They’ve grown up with a tennis racquet in their hand since they were three years old.
Their mother and father made high school state tournaments and went on to play at Wright State University, where they met and later married. Tennis has been a staple in their lives and now Griffen and Cassidy Derry get to see what it’s like to do what their parents did.
The Dixie Heights brother and sister qualified for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournament during their respective 9th Region tournaments earlier this month in doubles action. Griffen qualifying with teammate Colin McClure in boys doubles, Cassidy with teammate Emma Zimmer in girls doubles.
Their father Chad is a Dixie Heights assistant tennis coach, who also gives tennis lessons at Triple Crown Country Club and teaches sixth grade social studies at Ockerman Middle School.
Their mother is the former Melissa Dunham-Freer (now Derry), a Highlands alum who made the state tournament in doubles before heading to Wright State to play collegiately.
When the Derrys hit the courts, Griffen at University of Kentucky, Cassidy at Eastern Kentucky University for their respective state tournaments, it will be a true family affair. The one issue Chad might run into is who to choose to see play.
“We’re at the mercy of the draw,” Chad said. “The 9th Region did a great job of working around both schedules so I was able to see both play. We’ll just see what happens and hope to be at both.”
The drive from EKU to UK is roughly 45 minutes.
Long before the two got here to this point it has been in the works. Cassidy showed a ton of promise as a seventh grade singles player against high school competition, the lone unseeded player to make the region tournament quarterfinals. She was just one win shy of making the state tournament that season, then an eighth grade season was derailed by numerous surgeries to try and correct an issue with her kidney. Cassidy went 12-4 her seventh grade year, 9-4 playing as the No. 1 singles player on the team.
Needing to get her strength and stamina up, they decided to let her play doubles this year.
“Last year I went through three surgeries for my kidney, so I’m just grateful to be able to play tennis again,” Cassidy said. “ I wasn’t even sure if I could play this year, so I’ve tried to work myself back into shape.”
The transition to doubles has been seamless, Cassidy and Zimmer going 12-1 this season to date, the lone loss to 9th Region champions from Ryle Avery Love and Nivy Selveraju.
“Emma is a great partner,” Cassidy said. “She’s fun, supportive. We play off each other well. She’s great at volley, I’m better on the baseline.”
Griffen’s path has been a little more traditional, but tennis takes a side step to his first love, basketball. He had a standout season on the hardwood for the Colonels this past season, second on the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game and one of the top 3-point shooters in the state, knocking down 50.6% of his 3-point attempts during the 2023-24 season. He feels the two sports correlate at times.
“Tennis helps a lot with hand/eye coordination and movement to get you ready for basketball season and it’s a fast paced game like basketball,” Griffen said. “With the 3-point shooting, I feel it helps a little with hand-eye coordination.”
He started taking tennis a little more seriously over the past six months and his results have started to show it. He’s been close in qualifying for state the prior two seasons, losing in the region quarterfinals, a win shy of qualifying. In teaming up with Colin McClure for the first time this season, the two have gone 8-3 in the regular season and earned the No. 4 seed for the region tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals and became the first Dixie male tennis players to advance to the state tournament since 2010.
“It means a lot, it means a lot that me and my sister can go,” Griffen said. “She’s been through a lot. She’s worked really hard and it means a lot. We’re just going to encourage each other and enjoy the moment.”
According to UTR (Universal Tennis Ratings) ratings, Griffen and McClure are currently ranked No. 23 out of the 64 teams that are playing at the state doubles tournament.
Regardless of what happens at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tennis tournament May 28-30, they already view the trip as a success.
“Playing and going as a family is exciting,” Chad said. “Cassidy has aspirations of playing in college. Tennis is a lifelong sport and something that brings us together. From where they started to where they’re at now and how they improved is a success. They’ve improved tremendously and for them to get to state is an accomplishment. Now we’re just hoping to win a match or two.”