North Laurel’s Gilbert, McArdle and Elza heading to state tennis tournament
HARLAN — The North Laurel boys tennis team will be sending singles player Jackson Gilbert, and the doubles team of Finn McArdle and Carson Elza to the KHSAA Boys State Singles and Doubles Tournament after they turned in impressive efforts in the 13th Region Boys Singles and Doubles Tournament this past week.
McArdle and Elza advanced to the region semis in doubles before falling to eventual regional doubles champions, Corbin’s Josh Ball, and Connor Middleton, 6-0, 6-0.
“Extremely happy for Carson and Finn qualifying,” North Laurel coach Bob Smith said. “We were able to take advantage of a favorable draw by handling Knox's No. 2 team in the second round and Oneida's No. 2 team in the quarters. Carson really took a big jump this year after just starting tennis last year, and Finn has been one of our better doubles players.
“We ran into a buzzsaw with John and Conner in the semis,” he added. “Similar to Jackson (Gilbert), I felt we played decent — they're just at another level. We had five game points in our first two service games and just couldn't convert any of them. But overall, so happy for these two also making their first trip to state.”
Gilbert made a run all the way to the regional finals before falling to Corbin’s Nate Hill in the title game, 6-1, 6-0.
“Jackson played very well throughout the tournament,” Smith said. “He won against a good up and coming player in McLaughlin from Whitley in the second round. In the quarters, he jumped out quick against Corbin's Carmichael. Jackson lobbed really well against J.P.'s moves to the net. The key game was saving several game points up 4-3 in the second set to break and then hold to close out the match.
“In the semis, Jackson was able to control the match throughout by just playing consistent, solid tennis against Oneida's Cho,” he added. “Sam is very dangerous and can pose many problems. But once we were able to get ourselves in the point, Jackson's consistency took over and he was able to win comfortably. In the final vs. Nate, I thought Jackson played decent, but Nate is playing very well and is at another. Nate should definitely be seeded at State and will be a tough out.
“As for Jackson, just really proud and happy for him making his first trip to State,” he added. “He has put in the work and turned himself into a really fine player. He plays the game the right way, and I'm just really thrilled for him to accomplish his goal of making it to state.”
