Owen doubles team advances to NCHSAA 2A Tennis State Championship

Rafa Kohn and Blake Bradley take 13-1 record to Raleigh

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 8, 2023

For the first time since 2019, a pair of Warhorses will represent their school in the NCHSAA 2A Individual Tennis State Championship, Saturday, May 12, in Raleigh. 

Sophomores Blake Bradley and Rafa Kohn, who led their team to a Western Highlands Conference Championship and a playoff berth, advanced to the tournament with a pair of victories, May 5, in the West Regionals. 

Owen entered the team playoffs earlier this month as a No. 8 seed, falling at home to No. 9 Pine Lake Prep. Kohn and Bradley, however, qualified for the regional doubles tournament, while senior Siler Gore earned a No. 2 seed in the individual competition. 

Gore fell to a No. 2 seed from Lincolnton on the courts at Gardner-Webb University, but Kohn and Bradley defeated a team from Bunker Hill, 6-1, 6-1, in the opening round. The doubles partners shut down opponents from R-S Central, 6-0, 6-0, in the quarterfinals, before falling in the semifinals to a team from Pine Lake Prep. 

Bradley and Kohn will enter the state championship tournament as a No. 3 seed, continuing a season in which they helped Owen win 68 of 72 games on its way to an 8-0 record in the WHC. 

The doubles team that will represent the school in the state championship features the Warhorses’ top seeded players. 

“The way these guys wanted to pair up as a team instead of going in as singles says a lot about them,” said first-year head coach Justin Kyremes-Parks. “They’ve both shown tremendous leadership all season, and they have great chemistry on the court.”

The pair posted a 13-1 doubles record in 2023, as the team hosted its first home playoff match since 2019. 

Photos of the Warhorses playoff match against Pine Lake Prep can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.