As has been the case in recent years, the final day of the Region 6 and Region 7 tennis tournaments belonged to Timpview and Orem.
At the Region 6 meet Friday at Payson, all five of the finals courts had players wearing T-Birds' garb. The only thing that kept Timpview, the Region 6 regular-season champion, from a sweep was a slight upset by a Payson duo in the No. 1 doubles and comeback win by American Fork in the No. 2 doubles.
In Region 7, Orem won its fourth consecutive title, winning three out of five championship matches, which surprised coach Craig Young.
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"I really expected Lone Peak to win this today," Young said. "I figured they had more opportunities to win points."
The showcase match in Region 6 was in No. 1 singles, where defending state champion Brad Ferguson battled Brigg Barron of American Fork in high winds. In the first set it looked like Barron's power might finally beat Ferguson's finesse for the first time in eight matches.
Midway through the first set, Barron led in games 4-3. But Ferguson held serve to tie the set, then broke serve in quick fashion and took care of business in the next game to win the set 6-4. For Barron, the second set was like hitting against a backboard. Everything he sent over the net came right back. The consistent Ferguson simply outlasted the Caveman senior to win the set 6-1 and the region title.
"I knew I just had to hold points when I was against the wind and win points when it was at my back," Ferguson said. "I was just a little bit more consistent today."
The most exciting match was in No. 1 doubles, where Payson's Nick Smith and Kyle Haskell defeated Timpview's Mike Andrews and Adam Fredrico 6-4, 6-3. The T-Bird duo had beaten the Lions twosome twice in the regular season. But Haskell and Smith played with better composure Friday.
"When they stay calm and play without getting upset at things, they're both pretty talented players," Payson coach Clark Schmutz said.
Timpview's Jason Cohen and Braden Evans ran over American Fork's Taylor Scott and Jordan Schettell 6-0 in the first set of No. 2 doubles. But the American Fork duo stormed back to win the second set 7-6 in a tiebreaker and then cruised through the final set 6-2.
Timpview's Kevin Stanworth, the defending No. 2 singles state champion, easily defeated Andrew Parker of American Fork 6-2, 6-1. The T-Birds Jason Johnson won the No. 3 singles easily over American Fork's Britton Bowen 6-0, 7-5.
There were a few surprises at the Region 7 meet as it turned into a showcase for underdogs. Orem clinched first place when Mike Anderson beat Lone Peak's Reece Rovis in No. 3 singles. Rovis was previously undefeated on the year and had beaten Anderson twice in the regular season.
The tournament's big shocker came from Mountain View's Ammon Spencer, who beat Pleasant Grove's Carlton Taylor 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win the No. 1 singles championship. Spencer came into the tournament as the fourth seed with a 2-6 record and shocked everyone on Thursday by upsetting heavily favored Miguel Reyes of Timpanogos in three sets. In his two previous matches against Reyes, Spencer hadn't won more than two games in a single set.
"I obviously wanted to get to state, but I was planning on going third place because that would be the easiest for me," Spencer said.
Other first place winners in Region 7 were Lone Peak's Brandon Loong in No. 2 singles, and Orem's first and second doubles teams.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com
REGION 6 TENNIS FINALS
(four state qualifiers)
No. 1 singles: Brad Ferguson (TV) def. Brigg Barron (AF) 6-4, 6-1; third place: Tom Soffee (SF) def. Aaron Dunn (P) 6-2,6-1
No. 2 singles: Kevin Stanworth (TV) def. Andrew Parker (AF) 6-2, 6-1; third place: Nathan Freeman (S) def. Cameron Lewis (SF) 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 singles: Jason Johnson (TV) def. Britton Bowen (AF) 6-0, 7-5; third place: Phillip Whiting (S) def. Seth Carlisle (PV) 7-5, 7-5
No. 1 doubles: Nick Smith and Kyle Haskell (P) def. Mike Andrews and Adam Fredrico (TV) 6-4, 6-3; third place: Alex Myers and Spencer Judd (AF) def. Brendan Guyman and Mike Wright (SF) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Taylor Scott and Jordan Schettell (AF) def. Jason Cohen and Braden Evans (TV) 0-6, 7-6, 6-2; third place: Adam Fox and Shane Thredgold (S) def. Elliott Jenkins and Skyler Stice (PV) 6-3, 7-6
REGION 7 TENNIS FINALS
(three state qualifiers)
No. 1 singles: Ammon Spencer (MV) def. Carlton Taylor (PG) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; third place: Miguel Reyes (T) def. Kyle Hamilton (LP) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Brandon Loong (LP) def. Logan Spence (PG) 6-2, 6-4; third place: Cory Wennerholm (MV) def. Peter Wright (O) 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Mike Anderson (O) def. Reece Rovis (LP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; third place: A.J. Millet (MV) def. Danaan Clark (T) 6-3, 6-4
No. 1 doubles: A.J. Young and Colby Young (O) def. Mike Wilkey and Jesse Wilde (PG) 6-1, 6-2; third place: Austin Store and Quinn Robins (LP) def. Greg Larsen and A.J. Morris (MV) 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 doubles: Geoff Johnston and Robbie Ahlander (O) def. Ben Camp and Jason Burningham (LP) 6-3, 6-2; third place: Ben Dennett and Nate Faragher (MV) def. John Wilkey and Braden Kelly (PG) 6-1, 6-2
R E G I O N 6 , 7 T E N N I S