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 History was made last week when Danny Butcher and Ryan Kelly won the doubles division of the 13^th Region Tennis Tournament at Corbin last week.

Butcher and Kelly defeated South Laurel’s Turner and Smith, 6-2, 6-2 to become the first doubles team to win the region.

“Putting Danny and Ryan together was iffy at first because I didn’t know how I wanted to play my whole team in the region,” said Whitley County Coach Nickie Dugger. “I debated where Danny would go singles or doubles.”

“When they started playing together and nobody beat them, I started thinking about putting them together for the region,” said Dugger.

The duo walked through the regular season with seven straight wins without a loss. “They played well together, they dominated and they communicated,” Dugger added. “They just fit together, they have awesome serves and good volleys.”

“Whitley County had never had an individual title and they were a good fit, so it just made sense to put them in doubles,” said Dugger, who was a former doubles champion at Corbin.

“They both wanted it and realized the chance they had to win it,” she said.

The pair was never really challenged in the region. They opened tournament play with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Knox Central then followed that with a near perfect match against Middlesboro, 6-0, 6-1.

In the semifinals they took on fifth-seeded Corbin (Seth Heinss/Avery Warf). Butcher/Kelly won the first match 6-0 then rolled to a 6-2 second game win.

They will now head to a much bigger stage, the Kentucky High School State Tennis Tournament at the University of Kentucky Thursday in Lexington.

“They are playing strong,” said Dugger. “They are working on their serves.”

“Even after they won the tournament, the next day they were ready for more practice,” said Dugger. “They have wanted to hit everyday. They are hungry and coaches love that.”

“They have very good chemistry together,” said Dugger. “They are always wanting to get out on the court and play. They know what each other are doing on the court. That is something coaches and kind of teach, but it is something that the players really grasps themselves.”

“We’re excited to be the first team from Whitley County to win a region title,” said Kelly. “We have the chance to go far in state,” added Butcher.

Kelly, who signed with the University of the Cumberlands, said this is something he has looked forward to for many years. “It’s something I really wanted,” he said. “We set our goal to win region and we accomplished that.”

“Winning region as a senior means even more to me,” added Kelly.

The duo flourished under Dugger. “It was a whole new experience, a new side to tennis,” said Kelly. “Coach Dugger has taken us to a whole new level.”

Kelly said the two are working extremely hard for the state competition. “I am working on my returns, that is my weakness,” he said. “I want to be more aggressive at the net and be an all-around better doubles player.”

Butcher said he too was working on his overall game. “I’ve been working on my returns and being more aggressive at the net,” said Butcher. “I think in all of our matches we could have been more aggressive during each point because we would set up each other but wouldn’t end up going for them.”