Juan Diego duo dominates the courts

Once she picked up her first tennis racket at 10 years old, it didn't take much time for Juan Diego's Paige Miles to show off her natural talent.

About a year after Miles started playing, she took on her mother in a friendly challenge match. The result isn't what you would typically expect for an 11-year-old playing against a parent.

Her mother walked off the court with a loss.

"She was in complete denial about it for a couple of years," Miles said. "It wasn't until I started winning tournaments that she was like, 'OK, I'll say that you beat me.' I'm pretty sure she was embarrassed about it for a while."

Dominating opponents is a constant theme in the high school careers of Miles and teammate Romina Nedakovic.

They have mastered the art of winning, sporting a combined 134-0 record coming into 2007. Nedakovic, a senior, earned 82 victories at first singles and Miles claimed 52 at second singles.

The Soaring Eagle twosome has continued its winning ways in the new season. For Nedakovic, it didn't really dawn on her just how much she accomplished until picking up her third straight singles state title last fall.

"It's pretty remarkable that I (won) so many matches during my four years at Juan Diego," Nedakovic said. "Who knows what's going to happen in the future? There's a lot of good girls out there. Hopefully, I can keep it up."

Nedakovic and Miles are not without challengers from other 3A elites such as Park City, Judge, Waterford and Ogden — all of which also boast nationally ranked singles players that routinely compete at national summer tournaments.

Being exposed to top-level competition makes high school matches less of a challenge.

"We play nationals, and these other girls are just doing it for like high school tennis," Miles said. "But we're planning to go to college with full-ride scholarships after this, so it's not like (the pinnacle). High-school tennis is just something fun to do."

Nedakovic has had scholarship offers from Marquette, Colorado and BYU. Miles is already getting letters from schools like Utah and UCLA.

With their collegiate futures looking secure and several state titles to their credit, Nedakovic and Miles find continuing motivation in trying to land Juan Diego the 3A team title that has eluded it for the past couple of years.