Verboten. Prohibido. Interdit.
Whether the language is German, Spanish or French, when it comes to Covington Catholic winning last year’s state tennis title, the Colonels have reduced all talk of it to three syllables and nine letters.
Forbidden.
“It was a milestone for the program,” CovCath coach Al Hertsenberg said. “We’re not allowed to mention it at practice or in matches. I kept telling our guys, we just keep knocking on the door, and hopefully it will open – and that’s what happened last year.”
And what a year 2023 was.
Now-juniors Kalei Christensen and Alex Yeager won the state doubles plaque, and senior Brady Hussey reached his second straight singles semifinals.
CovCath’s team title also ended Louisville St. Xavier’s 22-year winning streak – which Christensen believes is irrelevant to 2024.
“We’re not entitled to anything, and we’re just going to prove to everyone who doesn’t want us to win wrong ‘cause we know we have a lot of people who doubt us,” Christensen said.
Hertsenberg, who’s in his 34th season, said Hussey “is a young man of few words.”
“He really is genuinely more concerned about the success of the team than he is his own,” Hertsenberg said.
You may know Hussey better for what he did on the basketball court last season. His 13.6 points a game were third on the team, and he made 51.4% of his shots, including 46.8% of his 3-pointers.
Hussey injured his right ankle during the 2022-23 basketball season, which kept him off the tennis court several months. Hertsenberg said Hussey’s 2024 conditioning is about a month ahead of where he was last year – he’s only played doubles so far.
“We’ve not put him at singles yet ‘cause he’s just not ready,” Hertsenberg said.
Hussey would’ve liked to have played basketball a little longer this season – CovCath won the 35th District and beat Dixie Heights in the Ninth Region quarterfinals before falling to Cooper in the semifinals.
“It’s good to get back into tennis and get a little bit of a head start,” Hussey said. “Last year, I had to sit out for about two months after basketball just to get my ankle a little bit better. Definitely I’m very glad to not have anything this year to worry about.”
Hertsenberg said Hussey is learning when to attack and when to stay back and move the opponent around the court to set up easy volleys.
Christensen and Yeager are playing singles for now, but Hertsenberg isn’t ruling out a return to doubles.
“That’s obviously a card we have in our arsenal,” Hertsenberg said. “They’ve been playing singles for us until we get the Husseys (Brady and his freshman brother Blake) back 100%. We have a lot of really good options this year.”
The state tournament returns to the University of Kentucky’s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. There’s also a new format: there will still be a singles and doubles bracket, but a team tournament determines the overall champion.
Hertsenberg liked playing at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville last year because there were no weather delays.
“It’s not a really good place to cheer on your team,” he said. “… UK is set up for college tennis, and so when we get to the quarterfinals and the semifinals and the finals, it really is a lot of energy ‘cause you have stands, and everybody’s right there cheering on their favorite players.”
What that means for CovCath is, Christensen and Yeager could return to doubles because the Colonels are deep enough in singles after the elder Hussey. Hertsenberg said assistants Jared Haught, Michael Hennigan and Austin Hussey will largely determine who plays where.
“My job is just to make sure whatever decision we have is equitable for all the players,” Hertsenberg said.
Christensen has worked on more than forehands, backhands and serves and spent more time on the golf course. (He said golf is a hobby.)
“I’ve been making sure to really take care of everything from my eating and my body to my mental health,” he said. “I’ve been focusing less on tennis and focusing my mind on golf … I was in the gym three times a week at least every week last summer.”
Yeager, meanwhile, spent his summer playing tournaments.
“There’s always improvement with the serve,” Yeager said. “(I’m) trying to hit the forehand harder, go for bigger shots. I try to get to the net a lot.”
Seniors Jacob Brown and Owen Erpenbeck, sophomore Max Robbins and freshmen Will Tribble and Jacob Kramer fill out the rest of the roster.
The Colonels received their state championship rings last December. Hertsenberg wore his until practices started (it’s somewhere on a shelf at home now), and Hussey keeps his in the family trophy case.
“We’re not defending anything, we’re not resting on anything,” Hertsenberg said. “We’re chasing this year. I want to make sure we survive our success. That’s our goal.”