PROVO — "Cold, but good."
According to Desert Hills coach Dow Christenson, that's how it feels to win a state championship. Christenson was mobbed by his team then dragged across the court — feigning resistance the entire time — and showered with an ice-cold cooler of water in a fitting celebration for the school's first state tennis title.
"The kids have been great," he said. "They've worked hard and just gelled as a team. They each had a role — that's the hard thing in tennis is to get the kids to embrace what their role is and play it out — but they did a great job of that the past two days."
The Thunder finished with 26 points, while Juan Diego and Park City followed with 19 and eight total team points, respectively.
Both Desert Hills and Juan Diego had a legitimate chance to claim the team title, as both teams advanced players to the finals in four of the five divisions.
The Thunder, though, didn't waste any time clinching the championship, sweeping the No. 1 singles and doubles — played simultaneously on adjacent courts — as well as the No. 2 singles from Juan Diego.
"I'm really proud of all the guys on the team," Desert Hills' Jordan Lyden said. "We've worked really hard this year, and it's great when all the work pays off like this."
Lyden looked like he would run away with the No. 1 singles title after dominating Juan Diego's Hong Pei Lu in the first set of the final match. The Desert Hills junior unleashed a torrent of powerful groundstrokes that led to a quick 6-0 win, though he was unable to keep his momentum going.
Lu hit his stride in the second set, as his patience and tough defense forced Lyden into uncharacteristic errors.
"At the start I try to hit to people's weaknesses, which is usually their backhand," Lyden said.
"It worked in the first set really well, but then (Lu) got in the zone and just started to crush the ball hard and flat. He was really good in the second set."
Lyden bounced back and made quick work of Lu in the third set, winning 6-1 to seal his second state title in as many years.
"After I lost that second set, I knew I just had to keep my head high and keep playing my game," Lyden said. "It was close — I had to fight hard for every single point — but I felt if I could get the momentum back then I could get the title."
The most compelling match of the day was the No. 2 singles semifinal between Juan Diego's Jake Barman and Hurricane's Ricky Rahde. Down 5-1 in the third set, Barman came back to force a tiebreaker, which he won 7-5. It was the only match being played at the time and drew the largest crowd of the day.
The championship match was not so close, however, as Desert Hills freshman John Nelson defeated Barman 6-1, 6-0.
Both of Desert Hills' doubles teams also claimed state titles. The No. 1 pair of Skyler Almquist and Mason Ford beat Juan Diego's Corbin White and James Russell-Field 6-2, 6-0, and the duo of Skyler Smith and Val Greggersen took home the No. 2 doubles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Bear River's Tyler Christiansen and Tim Bitner.
Juan Diego's Joe Salemi captured the Soaring Eagle's lone title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Park City's Jackson Engen in the No. 3 singles final.
Results
Team Scores
1. Desert Hills, 26; 2. Juan Diego, 19; 3. Park City, 8; 4. (tie) Bear River and Hurricane, 7; 6. Judge Memorial, 6; 7. Grantsville, 4; 8. Wasatch, 3; 9. (tie) Manti and Morgan, 2; 11. Carbon, 1.
Individual results
First Singles
Semifinals — Lu, Juan Diego def. Alger, Hurricane, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3; Lyden, Desert Hills def. Kennedy, Judge Memorial, 6-2, 6-0
Finals — Lyden, Desert Hills def. Lu, Juan Diego, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1.
Second Singles
Semifinals — Barman, Juan Diego def. Rahde, Hurricane, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4); Nelson, Desert Hills def. Treiman, Judge Memorial, 7-5, 6-2
Finals — Nelson, Desert Hills def Barman, Juan Diego, 6-1, 6-0.
Third Singles
Semifinals — Salemi, Juan Diego def. Barton, Bear River, 6-1, 6-1; Engen, Park City def. Bolce, Desert Hills 6-2, 6-2
Finals — Salemi, Juan Diego def. Engen, Park City, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
First Doubles
Semifinals — White and Russell-Field, Juan Diego def. Wray and Dancy, Park City, 6-0, 6-1; Almquist and Ford, Desert Hills def. Wiscombe and Wright, Morgan, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 6-1
Finals — Almquist and Ford, Desert Hills def. White and Russell-Field, Juan Diego, 6-2, 6-0.
Second Doubles
Semifinals — Christiansen and Bitner, Bear River def. Groy and Motaghed, Park City, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Smith and Greggersen, Desert Hills def. Hill and Anderson, Manti, 6-2, 6-0
Finals — Smith and Greggersen, Desert Hills def. Christiansen and Bitner, Bear River, 6-2, 6-2.
3A BOYS TENNIS
Team Scores
1. Desert Hills, 26; 2. Juan Diego, 19; 3. Park City, 8; 4. (tie) Bear River and Hurricane, 7; 6. Judge Memorial, 6; 7. Grantsville, 4; 8. Wasatch, 3; 9. (tie) Manti and Morgan, 2; 11. Carbon, 1.
Individual results
First Singles
Semifinals — Lu, Juan Diego def. Alger, Hurricane, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3; Lyden, Desert Hills def. Kennedy, Judge Memorial, 6-2, 6-0
Finals — Lyden, Desert Hills def. Lu, Juan Diego, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1.
Second Singles
Semifinals — Barman, Juan Diego def. Rahde, Hurricane, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4); Nelson, Desert Hills def. Treiman, Judge Memorial, 7-5, 6-2
Finals — Nelson, Desert Hills def Barman, Juan Diego, 6-1, 6-0.
Third Singles
Semifinals — Salemi, Juan Diego def. Barton, Bear River, 6-1, 6-1; Engen, Park City def. Bolce, Desert Hills 6-2, 6-2
Finals — Salemi, Juan Diego def. Engen, Park City, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
First Doubles
Semifinals — White and Russell-Field, Juan Diego def. Wray and Dancy, Park City, 6-0, 6-1; Almquist and Ford, Desert Hills def. Wiscombe and Wright, Morgan, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 6-1
Finals — Almquist and Ford, Desert Hills def. White and Russell-Field, Juan Diego, 6-2, 6-0.
Second Doubles
Semifinals — Christiansen and Bitner, Bear River def. Groy and Motaghed, Park City, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Smith and Greggersen, Desert Hills def. Hill and Anderson, Manti, 6-2, 6-0
Finals — Smith and Greggersen, Desert Hills def. Christiansen and Bitner, Bear River, 6-2, 6-2.