Parker Throgmorton

Staff Writer

   As always, the Lone Oak boys tennis team looks as if it will be the regional powerhouse for the upcoming season. The team has a solid varsity, led by Bobby Kaltenbach (12) as the number one player and Corey Adams (12) at number two. “Early on, the team struggled with internal conflicts pertaining to the line-up, but through the fearless leadership of head coach Larry J. Heflin, the group looks stronger than ever and ready to take on a tough 2012 season,” says doubles specialist Bailey Orr (12). With a tough schedule looming ahead, it looks as if the team will live up to its name as being a strong contender in the regional and state tournaments.

    The team kicked off its season with a couple of extremely difficult matches. In the season opener, they faced the team that knocked them out of the state tournament last year, St. Xavier High School. Although the team suffered a collective loss, it came away with a strong individual win. Kaltenbach defeated last year’s state doubles champion, Joseph Siami, in a three set nail-biter. The next day, the team bounced back from its loss and beat Kentucky Country Day (KCD), a private school that is located in Louisville and known for being a state contender every year.

    Due to weather conditions, the match against Tilghman was rescheduled. This match is highly anticipated by both teams due to their past rivalry. Last year, Tilghman produced the state-runner up doubles team made up of brothers Ethan and Aleksander Rowton.

        Lone Oak suffered a second loss against St. Xavier this past weekend, but once again an individual player stepped up. Matt Townsend (10) won his match, in a close tiebreaker against Coleman Cox of St. Xavier.

    As of now, it seems Bobby Kaltenbach, Corey Adams, Tilghman’s Rowton, and Graves’ Hunter Mills will emerge as the region’s top players. Due to publication deadlines, the Heath match on March 29th will not be covered.