Al Hertsenberg may have been the calmest man in Park Hills.
Covington Catholic’s tennis coach was rightfully serene Thursday – he watched the Colonels finish their 21st straight boys Ninth Region team title on their home court.
Hertsenberg joyfully watched junior Brady Hussey claim his third consecutive singles title with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Beechwood’s Neel Reddy. About an hour later, Kalei Christensen and Alex Yeager won the doubles trophy by defeating Villa Madonna’s Joey Case and Shayaan Ahmad, 6-2, 6-1.
“I’ve been doing this too long to be nervous,” said Hertsenberg, who’s completing his 33rd season.
Christensen was possibly the most enthusiastic Colonel. When he or Yeager won a close point, his bellow could’ve been heard in Fort Mitchell.
“I want to keep the energy up,” Christensen said. “That’s what keeps me going.”
So, did Hussey think individual glory was better than a team trophy?
“A team title, I think that’s more fun,” Hussey said. “Whatever I do as an individual helps the team.”
Hertsenberg said the 21 regional titles don’t run together.
“Every one of them has something special because the kids are different,” he said. “This group had their challenges throughout the season. We put them through a really, really tough schedule to get them here.
“We played 18 or 19 matches, and we only played maybe four teams from Northern Kentucky.”
The obvious challenge: not having Hussey – he injured his right ankle during basketball season and didn’t return until two weeks ago. To compensate, Hertsenberg moved Christensen and Yeager to singles.
“But also, trying to set your doubles up for the postseason,” Hertsenberg said. “That was really a juggle.”
Hussey’s win was never in doubt, and his strategy against Reddy seemed simple – stay in control every point and hit a few more drop shots than usual.
It worked. Hussey broke Reddy’s serve to open the first set and ran to a 3-0 lead when Reddy double-faulted on break point.
“I think I had a couple (game points),” Reddy said of the first game. “I just couldn’t capitalize on anything.”
When Hussey wasn’t blasting volleys, he won with drop shots.
“He drop-shotted a lot; I really couldn’t anticipate it and get to it,” Reddy said.
Beechwood coach Nick Benge felt when Reddy matched groundstrokes, he could move Hussey around the court.
“Brady’s such a big hitter,” Benge said. “Really, you try to get in points; there’s really no magic to it. He really controls a lot of the play with how strong and how aggressive and powerful he is.
“… He’s one of the best in the state, and he showed it (Thursday).”
What impressed Hertsenberg: the sixth game of the second set. Hussey faced two break points and was down 15-40, but he held his serve to go to 5-1.
“He made good decisions to get back and win that game,” Hertsenberg said. “Twice he was down. That shows maturity; last year, he would’ve given up those games.”
By making the semifinals, Reddy became the fourth Beechwood boy to qualify for the state tournament. The others: Rob Ziegler (1983), Billy Hopkins (2000) and Aaron Rassell (2003).
Reddy had a quick answer when asked what needed to be improved before the state tournament starts May 30 in Nicholasville.
“I could get a lot better serving,” Reddy said. “I think using my legs has always been a big thing (along with) accelerating. I think I decelerate a lot and get tight.”
Christensen and Yeager reunited this season; they played doubles at Holy Cross two years ago.
“I feel like a good doubles team, you both have got to have good returns,” Yeager said. “And then you always have to have that one big server, and that server is Kalei.”
After splitting their first four games in the first set, Christensen and Yeager broke Ahmad’s serve.
“They also started to drop their head,” Yeager said. “We saw a little dip in their game.”
Case won the KHSAA Regional Sportsmanship Award. Three years ago he founded “Serving Up Smiles,” a program to teach tennis to underprivileged youth, as part of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati’s “Fit for Life” program to combat childhood obesity and encourage physical activity.
The Ninth Region girls singles and doubles finals are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. today at Boone Woods Park near Burlington.
Covington Latin senior Sara Watanabe goes for her third straight singles title against Dixie Heights junior Tapanee Boonyawat. In doubles, Haley King and Sadie Jones of Beechwood meet Notre Dame’s Hailey Fullenkamp and Taylor Meenach.
In Thursday’s singles semifinals, Watanabe eliminated Ryle’s Kyah Andros, 6-0, 6-0, and Boonyawat beat Cooper’s Kayla Johnson, 6-1, 6-0.
In doubles, King and Jones beat Villa Madonna’s Bria Patel and Isabella McElwee, 6-0, 6-0, and Fullenkamp and Meenach beat Conner’s Natalie Elleman and Allyse Rassenfoss, 6-0, 6-4.
Boys team scores: 1. Covington Catholic 15; 2. St. Henry 8; 3. (tie) Ryle, Highlands and Beechwood 7; 6. Villa Madonna 6; 7. (tie) Dixie Heights and Cooper 3; 9. (tie) Holy Cross, Boone County and Conner 2.
