BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LEXINGTON — The Martin County High School boys doubles team of Bryson Dials and Connor Dials made history May 27. They became the first tennis players from the school to win a match at the KHSAA state tournament at the Lexington Tennis Club. The Dials brothers defeated 14th Region champ Knott County 6-0, 6-0.
Their historic run concluded in the second round the following day when they fell to No. 3 seed St. Xavier 6-1, 6-2.
“Connor and Bryson’s run at state was something they set out to do last year after they made it and got a taste,” Martin County coach Josh Penix said.
“They started the season in singles and made the late switch to doubles, and it worked out. They went with the purpose of not just being happy making state but going to compete and win matches. They did so in beating the 14th region champs and competing with the #3 team in the state.”
Penix added that while Connor graduates, Bryson is “just a freshman with three years of experience (two state appearances) and looks to shatter school records and continue improving.”
In team competition in May, the Martin County boys advanced to the regional semifinals after a 4-1 first-round victory over Shelby Valley. Their tournament ended with a 4-1 loss to Lawrence County, a match described as being “two tiebreaks away from pulling an upset.”
“We competed and were there in the mix all season,” Penix said. “We came up short in a couple of matches of upsetting Lawrence County.”
The Martin County girls team also had a strong showing in the regional tournament, sweeping Paintsville 5-0 in their first-round match before falling to Pikeville 5-0 in the semifinals.
“Girls—we did better than expected,” Penix commented. “I knew it would be an up-and-down season, and we graduated a lot so we will be rebuilding mostly next year.”