As soon as the final match ended, Skyline coach Dan Snarr sighed with relief. Powered by a trio of necessary repeat singles titles, the Eagles claimed their second consecutive 5A boys tennis championship Saturday at Liberty Park.

"Whew. I can breathe now," said Snarr. "It was a great job and a great tournament. It came down to the last match. That's the way it should be."Skyline's Kevin Zenger outlasted Brandon Butler of Bountiful 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 2 singles final to cap the competition and separate the Eagles and Braves.

Final tally: Skyline 20, Bountiful 17.

"After the second set I was thinking about it," said Zenger. "And I think it helped me. I thought in my mind `C'mon, you've got to do this for the team.' "

Individual success led to a team triumph for the Eagles.

Skyline senior Matt Stohl became the first No. 1 singles player in more than a decade to repeat as the state's largest classification champion and Brandon Greenwood duplicated his top finish at the third spot.

"It's just unbelievable for us," said Snarr, whose team defeated Bountiful in head-to-head finals at second and third singles for the gold trophy - a prize the Braves have yet to claim in tennis.

"The trouble was we went up against three defending state champions," said Bountiful coach Jack Senninger. "This is the first time we have come out of here with some big hardware. It's just too bad it's silver."

Brighton , Cottonwood and Davis rounded out the top five, all of whom had players reach the finals.

Stohl's victory at No. 1 over Cottonwood's Tyler Poulsen headlined the competition. After dominating the first set 6-1, Stohl needed a 7-5 win in the second to win the match.

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"The first was probably the best tennis I've played all year," said the undefeated champion. "But the second set was a war."

Fighting the lingering effects of a sinus infection, Stohl completed tournament play without ever losing a set.

In joining teammates Stohl and Zenger in the winner's circle, Greenwood topped Bountiful's Jim Marsh by a 6-2, 6-3 count in the third singles final.

Brighton's Ryan Scott and Mitch Easton defeated the Davis duo of Matt Redding and Mike Bullard 6-2, 6-4 for the first doubles crown, while Trent and Ryan Nestman of Bountiful prevailed at No. 2 with a 6-4, 7-6 decision over Cottonwood's Josh Neeley and Steve Barton.

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