High school girls tennis: Talented Woods Cross earns another 5A title

It was a glorious afternoon for the Woods Cross girls tennis team Saturday.

Despite threats of an impending storm that could disrupt the 5A state tournament at Liberty Park, the Wildcats rode the talents of players such as Lyla Bergesen to claim their second straight 5A crown and third in the last five years.

The Wildcats advanced athletes to the championship match in all five divisions and earned 70 points to outdistance second-place Hillcrest (37), followed by Skyline (27), Timpview (24) and Pleasant Grove (19).

Coach Jim Romero, his assistants and booster club parents were so relaxed they had time to find and offer their players thick, gold necklaces as a midday gift long before the championship trophy was received.

The necklaces made Woods Cross players easy to identify throughout the day. Of course, the girls’ frequent smiles were also an easy giveaway.

“I was so impressed at the way the girls played,” Romero said. “At the start of the season, I’d say this wasn’t a state championship team, but they kept at it and played their best right at the end.”

1 of 53

2 of 53

3 of 53

4 of 53

5 of 53

6 of 53

7 of 53

8 of 53

9 of 53

10 of 53

11 of 53

12 of 53

13 of 53

14 of 53

15 of 53

16 of 53

17 of 53

18 of 53

19 of 53

20 of 53

21 of 53

22 of 53

23 of 53

24 of 53

25 of 53

26 of 53

27 of 53

28 of 53

29 of 53

30 of 53

31 of 53

32 of 53

33 of 53

34 of 53

35 of 53

36 of 53

37 of 53

38 of 53

39 of 53

40 of 53

41 of 53

42 of 53

43 of 53

44 of 53

45 of 53

46 of 53

47 of 53

48 of 53

49 of 53

50 of 53

51 of 53

52 of 53

53 of 53

That’s saying a lot, too, because the Wildcats won big tournaments in Utah County and St. George early in the season and they never suffered a letdown.

Hillcrest coach Creighton Chun said he knew right away that his team was likely playing for second place. Before the season began, he figured Olympus would also be a title contender, but Woods Cross was able to keep its entire squad and Bergesen and Ruby Robbins earned titles in singles play. The teams of Sydney Kemp and Lila Johnson, as well as Lillie Bennion and Liza Eyring, handled their opponents in convincing fashion as well.

For Bennion and Eyring, it was their second consecutive state crown.

“You never know what you’re going to get in the finals,” said Romero. “These girls all stood their ground and played their best. It was a pleasure to watch them all day.”

Only a freshman, Bergesen comes from a tennis family, and playing with and against her father and brother, Drew, who is also a standout tennis player at Woods Cross, helped her reach her state-championship goal so quickly.

She said the individual and team trophies she held afterward while celebrating the win was probably one of the best tennis highlights of her life so far.

“I’ve been playing for a long time, and the support I got from my teammates has been great,” she said. “We may be a bunch of individuals, but this is a team sport and what we accomplished today we did as a team.”

Hillcrest also celebrated an individual title as Nivedita Bakshi earned 15 points by herself and that boosted the Huskies to a memorable finish.

Bakshi’s win also prevented Woods Cross from sweeping all of the events.