Thursday, May 17, 2001
N.Ky. high school hihglights
Rahali wins 3rd
regional tennis title
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
If you were looking for upsets Wednesday, the girls Region 12 tennis tournament at Four Seasons Country Club in Crestview Hills was no place to search.
Covington Latin senior Miriam Rahali won her third straight singles title with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Dixie Heights junior Sarah Due.
Notre Dame won its sixth straight team title, and Pandas sophomores Jackie Vilines and Molly Molony beat teammates Caitlyn Shaughnessy and Lauren Simendinger 6-3, 6-0 in the doubles final.
All finalists qualified for the state tournament, to be held May 31-June 2 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
Rahali has not lost a set all season, and the three games Due won from her were the only ones she lost in the tournament. But she saw room for improvement.
“I need to work on speed,” she said.
But Due, who will be making her first trip to state, didn't notice any weaknesses in Rahali. “She's a strong physical and mental player,” she said.
Predictability was the word in the Region 12 boys tournament, too: Highlands clinched its second consecutive team title.
The Bluebirds officially clinched the championship in the semifinals, when senior Ben Freer advanced with a 6-0, 6-3 win over CovCath junior Johnny Sullivan. He will meet two-time defending champion Justin Yeager of Dixie Heights, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Beechwood's Aaron Rassell, in the singles final today at 3:30 p.m.
Highlands' top doubles team, Kyle Hardin and Jason Roedig, beat Dixie Heights' Shane Reynolds and Christian Mains 6-1, 6-3 for a spot in the finals. They will play top seeds Ashley Busald and Billy Hopkins of Beechwood — who beat Highlands' Cliff Engels and Tyler Browning 6-0, 6-1 — today after the singles final.
Baseball
Simon Kenton scored two runs in the first inning and went on to defeat Walton-Verona 2-1 Wednesday in Independence. Bill Bromback led off with a single, advanced to third on Josh Parrott's double and scored on a double by Brett Vandergriff.
Junior pitcher Tommy White (4-1) pitched a complete game, allowing four hits and walking one.
• Ryle 4, Newport Central Catholic 2 — Jim Brady had two run-scoring hits, and pitcher Jarrod Green went the distance for the Raiders.
Brady's RBI single in the fourth put Ryle ahead 3-1. He also had a run-scoring double in the sixth.
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N.Ky. high school hihglights