Ravens, Rowland Hall tie as 1A/2A champs

SANDY — Given that Waterford will be heading up to 3A next year, the boys tennis team was hoping to depart 2A with grand effect — a third straight state championship.

It took a come-from-behind victory, but the Ravens were able to pull it off.

Waterford was trailing both Manti and Rowland Hall after semifinal play, but the Ravens won all three of their imperative finals matches (first singles, second singles and first doubles) to bypass Manti and tie Rowland Hall for the 1A/2A state championship.

Rowland Hall and Waterford also tied at region, and the tie at state was an almost fitting way to end the longtime rivalry.

"It's good. Not as good as an outright win, of course, but it's still great," Waterford head coach Ken Wade said.

As daunting as the move to 3A will be, Wade has no trepidation about it. Waterford has competed in head-to-head matches against some of the 3A teams in past seasons, so Wade does not think next year will be very different.

"The big difference is in the number of teams that are good," Wade said. "The top teams aren't much better than 2A, but there are more of them, so you get fewer points in a good state tourney."

Experience-wise, the Ravens will have their work cut out for them next season. Besides playing in a bigger classification, they lose two key seniors, Calvin Bennett and Chris Chang.

Bennett, a four-time state champion at No. 1 singles, is considered by many to be the best player in the state — at any classification. He will be playing tennis at Yale next year for the Bulldogs.

"The thing about having Calvin is that it gave all the players such a big boost to know they were always going to get that win," Wade said. "I appreciate that he stuck around for four years and didn't go off playing in national tennis tourneys, but instead wanted to be a team player."

Bennett, a true Renaissance man with many varied interests, intends to study English at Yale, but wouldn't mind traveling the world playing tennis at some point in the future.

"I've played since I was like 6, and it has just always come natural," Bennett said. "I've played internationally — one in Costa Rica and I did all right."