SALT LAKE CITY -- Working together like a well-oiled machine, the St. Joseph girls tennis team completed their season on Saturday afternoon by celebrating a state 2-A championship.
"Our girls played quite well, and with a couple of breaks, we ended up on top," St. Joseph coach Gary Griffenhagen said. "These players and their families are thrilled."
St. Joseph and Rowland Hall battled for every point, just like they had at the North Divisional a week earlier. In that showdown, the teams tied for first.
Saturday, the Jayhawks claimed first-place finishes at No. 1 doubles, and then posted runner-up points at No. 1 and 3 singles as well as at No. 2 doubles. The result was a one-point win, 15-14.
"Every point was obviously very important," Griffenhagen added.
Several of the hard-working St. Joseph girls are also running cross country and playing soccer this fall, but the effort is worth it.
The No. 1 singles final was a threepeat of the past two years, with the Jayhawks' Joanna Matyjasik and Rowland Hall's Madeline Foley squaring off with each having won a title.
The final round went Foley's way, 6-1, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Kelsey Almony won her opening match before falling in the semifinals to Rowland Halls's Kaitlyn Ramsey, 6-0, 6-0.
At No. 3 singles, St. Joseph's Katie Berry battled rival Scout Swenson of Rowland Hall in the final. Berry dropped the first set in a tie-break, eventually losing 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
At No. 1 doubles, the dynamic duo of Ivee Barton and Natalia Behnken repeated as state champions, a rare feat. they won all three of their matches in two sets.
At No. 2 doubles, Katie Panushka and Audra Thurston hoped to sweep the titles for the Jayawsk, but fell to a San Juan duo, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
State 5-A, 4-A, 3-A tourneys on tap
The rest of the state's girls tennis tournaments are this weekend.
The 5-A tournament begins Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at Liberty Park, with the finals set for Saturday at 9 a.m. Davis will look to improve on its fourth-place finish of a year ago.
The 4-A tournament will run Friday (8:30 a.m.) and Saturday at Liberty Park. The 3-A tournament runs Friday (10:30 a.m.) and Saturday (9 am.) at BYU.
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