Multiple local tennis players earn births to state tournament

May 18—The 12th Region tennis tournament for both boys and girls are barreling towards their conclusions, with multiple local athletes earning births into the state tournament.

In boys' doubles, the Pulaski duo of Aiden Cheng and Aiden Webb have advanced to the regional finals, securing a spot at the state championships. They are set to take on the duo of Toby Sallee and Xavier Paver from Lincoln County. Webb and Cheng made the finals after defeating Boyle County's duo of Caleb Sutton and Jacob King 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 in the semifinals. The Pulaski duo of Camden Tackett and Isaac Murray, as well as the Somerset Christian duo of Kyler Johnson and Nikas Thannoli made the quarterfinals of the tournament.

In the boys' singles tournament, Somerset Christian's Caleb Taylor will take on the number one seeded Skyler Lee from Casey County for the regional title. Taylor has already secured his spot in the state tournament, as has Ben Hampton from Pulaski. Southwestern's Aaron Doan and Jackson Flynn also made the quarterfinals in the tournament.

In the girls' doubles tournament, the young Somerset Christian duo of Rae Sobieck and Hayden Webb advanced to the finals, where they will take on Boyle County's Hannah Bischoff and Maya Smith, after defeating Casey County's Kyra Cain and Gracie Demrow 7-6 (7-5) and 7-5. They have secured their spot at state, as did Pulaski duo of Emmary Hutchinson and Payton Venters, who made it to the semifinals before falling. The Southwestern duo of Alexis Freeman and Brooklyn Wolke made it to the quarterfinals, as did the Pulaski duo of Macy and Maddy Bullock.

In girls' singles action, Pulaski's Savannah Heist, the number two seed in the region, has advanced to the regional final and secured her spot at the state tournament. After defeating Southwestern's Terae Handlos, she will play the number one seed in the tournament in Mercer County's Sara Dunn. Heist, Handlos, and Somerset's Tori Robertson, who was asked to fill in shortly before the start of the tournament, will all advance to the state tournament. Pulaski's Caroline Heist made it to the quarterfinals before falling to Dunn.

The Lake Cumberland area will have 11 total players representing the four local high schools at the state tournament. Congratulations to all players for their accomplishments so far!

Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com.