Region’s Best Tennis Players Meet at Greenwood for 4th Region Tournament this week
By Perry Swack
The 4th Region Tennis Tournament will be played for the first time in two years as area tennis teams hit the court to decide who the best players are in the Greater Bowling Green Area. Four different tournament brackets will be commenced at Greenwood High School over the span of six days – the boys’ singles, girls’ singles, boys’ doubles, and girl’s doubles. Sixteen schools from the 4th Region will partake in the festivities, with each school having the ability to field up to two entries (for a maximum of eight) in each field. The top four individuals (or duos) in each bracket will advance to the state tournament.
2019 Results
Girls’ Singles
Champion: Konnor Gallagher, Metcalfe County
Runner-Up: Greer Glossick, Greenwood
Semifinalists (state qualifiers): Hannah Jukes, Bowling Green & Sara Newton, Allen County-Scottsville
Girls’ Doubles
Champion: Natalie Noble & Sydney Cassady, South Warren
Runner-Up: Christie Lin & Kate Young, Greenwood
Semifinalists (state qualifiers): Lauren Barnes & Kara Noffsinger, Logan County and Taylor Carter & Abby Stamps, Allen County-Scottsville
Girls’ Singles Preview
26 girls are in the 4th Region singles’ bracket this year, each looking to play their way into the state tournament. The top two seeds hail from Greenwood, as eighth grader Arden Dethridge holds the top seed and is followed up by #2 seed Greer Glosick. Glosick, a sophomore, was the runner-up in 2019 and qualified for the state tournament. GHS coach, Tim Dethridge, had high praise for his girls’ squad. “We have had a tremendous season,” he noted. “The girls have been led by Arden Dethridge. She is only an eighth grader, but she has worked extremely hard in the offseason to help solidify our lineup.” The tournament’s 3-seed is Sara Newton of Allen County-Scottsville. The senior qualified for the 2019 state tournament as a region semifinalist. She is seeded to make it back to state again. The 4-seed is Campbell Richey of Bowling Green and the 5-seed is Taryn Deckard of Metcalfe County. Baylee Hart of Russell County (#6) and Luna Poole of South Warren (#7) round out the seeded players for the girls’ singles event. Six of the top seven seeds will receive opening round byes. The opening round will be played in its entirety on Thursday, May 20. The round of 16 and quarterfinals will be played on Saturday, May 22. The semifinals will be held on Monday, May 24, and the championship match on Tuesday, May 25 at 4:30pm.
Girls’ Doubles Preview
27 duos are entered in the 4th Region doubles’ tournament bracket. The South Warren pair of Natalie Noble and Sydney Cassady won the 2019 region title, and another Lady Spartan team is favored to win the 2021 title. Meghan Martin and Hannah Evans are the #1 seed for the event. They most recently won the Region Elite Tournament at Greenwood against some of the area’s best tennis duos. Greenwood’s Kate Young and Maria Crowe are seeded second and will look to win the title after Young finished second in the 2019 event Christie Lin. The 3-seed will be Macy Meisel and Elizabeth Maglinger of Bowling Green and the 4-seed is Ashley Parks and Avery Overmohle of Greenwood. The girls’ doubles tournament is similarly scheduled to the singles. The opening round matches are all on Thursday, followed by the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals will be on Monday and the championship on Tuesday at 4:30pm.
With two of the top four seeds represented by Greenwood in both the girls’ singles and doubles, Coach Dethridge likes his team chances. “I think they have positioned themselves to have a good postseason,” he noted. “The girls finished third in Match Madness, won the Leachman Cup, and finished runners-up in the KHSTCA Section 1 Championship.”
Check back throughout the weekend and early next week for more coverage of the 4th Region Tennis Tournament.
