Three matches, three comebacks for Henry Clay tennis at regionals
No one can say this year’s edition of the 11th Region high school tennis tournament at Top Seed Tennis Club lacked drama, especially for Henry Clay.
“I’m shaking, right now,” said the Blue Devils’ Sarah Clark, who had just survived a 10-8 tiebreaker with doubles partner Kennedy Herring for the region title. Clark and Herring trailed 4-2 in the first set before rallying to win it and then dropped the second set 6-2 to set up Kentucky’s unique high school tennis tiebreaker.
“I’m crying more now than I would if we would have lost that,” Herring added. “It was really scary.”
But that was just part of Henry Clay’s heroics.
Earlier, sophomore Evan Duggal captured the boys’ singles title by escaping a 3-0 deficit in the second set. Then in the afternoon boys’ doubles finals, Niko Klyachkin and Arthur Sultanov rallied from a set down to force another tiebreak victory for the Blue Devils.
“I guess we’re just good at coming back and winning,” Sultanov said.
The victories helped Henry Clay win the boys’ team title. By reaching the finals of two events, Lexington Catholic took the girls’ team championship.
Meanwhile, in the girls’ singles finals, Scott County’s Olivia Gallagher, who will be a favorite at next month’s state tennis tournament, captured her fourth consecutive region title to see out her senior year.
“It’s kind of bittersweet knowing that it’s my last region tournament here,” Gallagher said. “But I’ve loved every second of it. I’ve had so much support through my team, (Coach Zan Rexroat). … I’m really going to miss it.”
Losses avenged
In both boys’ singles and girls’ doubles, Henry Clay’s players avenged defeats suffered at the hands of their finals foes earlier in the season.
Duggal broke the serve of Tates Creek’s top seed, senior Zach White, in the first set and calmly held on, 6-3, for the early 1-0 set advantage. But then he had his own serve broken early in the second, putting him in a 3-0 hole.
“My footwork was better and I think I handled myself better, too,” Duggal said. “When I played him a week ago, I was giving him a lot of opportunities and he was taking advantage, and he also played very well when I played him. This time, I just raised the level a little bit. I also got lucky on a few points here or there. This match could have gone to three sets, too if that hadn’t happened.”
Even with the deficit in the second set, Henry Clay Coach John Herring had confidence in Duggal.
“He returns so well, there’s no game that he can’t win,” Herring said. “To win the (second) set 6-4, that’s just really strong.”
Clark and Herring lost on a tiebreaker to Lexington Catholic’s Madison Miller and Hallie Lathram in their first tilt and started abysmally Thursday before rallying from down 4-2 to win the first set 6-4.
Then, Clark and Herring got steamrolled 6-2 in the second set.
“We kind of came into this trying to put no pressure on ourselves, but there was pressure,” Herring said. “I think we just got ourselves back together. Tried to get balls in, make points and do what we could.”
The Blue Devils shot to the lead in the first-to-10-by-2 third set tiebreaker but saw LexCath tie it at 8-8. Clark’s turn to serve came up with a 9-8 lead.
“I knew I just have to trust myself. Because if I trust myself and I swing out I can get it in,” Clark said. “It’s when I get nervous, I get tight, and I can’t swing through. I’ve hit this serve a thousand times. I can hit it right now.”
It was a shaky win, but a win — and one for a crown.
“We’re not very good at tiebreakers, but we won this one,” Clark admitted. “That’s all that matters.”
Coach Herring, who coaches along with wife Christy as an assistant, couldn’t hide the emotion of seeing another of his kids capture a region title. Kennedy Herring, a junior, follows in the footsteps of her brother, Andrew, who was a three-time region champ a decade ago.
“To get our youngest through and get her to win one, I’m very proud,” Herring said.
New partner, same result
Sultanov combined with Duggal in 2019 for the region title in boys’ doubles in 2019. This time around, the junior and Klyachkin, an eighth-grader, fended off a challenge from Madison Southern’s Hechemy brothers, Cam and Chase, the 2018 12th Region champs.
Early miscues brought a 4-6 first-set loss and some visible frustration for Henry Clay.
“They were playing unbelievable and getting a little more luckier than us. I would say we got a little more lucky in the second set with some shots, but no, we just … started making shots,” Sultanov said.
The momentum shifted.
