Dons, Bulldogs primed for 3A tennis tourney

Desert Hills opened in 2008 and since that time has dominated 3A girls tennis, winning all three state tennis titles.

However, the Thunder have taken a step back after graduating seven seniors last season. In fact they did not qualify a single No. 1 seed in the upcoming 3A tournament so they will have an uphill battle if they want to make it four in a row.

The regression of Desert Hills has Park City, Judge Memorial, Dixie and Spanish Fork licking their chops. Spanish Fork, which won the Region 12 title this season, did not fare well in last year's 4A tournament as it only earned one point as a team.

"We feel good going into the tournament because four out of the five spots are going in as No. 1 seeds." said Spanish Fork coach Denise Daniels.

McKenna West and Marissa Christensen will represent Spanish Fork as No. 1 seeds in first and second singles, respectively. The other two No. 1 seeds are both doubles pairs. Paige Beckstrom and Shea Booth will be playing in first doubles while seniors M'Lisa Dixon and Makayla Michelsen will be contending in second doubles.

Freshman Josie Braithwaite will represent the Dons in third singles as a No. 2. She will have an uphill battle with Payson's undefeated senior Hilary Frampton, as well as Katelin Christiansen, another undefeated senior from Grantsville, on her side of the bracket. Frampton and Christensen are both No. 1 seeds.

Despite the favorable seeding Daniels still expects a competitive tournament, especially in the later rounds due to the fact that Park City and Judge "are as good as anyone." Judge is also entering the tournament with four out of five No. 1 seeds after edging out Park City for the Region 10 title. Judge is a young team as every athlete competing in the tournament is an underclassman except for the second doubles pair, Alyssa Corbett and Ali Clayton, who are both seniors. They are undefeated, as are all three of Judge's singles players, so far this season.

Junior Emily Murnin "is a rock" said Judge athletic director Dan Quinn.

"If she keeps her confidence and plays her game, she has a good shot," he said.

Murnin is a No. 1 seed in first singles. Freshman Whitney Weisberg will carry the load for Judge in second singles. Sophomore Katie Iwasaki will be playing third singles.

"If we play our game we should do fine in the tournament," Quinn said. "On paper we are probably one of the top two or three teams in the state, but you never know who is going to show up."

The tournament is Friday and Saturday at Brigham Young University. Play begins at 10:30 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

email: smundee@desnews.com