Ethan Larkins encountered a bit of a bobble on his way to the region tennis championship. Still, the Madisonville junior held off a late challenge from Henderson County’s Jaxton Duncan to claim the title 6-3, 7-6 on Wednesday.
Larkins became the first Maroon in four years to win the region singles title and capped a day that saw Madisonville also claim the doubles title.
After taking the first set, Larkins was a game away from winning before the Henderson County sophomore rallied to take a 6-5 lead. Larkins tied the match to send it to the tiebreaker, which he took 7-3.
Larkins advanced to the championship with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Henderson County’s Jace Evans in the semifinals, while Duncan took down Heritage Christian Academy’s Stephen Whitecotton 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal. An 8th grader, Whitecotton was the lone middle schooler to advance to the semifinal round.
Evans and Whitecotton accepted the chance to play a third-place match, which Evans took in straight sets.
All four semifinalists will advance to the KHSAA State Tennis Tournament, which will be held May 27-29 in Lexington.
