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BOYS' PREP TENNIS: Area boys have historic day at state tournament (05/23)

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By Greg Crews
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 8:00 pm

 

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By GREG CREWS gcrews@thenewsenterprise.com LEXINGTON — Apparently just making it to the state tournament is no longer enough for area boys’ tennis players. In 5th Region record-shattering fashion Thursday at the KHSAA Boys’ State Tennis Tournament, seven of the region’s eight entries — all of whom are from area schools — came away with first-round wins, including first-ever wins at State by LaRue County and Meade County. “First of all, I thought our region had great representation from all the teams that took part in the state tournament,” said LaRue County coach Chris Estes, whose Hawks nabbed three wins in the first round of the tournament, which was held at the University of Kentucky. “As far as my kids, our goal out here was to have fun and to compete and they met both of those expectations.” Sophomore Prince Tantiwong became LaRue County’s first boy to win a match at the state tournament as he got the Hawks off and running with a victory in his early morning match against Daviess County’ Wes Whitmer, 6-0, 6-0. However, in what turned out to be a reoccurring trend for area players, things got a bit more difficult in the second round. For his next match Tantiwong had the not-so-great fortune of going up against South Oldham’s Eric Quigley, the three-time defending State champion and No. 1 seed. “He was about 20 times better,” Tantiwong said when asked to compare Quigley with Whitmer. “He was good. He was very good.” Tantiwong did manage to take one game from Quigley as he fired off three straight winners and even drew some commotion from the crowd as he held serve to the tie the first set at 1-1. But the loss just seemed to fire up Quigley, who went on to win, 6-1, 6-0. “I was just like, ‘That’s it. I got it,’” Tantiwong said. “Winning one game against him was enough for me.” It was a nearly identical day for both of Central Hardin’s singles players. Senior Jacob Blevins, who became the first Bruin to win a match at State last season, opened the day by downing Christian County’s John Harbold, 6-1, 6-0. In the second round, Blevins fell 6-0, 6-1 to fourth-seeded Jimmy Roebker of Covington Catholic. “I played well, he just obviously overmatched me. But I played hard and I have nothing to regret,” said Blevins, who capped a career which included three straight region finals appearances and one region championship. “I’m proud of what I have accomplished. I have a title that can never be broken. I was Central Hardin’s first boy to win a match at State.” Meanwhile, junior Zach Thomas helped create a little more history for the Bruins with a win in his first match, keeping the Bruins flawless in the first round for back-to-back years. Thomas handily defeated Morgan County’s Joseph Litteral in the first round, 6-0, 6-0 before falling to Garrard County’s No. 2 seed, Phillip Arndt, 6-0, 6-1. “(Arndt) is just on a different level than I am right now. I just have to practice as much as I can to have a chance to get to that level,” said Thomas, the 5th Region singles champion. “(This season) was really good. I set my goals to win region and I got that. Then I set my goals here and I won the first round and I wish I could have taken two or three games from the No. 2 seed. I think that would have been big for me, but I tried my best.” Breaking through the opening round first on the doubles side was Meade County’s junior duo of Jonah Cundiff and David Medley. Despite being the Green Wave’s first state tournament entry since 1996, Cundiff and Medley dominated Garrard County’s Jacob Wilson and Kenny Delver, 6-0, 6-3. In their next match, they fell to Kentucky Country Day’s No. 9-16-seeded team of Mac Davis and Collier Bouchillion, 6-0, 6-1. “I’m pretty disappointed in the way we played in that second match, but I guess it is pretty cool that we were the first team in 12 years to go to State (from Meade County),” Medley said. However, the two claim that there was never a doubt that they would make it to the state tournament this season. “It wasn’t a surprise, we planned on coming to State,” Cundiff said. “Hopefully we’ll be back.” Also making a bit of history were LaRue County’s Terry Caven and Dylan Parr. The two became the Hawks’ first doubles team to nab a win at State when they battled to a three-set victory over Owensboro Catholic’s Alex Bumm and Jacob Kamuf, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The two nearly took it a step further as they battled back and fourth with the No. 5 seed from Paducah Lone Oak (Mark Kaltenbach and Chris Pallas), before falling, 6-4, 6-3. “This was actually pretty cool,” Parr, a freshman, said of his first experience at State. “It’s a lot different than region, because there are so many more people watching. So you get a boost of confidence right there.” For Caven, a senior, the day marked the end to a memorable high school career. “All day I’ve wanted for Terry to get to play on the stadium courts,” Estes said. “For him to get to go out on the University of Kentucky stadium courts and be as competitive as he was, was just outstanding.” Quickly following Caven and Parr’s historic feat were sophomores Kenny Albert and Austin Harding, LaRue County’s No. 2 doubles team. The two stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first set against Henderson County’s Clinton Berry and Clay Chapman, and went on to win 6-1, 6-4. The second round was more of a learning experience than anything for the two as they dueled with Louisville Christian Academy’s No. 2-seeded team of Colby Buchanan and Brett Johnson, falling 6-0, 6-0. “This was pretty huge for us,” Albert said. “Our first trip to State and we win our first match. That was pretty cool.” “That (first match) was probably the best we’ve ever played,” Harding said. The final area team to bow out from the tournament was Elizabethtown’s duo of senior Samad Faheem and junior Hunter Hazle. The two ran into a bit of trouble in their first match as they dropped the first set to North Laurel’s James Montgomery and Gil Bagang, 6-4. However, the two rallied back to win the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 before falling to Louisville St. Xavier’s No. 9-16-seeded team of Brian Buehner and Chad Lavelle in the second round, 6-0, 6-1. “That first match was pretty tough. There were a lot of ups and downs, but we pulled through,” said Faheem, who capped his career with his fifth trip to State. “(The second match) was a good match to go out on. It’s always been a privilege to get to come here to State and it has been a lot of fun for me.” The only player not to advance past the first round was a player who never even envisioned making it to State in tennis. LaRue County senior Shawn Seymour fell to Henry Clay’s Michael Soto, 6-0, 6-1. “Dad always said he wanted me to go to State, it didn’t matter what sport. I never expected it to be tennis before this year,” said Seymour, who also plays baseball, basketball and golf for LaRue County. “I guess today, the tennis player beat the baseball player.” Greg Crews can be reached at 505-1754

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