SALT LAKE CITY — Late Friday afternoon, after all the other tennis courts had emptied at Liberty Park, Taylor Schmidt and Loren Forkner of Waterford were involved in a difficult second-round match against Kate Anderson and Izzy Hillner of Delta.
When Schmidt and Forkner finally combined for the winning shot in a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) win, coach Ken Wade and the other Ravens fans burst into smiles and congratulated their heroes as it kept their team alive for a state championship at the 3A state tennis tournament.
“It was great that we got a doubles team past the second round,” said Wade, noting that the Schmidt/Forkner combo was a No. 4 seed and an underdog in both of its matches Friday. “We’re right where we wanted to be.”
The Ravens, however, will need more good fortune when the tourney combines with the 4A classification Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. They are still well behind first-place Morgan, which ended the first day on top with nine points, followed by Judge Memorial (8) and then Waterford and Grantsville (5 each).
Judge came in as the expected favorite. The Bulldogs are the defending 3A champ and, led by No. 1 singles player Katherine Macphail, had little trouble moving their players forward. Macphail, in fact, finished the regular season undefeated and lost just one game in her two matches Friday.
“We lost to them (the Bulldogs) earlier this season. We played them tough, but we were a different team then,” Wade said. “Judge was obviously the class of our region, but anything can happen at state. It just feels great to be here.”
Winning that last match made the difference. Schmidt and Forkner, after all, stayed alive by defeating a second seed and a top seed from other regions. The Ravens also advanced Noelle Kiefer and Paige Smaligo in singles play.
While Waterford has its hopes, Morgan appears to be the most-likely team to unseat Judge after it advanced four players to the semis. Sage Earl had a relatively easy time in No. 1 singles and, if she can get past Delta’s Emily Sanders, will try to prevent Macphail from earning her first state title.
Ashley McMillan and Erin Bartol also won their singles matches, and Emily Wilson/McCall Reid are on the opposite side of the bracket from their Judge counterparts and hope to pull a surprise to give the Trojans a chance to take home the team trophy.
3A girls state tennis tournament
At Liberty Park
Friday’s results
Team scores
1, Morgan 9. 2, Judge Memorial 8. 3, Waterford, Grantsville 7 5, Delta 5 6, Manti, Rowland Hall, Union 4. 9, Richfield, Wasatch Academy 4. 11, Grand County, Juab 2. 13, Gunnison Valley, North Sanpete 1.
No. 1 singles
Sadie Cox (Manti) def. Violet Truong (Rowland Hall) 7-5, 6-1. Sage Earl (Morgan) def. Jessie Bills (Juab) 6-2, 6-3. Paige Anderson (Waterford) def. Jade Warren (San Juan) 6-2, 6-2. Emily Sanders (Delta) def. Hayden Harris (Richfield) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Katherine Macphail (Judge) def. Jewlianna Nielsen (Carbon) 6-0, 6-0. Biw Tresirikasem (Grand) def. Clista Guleki (Wasatch Academy) 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3). Maci Jackson (Grantsville) def. Nokiah Taylor (North Sanpete) 6-4, 6-2. Lyndee Miller (Union) def. Abby Franci (St. Joseph) 6-0, 6-0.
Earl def. Cox 6-2, 6-3. Sanders def. Anderson 7-6, 6-2. Macphail def. Tresirikasem 6-0, 6-1. Miller def. Jackson 6-1, 6-2.
No. 2 singles
Noelle Kiefer (Waterford) def. Sophia Jessee (Wasatch Academy) 6-0, 6-2. Savannah Ames (North Sanpete) def. Mona Ueno (Union) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Ashley McMillan (Morgan) def. Sarah Utley (Richfield) 6-2, 6-2. Keanna Williams (Juab) def. Lexie Ramsey (South Sevier) 6-0, 6-3. JoLee Gillett (Manti) def. Madison McCandless (Emery) 6-3, 6-3. Lexi Colson (Grantsville) def. Emily Anderson (Delta) 6-1, 6-1. Madeline Frazier (Rowland Hall) def Savannah Price (Union) 6-4, 6-1. Olivia Anderson (Judge) def. Maara Holyoak (Grand) 6-1, 6-0.
