BECK PENNINGTONGHS tennis player

Greenwood tennis player Beck Pennington was studying for a final at his sister’s house Monday night when the phone rang.

“My dad called my sister and told me (I was the No. 1 seed),” Pennington said Tuesday before working out at his Vanderbilt Drive training facility in Bowling Green. “It was pretty exciting. At first I didn’t know what (my sister) was talking about because I forgot – I was studying. And then I kinda looked at her and was like, ‘Did she really just say, “the one seed?” ’ It kinda sunk in. It’s exciting, definitely.”

Pennington, a sophomore at Greenwood, enters the KHSAA State Tennis Tournament as the top player in boys’ singles. He opens the tournament Thursday against Carson White, of Hopkinsville, at 7 a.m. CDT at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Pennington is one of two sophomores seeded in the top six. The rest are upperclassmen, including the defending state champion and runner-up.

“I’m gonna try and put that one seed behind me,” Pennington said. “There’s six players that can win this easily. … I mean, it’s good that I got the one seed, but that’s not gonna affect the way I play. I just need to work hard and be focused because everybody’s gonna be gunning for me.”

Pennington is one of 12 Gators making the trip to Lexington. The Region 4 champions have plenty of opportunities to advance throughout the tournament.

“The biggest thing – they’ve been there,” GHS coach Ron Tipton said. “Most of these kids have been there last year, so it’s not a new thing. It’s just not to get caught up in all the hype, it’s just more tennis. It’s a simple thing to say, because the kids get excited about being there and seeing the quality that’s there at that level.”

Region 4 runner-up Bowling Green will have six players on the courts, including the regional champions in boys’ doubles, Jeff Austin and Chris Boling, who open against Greenwood’s Colin Darnell and Zach Howard at 9:15 a.m. CDT Thursday.

“We need to work, definitely, on our serves right now,” Austin said at practice Monday at BGHS. “We’ve been having a little bit of trouble recently – especially me. But we played in the Lone Oak tournament earlier this month against all the top teams in the state this year. We competed well with all of them. So if we play well, anything can happen up there.”

In girls’ doubles play, Lady Purples Beth Henry and Elizabeth Penn are hoping to make their third straight trip to at least the round of 16. They open against Allie Dees and Taylor Dooley of Daviess County at 1:45 p.m. CDT Thursday.

“We’re excited, just ready to play,” Penn said. “The past two years we’ve made it to the Sweet Sixteen so hopefully we’ll make it that far – maybe farther. We’re friends and that’s what it comes down to. We just like the fun. We’re excited. It’s always fun to go play in Lexington.”

In other boys’ singles matches, Bowling Green’s Will True plays Sean Donohue of St. Xavier, Cade Snodgrass of Butler County faces Chade Meade of University Heights, Eric Morosa from Glasgow plays Jason Pitts from South Oldham and Greenwood’s Billy Adams faces off against Hazard’s Austin Delpont.

In other girls’ singles matches, Pennington’s younger sister, Cassie, will play Sarah Kellerman, of Franklin County, teammate Jacqueline Otis will play Estelle Withrow, of Paris, and BG’s Amanda Wilson goes against Ann Lauren Fiepke, of Elizabethtown.

In other boys’ doubles matches, Barren County’s Matthew Bunnell and T.A. Wells play Jacob Lazarus and Daniel Mark, of Kentucky Country Day. Greenwood’s Taylor Lindsey and Kenny Wilson go up against Fitz Mullins and Alex Sisk from Collegiate.

In other girls’ doubles matches, Greenwood’s Jessica Adams and Ashley Edwards face Torunn Stuen and Brianna Williams, of Henderson County, teammates Jennifer Grothe and Catherine Wentworth face Alex Tolsdorf and Anna Townsend, of South Oldham, and Butler County’s Lexie Smith and Audrey Howard play Corbin’s Erin Hart and Jaclyn Jewell.

The boys’ competition begins at 7 a.m. CDT Thursday at the Boone/Downing Tennis Complex. The girls’ competition begins at the same time at the Sayre Athletic Complex.

The girls’ and boys’ doubles semifinals are scheduled for 8 a.m. CDT Saturday, with the finals to be played at noon. Boys’ and girls’ singles semifinals start at 10 a.m. CDT with championship matches slated for 2 p.m.