BY BRITTNI MCCOY

PIKEVILLE — Mireia Gorgori left her stamp in Martin County High School’s history books by being the first tennis player to qualify for the KHSAA State tennis tournament. Tori Crum advanced to the quarterfinals. The team participated in the 15th Regional Tournament May 17 at Bob Amos Park in Pikeville.

Gorgori’s two matches were among the longest of the day, taking both of her opponents into tie-breakers. Her first match was against Madison Teeters from Johnson Central, who took the first set 6-4. Gorgori fell behind early 1-0 in the next set. After shaking off the nerves, she reeled off a commanding six straight points to send her match into a tie-breaker.

She fell behind 1-0 and the next few points would teeter back and forth. Gorgori went up 4-3 and never looked back on her way to a 10-3 final score, sending her to the next round.

Tori Crum advanced to the quarterfinals on straight sets 6-0. Her next opponent was the top seed for the females, and Crum would fall 6-0.

Caitlyn Horn and Tamara Workman represented one of the girls’ doubles slots. The duo also had to play the top seed for their first round. The first set would go to Magoffin 6-4. Horn was a force at the net. Her opponents spent most of their time trying to avoid her. Workman played back and assisted in bringing her team back in the second set after falling behind 3-1. They inched closer to bring the score 5-4, but Magoffin sealed the deal to win 6-4.

Kennedy Mills and Lexi Sammons were the other female double team. They played Johnson Central’s Patel and Robinson. JC was too much for the dynamic duo with a score of 6-3, 6-1.

Austin Washburn and Caleb Horn were the singles representatives. Washburn kept his points close but fell 6-1 and 6-3. Horn had a powerful serve, but his opponent’s hits were too much, as he lost 6-0, 6-2.

The first boys doubles match was Byron Marcum and Elbert Smith. The partners also played one of the top seeds of the tournament, Lawrence County’s Dillow and Johnson. The kept the points close despite the loss 6-0, 6-0.

Martin County’s next boys doubles team consisted of two of a kind. Freshmen Braydyn Cook and BJ Parsley sported matching headbands and looked strong in their match. Despite going back and forth, their final scores were 6-1, 6-0.

The final match for Martin County saw Gorgori put on a show against Caudill. After an even score of 4-4, she fired off two straight points to win the first set. Over three hours of tennis in the hot sun finally caught up to her in the second set 6-1.

Her tie-breaker was a nail-biter. Gorgori bounced back from her loss with an 8-3 lead. She needed two more points, but Caudill stormed back to score three in a row. Gorgori gained her composure and brought two more in to cement herself into history.

Sadly, Gorgori won’t get to finish off her historic run. The foreign exchange student is required to return to Spain before the state tournament begins.

Gorgori was a three-sport athlete participating in tennis, softball and soccer this year.

Martin County Coach Josh Penix coached the first state qualifier in his first season at the reigns.

“We will miss Mireia as she was very impressive in her wins,” Penix said. “She only lost one match on the season, and it is unfortunate that she will not get to compete in the semi-finals and the state tournament. Gorgori represented Martin County in a dazzling display of athleticism.”

Penix, who served as an assistant under Lorne Crum for four years, was pleased with his first year.

“We had the largest team in school history,” he said.

Twenty of the 25 members were first-year players.

“This was the first regional tournament most of them had played in, so they gained valuable experience,” said Penix.

The coach is hoping to host a tennis clinic this summer to recruit previous college players to work with the kids and potentially add a USTA tournament to the Appalachian Tennis Series for a fundraising event.

May 25, 2022