Kieffer def Ames 6-0, 6-1. McMillan def. Williams 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Colson def. Gillett 6-0, 6-3. Anderson def. Frazier 6-3, 6-1.
No. 3 singles
Paige Smaligo (Waterford) def. Alayna Pulley (Providence Hall) 6-0, 6-0. Emma Echols (Juab) def. Kaylee Anderson (North Sanpete) 6-1, 6-1. Erin Bartol (Morgan) def. Toree Larsen (Union) 6-2, 6-1. Brynlee Norris (Richfield) def. Kaylen Lee (Maeser Prep) 6-0, 6-0. Katelyn Tolbert (Delta) def Lacy Linares (Grantsville) 6-2, 6-4. Kiersten Kimmerle (Grand) def Alysa Gribben (Judge) 6-1, 6-0. Tala Shihab (Rowland Hall) def Lacee Flanagan (South Sevier) 6-2, 6-1. Berkley Peterson (Gunnison) def. Aubrey Harmston (Manti) 6-2, 6-3.
Smaligo def. Echols 6-2, 6-1 Bartol def. Norris 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Tolbert def. Kimmerle 6-2, 6-2. Shihab def. Peterson 6-0, 6-0.
No. 1 doubles
Whitney Dyreng/Alexis Naylor (Manti) def. Mikayla Guimond/Maggie Ressa (St Joseph) 6-3, 6-2. Paigae Peterson/Brynlee Butler (Grantsville) def Hallie Ewart/Katey Tolbert (Delta) 6-0, 6-1. Scout Curtis/Taylor Polad (Morgan) def. Ally Brotherson/Rylee McKay (North Sanpete) 6-2, 6-3. Giulia Stocchino/Ines Schmid (Wasatch Academy) def. Jordan Wolford/Jesse Nicholson (Emery) 6-0, 6-4. Amy Robinson/Anna Drossos (Judge) def Nikki Jacques/Kelsey Ortega (Maeser Prep) 6-2, 6-0. Avery Stevens/Tacee Miller (Union) def. Jamie Day/Kyla Jackman (Grand) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Ellie Hair/Marissa McIff (Richfield) def. Beth Hammond/Isabel Hammond (Waterford) 6-2, 6-0. Caroline Applegate/Tennyson Seethaler (Rowland Hall) def. Olivia Foster/Jessica Willmore (Juab) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Peterson/Butler def. Dyreng/Naylor 6-1, 6-2. Stocchino/Schmid def. Curtis/Polad 6-1, 6-0. Robinson/Drossos def. Stevens/Miller 6-3, 6-0. Hair/McIff def. Applegate/Seethaler 6-2, 7-6 (1).
No. 2 doubles
Janne Bredehoeft/Hannah Gose (Judge) def. Sydney Sevy/Kayl Harston (Maeser Prep) 6-0, 6-0. Angel Burgi/Kiara Allred (Union) def. Natalie Day/Kaylee Madsen (North Sanpete) 6-1, 6-2. Taylor Schmidt/Lauren Forkner (Waterford) def. Taylor Sorensen/Piper Harris (Richfield) 6-3, 6-2. Kate Anderson/Izzy Hillner (Delta) def. Chloe Talbot/Jenny Koppel (Grand) 6-0, 6-2. Emma Jorgensen/Libby Simons (Manti) def. Raegan Sitterud/Rayna Paskett (Emery) 6-0, 6-1. Emily Wilson/McCall Reid (Morgan) def. Katie Marchant/Ashlyn Dansi (Juab) 6-3, 6-1. Tenzin Norzum/Lucia Villanova (Wasatch Academy) def. Grayson King/Kajal Ganesh (Rowland Hall) 6-0, 6-2. Zoe Ison/Hallie Johnson (Grantsville) def. Ashley Lowe/Morgan Blackburn (South Sevier) 6-2, 6-2.
Bredehoeft/Gose def Burgi/Allred 6-1, 6-1. Schmidt/Forkner def. Anderson/Hillner 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6). Wilson/Reid def. Jorgensen/Simons 6-2, 6-4. Ison/Johnson def. Norzum/Villanueva 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.