LCA’s Lankford and Lafayette’s Mooney use setbacks as fuel for tennis crowns
Although Lexington Christian’s Katie Lankford is only a sophomore, she’s paid her dues in the 11th Region tennis tournament.
As an eighth-grader, she fell in the girls singles region finals to an older defending champion. As a freshman, she took the eventual state champion, Scott County’s Sydney Zakic, to a super-tiebreaker that turned into a heartbreaker.
Eastern Kentucky University Tennis Center hosted this year’s girls and boys singles and doubles region championships on a windy Wednesday afternoon in Richmond. The team finals were held Thursday at Sayre Athletic Complex.
Lankford, the girls singles’ top seed, breezed through this week’s early rounds to reach her third straight championship match.
The nerves were bad enough. They were compounded by the fact that Lankford’s opponent, LCA junior Alisa Shevtcova, had also become her best friend since moving here from Montana last summer. The teammates had squared off against each other twice during the season. Each won one.
“I was, for sure, nervous the whole time, especially in the beginning,” Lankford said. “But as the match kept going on, I kind of forgot who was on the other side of the court, and I just kept playing and trying to play my game.”
The first set went to a tiebreaker after Lankford fended off several set points for Shevtcova.
“It was crazy,” Lankford said. “I came back. I never stopped fighting. I was up 3-0 in the second set. Then she came back again, and I kept fighting.”
Each player traded service breaks down the stretch as the gusting wind played havoc with their service games. Lankford prevailed 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to claim the region crown.
“I picked up a racket about the time I could walk,” Lankford said. “I’ve been playing tournaments since I was eight years old. I started playing high school tennis in seventh grade. I mean, I’ve worked so hard. I’m so excited. And I can’t wait to see what I can do at state.”
Both Lankford and Shevtcova, along with the other singles and doubles finalists and semifinalists, advance to the KHSAA State Tournament, which begins next week under a new format that includes first rounds at three sites around the state to alleviate scheduling issues that have plagued the event in past years.
The 11th Region’s state qualifiers will be seeded against their counterparts in the 9th, 10th and 12th regions at Sayre Athletic Complex on May 20. Winners there advance to the finals May 26 and 27 at sites around Lexington.
Lafayette’s Mooney overcomes setbacks for boys singles win
Charlie Mooney had not had the senior tennis season he envisioned. Wrist injuries and an illness kept him out of competition for most of the year. Prior to this week, he’d only played two matches, and it was a struggle.
When did last year’s region runner-up begin feeling like his old self?
“Not until last week, honestly,” Mooney said.
Mooney split the first two sets with Lexington Catholic’s Jacob Holland before prevailing 6-4, 3-6 (10-8) in a title-deciding super-tiebreaker. A No. 3 seed this year, Mooney faced a tough road to the final and had to claw for a 7-6, 6-4 win over Franklin County’s Josiah Russell in Monday’s quarterfinals.
“Some tougher matches from earlier in the tournament really helped me under the pressure,” Mooney said. “And (Lafayette) coach Charles Matthews really helped me out a lot, too.”
Holland seemed to seize enough momentum to carry the day, but with the tiebreaker knotted at 8-8, Mooney claimed back-to-back points to end the first-to-10-by-two format. The final point included a Mooney mishit off the top of his racquet that remained in play.
“It just came down to making serves and putting heavy balls in the court and, like, just like fighting and pushing through it,” Mooney said. “And some luck.”
Doubles champs a mix best friends and found chemistry
Sayre’s boys doubles team of Jack Mooney and Dhaarick Vinod and their girls counterparts from Lexington Catholic, Callie Cranfill and Stella Benedetti, took different paths to their region championships Wednesday.
Mooney, the younger brother of Lafayette’s single champion, and Vinod made a preseason presentation to their coach on why they should compete in doubles.
“Anybody who knows anything about tennis knows doubles teams are most effective when the partnership is equal and connected,” Sayre coach Ron Harper said. “They’re best friends and that translates into good tennis. It’s really fun to watch.”
Sayre’s sophomore tandem defeated Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Atharva Dang and Thomas Chandler in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, despite trailing early on.
“We were down, like, 3-2, and we won two games in a row,” Vinod said. “Once we got the lead, we just kept going.”
Vinod and Mooney’s chemistry includes making jokes to each other during the breaks, no matter how the match is going. It worked Wednesday..
“It brought up our energy a lot,” Mooney said.
Cranfill, a freshman, and Benedetti, a sophomore, competed in singles all season. Respect for their singles play meant they held the doubles competition’s No. 1 seed.
It didn’t take long for them to prove worthy of it.
“I feel like we had a lot of confidence going into it,” Benedetti said. “I’d say by our first or second match we felt confident. Today was probably our toughest match.”
Cranfill agreed.
“I feel like after the first match, we got it down,” she said.
Cranfill and Benedetti defeated Model’s Delaney Brown and Anna Tofan, 6-1, 6-3, to put a girls region doubles trophy in the LexCath showcase for a second year in a row.
Region team championship results
Lexington Christian’s girls and Lexington Catholic’s boys claimed their respective team tennis region championships Thursday afternoon at Sayre Athletic Complex.
Team tennis pits schools against each other in a best-of-five competition that includes three singles matches and two doubles matches.
In the girls final, LCA topped Lexington Catholic 3-2. In the boys final, Lexington Catholic topped Paul Laurence Dunbar 3-2.
The boys and girls team tennis state tournaments, featuring the winners from all 16 regions, is scheduled May 28-29 at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
LCA will face 7th Region champion Sacred Heart in the first round. Lexington Catholic will face 1st Region champion McCracken County. Match times have not been determined.
11th Region Tennis Tournament
At Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond. All semifinalists advance to the state tournament.
BOYS SINGLES
Champion: Charlie Mooney, Lafayette (6-4, 3-6 (10-8)). Runner-up: Jacob Holland, Lexington Catholic. Semifinalists: Jonah Trimble, Henry Clay; Clark Malone, Lexington Catholic.
GIRLS SINGLES
Champion: Katie Lankford, Lexington Christian (7-2 (2), 6-4). Runner-up: Alisa Shevtcova, Lexington Christian. Semifinalists: Nicole Hanna, Lexington Catholic; Grace Gallagher, Bryan Station.
BOYS DOUBLES
Champion: John Mooney/Dhaarick Vinod, Sayre (6-3, 6-2). Runner-up: Atharva Dang/Thomas Chandler, Paul Laurence Dunbar. Semifinalists: Landon Nesbitt/Logan Nesbitt, Tates Creek; Sam Grimm/Jude Wiggington, Lexington Catholic.
GIRLS DOUBLES
Champion: Callie Cranfill/Stella Benedetti, Lexington Catholic (6-1, 6-3). Runner-up: Delaney Brown/Anna Tofan, Model. Semifinalists: Denise Webb/Lily Evans, Lexington Christian; Anna Claire Pickrell/Emery Cassidy, Henry Clay.
11th Region Team Tennis
At Sayre Athletic Complex. Team champions advance to the state tournament.
