Regional tennis title matches set
May 25—Cooper Danzer and Houston Danzer had to battle Tuesday afternoon, but the top-seeded Owensboro Catholic doubles team etched out a hard-fought victory in the 3rd Region Tennis Tournament semifinals at Moreland Park — earning a chance to play for a regional title and qualifying for the state tournament all at once.
The duo held off fourth-seeded Heath Embry/Paxton Evitts from Muhlenberg County 6-4, 7-5, following a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Grayson County's Colton Glenn/Austin Walker during the quarterfinals earlier in the day.
"I think we played pretty well," said Cooper Danzer, a sophomore. "We had a couple mistakes, but I think overall, my service game was pretty good and (Houston's) volleys were really good. I think that's what kept us in the match."
The two won the first set against Muhlenberg County and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second before the Mustangs took control.
"I was feeling pretty confident, but then they won four on us and went up 4-3," Cooper Danzer said. "We talked to coach and decided we had to do something. We just said, 'We got this in the bag.' That was our mentality. We just weren't focused."
After that, though, they pieced together a strong finish.
"I started getting mad, but (Cooper) was bringing me back up," said Houston Danzer, a freshman. "That helped. We lost three or four games in a row, but then we got back to winning.
"I thought it was going to a three-set tiebreaker, but we played really good. I'm excited for tomorrow."
Wednesday's championship match will be the first-ever for both Aces.
"I'm pumped," Cooper Danzer said. "It's the first time I've ever made the championship in my whole life. This is Houston's first year playing high school (tennis), so it's pretty big for both of us."
After that, a trip to state awaits.
"It's great," Houston Danzer said. "I don't know how far we'll get, of course, but it's awesome. I've never played in a state tournament. Especially being the 1 seed, it's huge."
On the girls side, top-seeded Olivia Hayden/Aisha Merchant from Catholic will play for a region championship for the second consecutive year after falling short as the second seed in 2021. They defeated Daviess County's Anastasia Kolomiyets/Morgan Lucas 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals before upending third-seeded Caroline Smith/Alexa Salamah from Owensboro 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals.
"I think our No. 1 team is hungry for a championship," Catholic coach Noel Clayton said. "They felt like they should've beaten their teammates last year. This time, they don't have to play their teammates."
The other girls doubles finalists are Muhlenberg County's Sarah-Cate Boggess/Baker Hardison, the second seed that defeated Apollo's Ella Hayden/Kyndall Hayden 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and later knocked off No. 4 seed Katelyn Mitchell/Claire Augenstein from Catholic 6-3, 6-2.
In boys singles action, top seed and defending region champion Dylan Mather from Owensboro topped Catholic's Davis Brocato 6-0, 6-0 in the quarters and later beat Meade County's Peyton Johnston 6-0, 6-0 in the semis. He'll face second-seeded Owen Brown from Grayson County on Wednesday.
Catholic's No. 1 girls singles seed, Ella Cason, will also play for her second straight regional crown after topping Apollo's Emma Parker 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and edging Meade County's fourth-seeded Kacie Ray 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Daviess County's second-seeded Charly Hayden will take on Cason after beating Owensboro's Emma Embry 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and Catholic's Ella Grace Buckman 6-2, 6-2 in the semis.
"All in all, it was a good day," Clayton said of his team's performance. "We played well, and hopefully tomorrow we can continue and then see what happens."
The championship matches are slated to begin at 4 p.m. at Moreland Park.
