Whitecotton Makes HCA History at Region Tennis Tournament

Heritage Christian Academy 8th grader Stephen Whitecotton made school history on Tuesday by advancing to the semifinals of the Region 2 Tennis Tournament.

Whitecotton handled Hopkins County Central’s Isaac Manning 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals to earn a state tournament berth. Manning had a tough go to reach Whitecotton in the quarterfinals, opening with a 6-7, 6-0, 10-3 win over Lyon County’s Jaise Riley in the opener.

By virtue of reaching the semifinals, Whitecotton also qualifies for the state tournament to be held later this month in Lexington.

For the smallest school in the region, HCA has now sent athletes to the KHSAA State Tournament in cross country and tennis in the current school year in addition to the volleyball team winning the school’s first region championship in the fall.

Whitecotton, the three-seed, will face Henderson County’s Jaxton Duncan in Wednesday’s semifinal. Duncan, the two seed, and Madisonville’s Caleb Tagg played Tuesday’s best match with Duncan winning 6-3, 6-7, 10-5.

In the upper bracket, top seed Ethan Larkins of Madisonville and fourth seed Jace Evans of Henderson County breezed into the semifinals. Larkins beat Lyon County’s Jacob Matchen 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, while Evans defeated Caldwell County’s Noah Bailey 6-0, 6-0.

Larkins is looking to become Madisonville’s first boys singles region champion since Josh Plain in 2021. The last Henderson County singles championship came from Jon Nunez in 2019.

The semifinals and championship will be played Wednesday afternoon at Henderson County High School.

BOYS SINGLES RESULTS

ROUND OF 16

Jacob Matchen (Lyon County) defeated Trever Wilkerson (Webster County) 6-0, 6-4

Jace Evans (Henderson County) defeated Andrew McIntosh (Fort Campbell) 6-0, 6-0

Noah Bailey (Caldwell County) defeated Dalton Lloyd (Hopkins County Central) by default

Isaac Manning (Hopkins County Central) defeated Jaise Riley (Lyon County) 6-7, 6-0, 10-3

Caleb Tagg (Madisonville) defeated Jesse Denoto (Fort Campbell) 6-0, 6-1

QUARTERFINALS

Ethan Larkins (Madisonville) defeated Jacob Matchen (Lyon County) 6-0, 6-2

Jace Evans (Henderson County) defeated Noah Bailey (Caldwell County) 6-0, 6-0

Stephen Whitecotton (Heritage Christian Academy) defeated Isaac Manning (Hopkins County Central) 6-0, 6-0

Jaxton Duncan (Henderson County) defeated Caleb Tagg (Madisonville) 6-3, 6-7, 10-5