass (eighth) round out the final byes for the doubles event.
While South Warren has dominated girls’ doubles, Greenwood has won five of the last six singles titles. The Lady Gators are seeded #1 and #2 in the bracket. Seventh-grader Chloe Dickens is the top seed and freshman Addison Hales is second. South’s Morgan Robertson is seeded third and will play singles in ‘24 after a successful run in doubles over the last few years, as noted above. Lady Spartan teammate Luna Poole is seeded fourth and is 12-0 on the season. In girls’ singles only four byes are awarded, meaning the remaining 28 players will begin playing Friday morning at SWHS.
The remaining four seeded players are as follows:
#5 Addyson McFall, Barren County
#6 Helenda Mehner, Allen County-Scottsville
#7 Abby Helm, Russell County
#8 Jacinda Dwyer, Warren East
The semifinalists in both the singles and doubles events will qualify for the state tournament which will be held May 28-30 at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville.
