Rowland Hall girls repeat

Proving that to finish first you have to be seven deep, the Rowland Hall girls tennis team collected the school's second straight 1A/2A girls state title Saturday at Liberty Park.

Although Rowland Hall players only finished first in two of the five events, all three singles players and both doubles teams made the finals, which was the key to winning.

Rowland Hall collected a dominating 19 total points. Waterford finished a distant second with 10 points, and St. Joseph (7), Manti (6) and Richfield (5) rounded out the top five.

"I'm really proud of my girls today," Rowland Hall coach Tim Sleeper said. "We knew some matches would be close, but they came through."

The biggest upset came in the first singles match, where St. Joseph star Lauren Jones proved that the third time is the charm. Jones upset Rowland Hall returning state champion Stephanie Chard, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, to win her first championship. Jones and Chard met two previous times this year, and Chard won both times in three sets.

"I know Stephanie's game, so I knew what to work on. She is really tough, so we had to come up with a good strategy," Jones said.

The turning point came with Jones serving down 0-1 in the second set. Jones and Chard battled to deuce six times before Jones pulled out the point. She used her killer forehand and the momentum from that game to win the next six points, and eventually the match.

"Lauren worked hard this week, and she kept her confidence," St. Joseph assistant coach Gary Griffenhagen said. "She executed the game plan perfectly."

In second singles, Rowland Hall sophomore Blake Harries won her second straight championship. Harries battled Waterford senior Larissa Beck to a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory.

Harries was sidelined with an injured meniscus for the better part of the summer, which made the title particularly sweet. With two more years before she graduates, Harries plans to keep dominating.

"I can four-peat," Harries said. "Just wait and see."

Waterford freshman Kim Beck, the fifth Beck girl to play for Waterford, won her first title at third singles, beating returning Rowland Hall senior Mallory Rosenthal 6-2, 6-2.

"Kim has the potential to be the best player," Waterford coach Ken Wade said. "She just needs to develop her mental game a little more."

In first doubles, the Richfield combo of Kaitlin DeMille and Katie Christensen won their first title, beating the formerly undefeated Rowland Hall duo of Sophie Ashton and Abby Bossart 6-3, 6-2. DeMille and Christensen demolished teams throughout the season, only losing one set (to St. Joseph in the semifinals) all year.

Sydney Hartsell got a new partner in Morgan Sorensan, but her second straight title for Rowland Hall at second doubles. Sorensan beat out five other Rowland Hall players in a playoff to get the slot as Hartsell's partner. They defeated McKelle George and Stephanie Barton of Manti, 6-3, 6-1.

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