PROVO — While Pine View snagged the team 3A state tennis title with 19 points, the first singles glory went to three-peat champion Romina Nedakovic of Juan Diego.
Nedakovic ran into a bit more trouble than she's used to against Ogden's Tori Arneson in the semifinals as she was forced into a tiebreak in the first set, but she finally put things together and finished out the match without too many problems, taking the second set for the 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory.
"The first set Tori was very steady, so I had to think of something because she wasn't giving me anything," said Nedakovic, the junior who always seems able to come up with a good strategy for putting her opponents away.
Her match in the finals wasn't quite as tough, but Park City's Ali McMahon did take her to 6-3, 6-3 before succumbing to Nedakovic's steady play.
"That was a good match. She played well, so I had to play better, and it went well for me," said the three-time state first singles champion, who might find her toughest competition coming from within her own team.
Sophomore Paige Miles rampaged her way through second singles competition en route to her second straight title, only losing four total games in the process. The young player, who is ranked No. 3 in the intermountain 16s, played with a pink racket in remembrance of her very good friend and competitor Desiree Bastion, a Viewmont singles player who was killed in a car accident last summer.
This one she dedicated to the tough player, whom most of the top players know and miss. But she did have to work hard against tough Karlie Hancock of Pine View, who gave her a little more trouble than she had last year. She plans to work hard in the offseason to try to challenge teammate Nedakovic for the top spot on the team next season.
Juan Diego lost third singles player Masha Chadovich in a three hour marathon match against Park City's Annika Karlson, in possibly the most intense match of the tournament. Karlson didn't have much left in the tank against Judge Memorial's Mikelle Mancini, who lost a total of one game as she tore her way to the third singles title. "It means a lot to me. It was cool," said the freshman, who also said she played for Bastion and was thinking of her throughout the tournament.
As for the team title, Pine View, which took control in the doubles field, stealing both first and second doubles victories over fellow Region 9 competitor Dixie, scored 19 points and ran away with their third straight and fourth in the past five years.
"We worked so hard, and it finally paid off," said first doubles champion Nicole Ford, who together with teammate Lauren Wright finished off Dixie's Lauren Beck and Kaytee Clayton 6-3, 6-1.
The Wright's made it an all in the family day as Wright's sister Hilary and her partner Andee Gempeler walked away with the second doubles title over Dixie's Annie Davis and Tara Sevy in a tough 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 match.
Juan Diego and Park City tied for second place in the team competition with 14 points each.
3A TENNIS RESULTS
TEAM SCORES: 1. Pine View 19, 2. Juan Diego 14, 2. Park City 14, 4. Dixie 9, 4. Judge Memorial 9, 6. Ogden 7, 7. Bear River 5, 7. Logan 5, 7. Snow Canyon 5, 10. Grantsville 3.
SEMIFINAL ROUND:First singles: Romina Nedakovic, Juan Diego def. Tori Arneson, Ogden 7-6 (7-3), 6-2; Ali McMahon, Park City def. Melissa Cowles, Pine View 6-1, 6-0. Second singles: Paige Miles, Juan Diego def. Tessa Wray, Park City 6-1, 6-0; Karlie Hancock, Pine View def. Megan Mancini, Judge Memorial 6-2, 6-0. Third singles: Annika Karlson, Park City def. Masha Chadovich, Juan Diego 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; Mikelle Mancini, Judge Memorial def. Shanon Southwick, Snow Canyon 6-0, 6-0.
First doubles: Lauren Beck/Kaytee Clayton, Dixie def. Amy Steimke/Amanda Stokes, Ogden 6-4, 6-2; Lauren Wright/Nicole Ford, Pine View def. Tori Sowul/Hilary Packham, Park City 6-3, 6-1. Second doubles: Annie Davis/Tara Sevy, Dixie def. Abbey Welsh/Melissa Tribe, Ogden 6-4, 6-1; Hilary Wright/Andee Gempeler, Pine View def. Kirsten Hardman/Lindsay Price, Park City 6-4, 6-3.
Championship round: First singles: Nedakovic, Juan Diego def. McMahon, Park City 6-3, 6-3. Second singles: Miles, Juan Diego def. Hancock, Pine View 6-1, 6-0. Third singles: Mancini, Judge Memorial def. Karlson, Park City 6-0, 6-0. First doubles: Wright/Ford, Pine View def. Beck/Clayton, Dixie 6-3, 6-1. Second doubles: Wright/Gempeler, Pine View def. Davis/Sevy, Dixie 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
E-mail: jolsen@desnews.com