High school tennis: Weber's Macfarlane mowing down foes

As expected, Weber High tennis standout Mary Anne Macfarlane has soared to the front of the pack.

The junior and first singles defending champion worked her way through the first two rounds of the 5A state tennis tournament at Liberty Park on Thursday by handily defeating Maya Yerman of Riverton, 6-0, 6-1, and Kallie Sperry of Jordan, 6-1, 6-0.

Now, Macfarlane is resting and getting ready for a run at a second title.

"Today (Thursday) went really well," she said. "I played two tough matches against good opponents, and I think they have prepared me well (for Saturday)."

Sophomore Nittaya Phonoharath of Hunter will face off with Macfarlane to start the semifinal round, which is scheduled to start at noon in the Eccles Tennis Center at the University of Utah rather than Liberty Park due to weather concerns.

First singles player Whitney White of Lone Peak, who is undefeated since the start of region play, also made quick work of her challengers, beating Kimi Watts of Brighton, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, and Sammie Bagley of Bingham, 6-2, 6-1. She is set up for a showdown against Ashley Tanner of Alta, who was also perfect through region play and lost only one set on the first day of state.

In second singles competition, Brighton freshman Anna Kankanala and Viewmont junior Paige Andersen squared off in an exhausting three-hour match that ended with the Bengals' player moving on to the next round. Three sets and tiebreakers at the end of each set were required before Kankanala could come up with the upset, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6).

She will now see freshman Alyssa Evensen of Skyline, who had a much easier time in her first two matches, defeating Ellie Miller of Lehi, 6-1, 6-0, and Morgan Musser of Bingham, 6-0, 6-2.

Second doubles competition had an epic match of its own, and it also involved the Bengals. Bristal Jacobsen and Jessica Osterloh of Brighton battled with Grace Park and Jessie Davidson of Bingham for over three hours and through three sets before the Miners were finally victorious, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). The Miners will now have an opportunity to bump off Lexi Haynes and Hope Masters of Alta.

Alta High finished the day in first place with 10 team points and a competitor remaining alive in all five divisions. Skyline was a close second with nine points and four out of five entrants still in the tournament. Lone Peak and Bingham are third and fourth with eight and seven points, respectively.

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