In the NBA, they'd call this a dynasty.

Timpview won its fourth 4A boys tennis championship in six years Saturday at Liberty Park with 22 points, nine ahead of its next closest opponent, Orem.

The Thunderbirds had the team title all wrapped up by the time the semifinals were over. Coach Nate Warner's first, second and third singles players were all matched against Bountiful players in the semis. Timpview swept all three matches, securing the championship because no one was close enough to catch them even if they had lost all their matches.

The only thing left was to claim the individual championships. Timpview used the rule of thirds to win those as well: seniors Brad Ferguson and Kevin Stanworth both took home their third state titles in their high school careers, at first and second singles, respectively, while sophomore Jason Johnson got the third individual title of the day for Timpview with his first championship at third singles.

"We've had a good run," Warner said. "We come to the state tournament expecting to win."

Depth is the key to the Thunderbirds' success, Warner said. Having the title won before the finals helped his players think about winning their matches for themselves instead of worrying about where the team scores stood, he said. Even so, Ferguson said being the defending champion and being expected to win put plenty of pressure on him.

"I had a target (on me)," he said. "It feels good to be done. It feels good to finish my high school career like that."

It's all about concentration, Stanworth said.

"This whole tournament is just keeping focused," he said. "I knew if I focused against any of these guys I could beat them."

Finishing the tournament in second place, Orem ended up with 13 points. Lone Peak faced Orem in the finals of both doubles matches with a chance to move into second, but Orem had added a sweep of its own as the Tigers took titles home in both first and second doubles. Lone Peak finished third with 11.

Orem coach Craig Young had extra reason to be proud of his first doubles team. His sons, Colby and A.J. Young finished an undefeated season by beating Austin Story and Quinn Robbins to win the doubles title in the only year they will be able to play together. "I won't say we were expecting to win it, but I thought we had a real good shot at taking both (doubles titles) all year long," Craig Young said. Tigers Robbie Ahlander and Geoff Johnston downed Lone Peak's Ben Camp and Jason Burningham 6-0, 6-0. Ahlander and Johnston were also undefeated for the season. "We were a little worried about Lone Peak," Johnston said. "We split sets with them at the start of the season, but we played well today, so I was happy how it turned out."

Olympus was well represented in the finals as well. Bryan Marchant made it to the finals in first singles but fell 6-2, 6-2 to Ferguson's mistake-free style. Another Olympus player, Brody Miles, lost1-6, 2-6 to Timpview's Johnson in the final.

Logan's Nate Ballam was the only player in the tournament who didn't also have a teammate competing in a final. Stanworth defeated Ballam 6-2, 6-0 at second singles for the title. Bountiful, Logan, and Olympus tied for fourth in the tournament with eight points each.


4A teams tournament

at Liberty Park

Day Two

Semifinals Results

First Singles

Brad Ferguson, Timpview def. C.J. Adamson, Bountiful 6-0, 6-3; Bryan Marchant, Olympus def. Brigg Barron, American Fork 6-3, 7-5.

Second Singles

Kevin Stanworth, Timpview def. Ryan Perry, Bountiful 6-4, 6-1; Nate Ballam, Logan def. Brandon Loong, Lone Peak 6-3, 6-2.

Third Singles

Jason Johnson, Timpview def. Alex Shahan, Bountiful 6-2, 6-2; Brody Miles, Olympus def. Ross Rudd, East 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

First Doubles

Austin Story and Quinn Robbins, Lone Peak def. Chance Murray and Rich Leatham, Bountiful 6-4, 6-4; Colby Young and A.J. Young, Orem def. Mike Andrews and Adam Frederico, Timpview 6-1, 6-0.

Second Doubles

Ben Camp and Jason Burningham, Lone Peak def. Jason Cohen and Brayden Evans, Timpview 6-1, 6-2; Robbie Ahlander and Geoff Johnston, Orem def. Alex Mortensen and Phillip Lohman, Logan 6-3, 6-2.

Finals Results

First Singles

Ferguson, Timpview def. Marchant, Olympus 6-2, 6-2.

Second Singles

Stanworth, Timpview def. Ballam, Logan 6-2, 6-0.

Third Singles

Johnson, Timpview def. Miles, Olympus 6-1, 6-2.

First Doubles

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Young and Young, Orem def. Story and Robbins, Lone Peak.

Second Doubles

Ahlander and Johnston, Orem def. Camp and Burningham, Lone Peak 6-0, 6-0.


E-MAIL: rburton@desnews.com

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