“That was a struggle. Those guys (the Hechemys), I knew they would come out and play well,” Herring said. “We kind of hung around and survived.”
Henry Clay got and early service break of Madison Southern and won the second set 6-3. Then they jumped to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker, virtually sealing it.
“After you win the second set, you feel like you can keep winning. So in the tiebreaker we came in with a lot of confidence, I’d say,” Sultanov said.
Four-time champ
Scott County’s Gallagher breezed through the early rounds of this year’s tournament, dropping only seven games in five matches heading into the finals.
Lexington Catholic sophomore Jaycie Mair got a service break off Gallagher early and an upset seemed possible, but Gallagher remained poised.
“I felt like I played one of my best matches of the tournament,” Gallagher said after her 6-4, 6-2 win. “It was a little tight in the first set, but I just tried to get through it by focusing on every point.”
Next up, Gallagher will try to make another run for a state title. She came up just short in 2019, losing in the finals. The state tournament will be held June 1-3 at the University of Kentucky’s Boone/Downing Tennis Complex and at Top Seed.
“It was a great experience,” she said of 2019. “I played a great match in the semis that tournament, a real close one. I didn’t have enough gas to get me through the final, but there’s always another opportunity. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for it.”
11th Region tennis
(All semifinalists advance to the state tournament)
Boys’ singles
Champion: Evan Duggal, Henry Clay (6-3, 6-4); Finalist: Zach White, Tates Creek; Semifinalists: Shane Landis, Sayre; Kian Rosenau, Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Girls’ singles
Champion: Olivia Gallagher, Scott County (6-4, 6-2); Finalist: Jaycie Mair, Lexington Catholic; Semifinalists: Helena Weiss, Lafayette; Greer Webb, Sayre.
Boys’ doubles
Champion: Niko Klyachkin/Arthur Sultanov, Henry Clay (4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5 tiebreaker)); Finalist: Cam Hechemy/Chase Hechemy, Madison Southern; Semifinalists: Isaiah Smith/Logan Blakemore, Lexington Christian; Wenxaing Sun/Jake Walters, Henry Clay.
Girls’ doubles
Champion: Sarah Clark/Kennedy Herring, Henry Clay (6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8 tiebreaker)); Finalist: Madison Miller/Hallie Lathram, Lexington Catholic; Semifinalists: Sydney Zakic/Megan Moore, Scott County; Greta Blakemore/Kate Farley, Lexington Christian.
Boys’ team standings: 1. Henry Clay (14); 2. Lexington Christian (8); 3. Sayre (7); 4. Paul Laurence Dunbar (6).
Girls’ team standings: 1. Lexington Catholic (10); 2. Scott County (9); 3. Henry Clay (8); T4. Lafayette (6) and Lexington Christian (6).
Girls’ All-Region Team
Olivia Gallagher, Scott County; Helena Weiss, Lafayette; Greer Webb, Sayre; Jaycie Mair, Lexington Catholic; Madison Miller, Lexington Catholic; Hallie Lathram, Lexington Catholic; Sydney Zakic, Scott County; Megan Moore, Scott County; Greta Blakemore, Lexington Christian; Kate Farley, Lexington Christian; Sarah Clark, Henry Clay; Kennedy Herring, Henry Clay; Ella Abney, Frankfort; Madeleine Lepley, Lafayette; Sophia Miller, Lexington Catholic; Jacey Wilson, Madison Central.
Boys’ All-Region Team
Zach White, Tates Creek; Shane Landis, Sayre; Kian Rosenau, Paul Laurence Dunbar; Evan Duggal, Henry Clay; Niko Klyachkin, Henry Clay; Arthur Sultanov, Henry Clay; Isaiah Smith, Lexington Christian; Logan Blakemore, Lexington Christian; Wenxiang Sun, Henry Clay; Jake Walters, Henry Clay; Chase Hechemy, Madison Southern; Cameron Hechemy, Madison Southern; John Benson, Model; Tyler Fox, Sayre; Leo Fults, Lexington Christian; Zachary Thompson, Lafayette.
Other honors
11th Region Coach of the Year Award: Girls–Ann Tramontin Bruggeman, Lexington Catholic; Boys–Charles Matthews, Sayre.
USTA Senior Sportsmanship Award: Girls–Helena Weiss, Lafayette; Boys–Shane Landis, Sayre.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 10:24 AM.
