All the Caldwell County boys’ tennis team had to do to secure its second straight 2nd Region team championship was simply sweep both the singles and doubles titles.
Mission accomplished, as the Tigers won both titles Thursday night at Ruff Park in Hopkinsville to edge Madisonville-North Hopkins by one point for the team championship.
First, the doubles duo of Billy Wallace and Grayden Miller defeated Madisonville’s Aidan Brummer and Braeden Bell in the finals, taking the first set 7-6 — 9-7 in the tiebreaker — then capturing the second set 6-2.
That left just the singles championship between Caldwell’s Ryan Hammett and Madisonville’s Nathaniel Crick. Hammett dropped the first set 6-2 before regrouping to take the second set 6-4. That sent the match to a tiebreaker, which Hammett won 10-6 to finish off both his singles title and Caldwell’s team championship.
In semifinal action earlier in the day, Hammett dispatched Ethan Alexander of University Heights Academy 6-2, 6-0, while Wallace and Miller turned away Madisonville’s Adam Tagg and Lukas Ramey 6-4, 6-4.
It’s the second trip to state for Caldwell’s netters. Hammett teamed with his older brother Jordan to win the regional doubles title last year while Wallace and Miller went to state after reaching the semifinal round of the 2021 2nd Region turnament.
The Tigers finished this year’s event with 10 points in the team standings while the Maroons had nine.
Henderson County was third with five points.
All those who reached the semifinals in the regional advance to the state tennis tournament May 31-June 2 in Lexington.
