Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean said sometime in the 1930s, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”
Covington Catholic’s tennis team can boast, crow and exult – and brag. The Colonels captured their third consecutive KHSAA boys team title Wednesday at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.
CovCath won the title with a 3-0 shutout of Paul Laurence Dunbar. In the semifinals, the Colonels eliminated North Oldham, 3-1.
When told of Dean’s quote, senior Alex Yeager, well, bragged.
“I think it’s great that we could bring home three state titles for CovCath,” Yeager said. “I mean, we can brag now because we’ve won it three times, you know? So yeah, I don’t think there’s any bragging about it.”
CovCath coach Al Hertsenberg said his players deserved their flowers.
“And I think Covington Catholic deserves the recognition and the boast a little bit,” Hertsenberg said.
What Hertsenberg also enjoyed about his 35th season in Park Hills: his players’ good-natured affability.
“Several coaches came to me and complimented our kids because not only are they good, but they’re genuine, they’re likable, and they got along with everybody,” Hertsenberg said.
What CovCath did Wednesday was possibly a fun finale to the school’s centennial anniversary – the Colonels won the team title, Alex Yeager won the singles last week, and Kalei Christensen and Blake Hussey won the doubles.
Yeager, who’s committed to play tennis at Drake University, loved to win individually, but …
“I love to share this moment with my team,” he said.
Christensen was the loudest celebrant – when he won a key point or game, you could hear him joyfully scream from UK’s track and field venue.
Hertsenberg said this year’s tournament was a grind – the Colonels beat perennial power St. Xavier in Tuesday’s opening round, Central Hardin in the quarterfinals and North Oldham in the semifinals. He said it was hard to quantify the three titles.
“The first one, I was in shock,” Hertsenberg said. “The second one was just satisfying because it was the first of this (separate team and individual tournaments) style.
“This year was harder. So yeah, if you look at it that way, this one was very satisfying because these guys showed how tough they are.”
Wednesday’s win was worth a nearly two-hour delay – duPont Manual edged McCracken County, 3-2, in the girls final.
“Our attitude is, we love delays,” Hertsenberg said.
Colonel fans likely loved Yeager, Christensen and Hussey. Especially in the final – Yeager shut out the Bulldogs’ Nikan Rosenau (6-0, 6-0), Hussey did the same against Atharva Dang, and Christensen clinched the championship over Thomas Chandler, 6-3, 6-1.
In doubles, CovCath’s Jacob Kramer and Will Tribble won the first set, 6-4, over Nick Colon and Evan Fomby, when Christensen clinched the trophy. Ben Unkraut and Auggie Eilerman took on PLD’s Saketh Sanjay and Raymond Yu in the other doubles match.
Yeager, Hussey and Christensen won their semifinal matches, but Clifton Valentine IV and Ben Unkraut fell to North Oldham’s Yazan ElFarra and Nicolas Ajkay.
Christensen struggled early – he had three break points against Chandler and lost the game to go to 1-2.
After that, not a lot of trouble.
“I just made my shots,” Christensen said. “I picked easier targets. I found myself going for low percentage and picked up the percentage, and then I went from there.”
CovCath thus said goodbye to five seniors – Yeager (aka “Alexander the Great”), Christensen (“Captain Crunch”), Hudson Schreiber, Eilerman and Unkraut. Tribble (“Silly Willie”), Hussey (“Captain Flash”) and Kramer (“Fred”) lead the returnees.
Wednesday was also the end of Christensen’s competitive tennis career.
“I’m just very excited to leave the legacy on this school,” Christensen said. “And I hope I did that.”