When Caroline Lovvorn’s shot was returned into the net, it kicked off a celebration with teammate Kiley Demoss that had never been experienced before in Madisonville-North Hopkins tennis history.
Lovvorn and Demoss defeated the South Warren team of Morgan Robertson and Peyton Lemily 6-4, 6-3 to become the first Madisonville girls tennis players – singles or doubles – to advance to the semifinals of the KHSAA State Tennis Tournament.
The win was their third of the day – all three inside the University of Kentucky indoor facility due to spotty rain showers that hit Lexington throughout Wednesday.
Lovvorn and Demoss overcame slow starts in all four of their state matches, falling behind 4-3 in the first set of their quarterfinal match.
They broke serve to force a 4-4 tie with Demoss serving and getting strong play at the net from Lovvorn, went up 5-4, and broke serve again for the 6-4 win.
The second set was tied 1-1, and they kept their serve throughout to get the 6-3.
Lovvorn and Demoss came into the state tourney as the No. 3 seed. Their wins moved them into Thursday morning’s semifinals against the tourney’s No. 1 seed Arden Dethridge and Aisha Merchant of Greenwood.
It marks the first time a Madisonville entry at the state tournament has advanced to the semifinal round. Tonya Wells advanced to the singles quarterfinals in both 1982 and 1983.
Lovvorn and Demoss outlasted Lexington Catholic’s Evelyn Quinn and Sophia Miller 7-6, 6-1 in their second match of the day. Madisonville fell behind 3-1 in the first set and trailed 5-2 before rallying to tie the set at 6-6 and send it to a tiebreaker. They trailed 4-2 in the tiebreaker before coming back for the 7-6 win.
Madisonville broke Lexington Catholic’s serve three times in the second set and rolled to the win.
Lovvorn and Demoss opened the day with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kaitlin Gish and Charlotte Young from Henry Clay.
Their wins this year, coupled with a win last year, made them the first Madisonville girls’ doubles team to win in consecutive state tournaments in program history.
Also making the state tourney this year were their teammates Albany Ray and Emma Tagg, who also won on Tuesday, marking the first time the school has had both girls’ doubles teams win first-round matches.
