“This, to me, is the most prestigious honor. It means you are being a student, both in and out of the classroom, as well as contributing to a varsity team. He truly deserved this,” said GCHS coach Ed DeFrancia.
When play began, it was obvious that the level of competition was a big step up from the regular season. At No. 1 doubles, Zach Johnson and Kris Kemp, playing in their first state tournament ever, took on tennis powerhouse Waterford. Waterford took the first set after breaking serve in the seventh game, but Grand came back to hold even, taking the second set in a tie-break, 8-6. The third set started well, but Waterford stepped up their game and won that set, 6-2.
Lewis and Hazlett both drew first round matches against Maeser Prep, whom they had faced in March. Both won easily in straight sets and advanced to the semi-finals.
Hazlett faced strong competition against Jason Choi from Wasatch Academy. After dropping the first set and going down a break in the second, Hazlett got the match back on serve, and won a tight tie-break to force a third set. Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t carry over, as he lost serve twice, and fell 6-1 in the third.
“Zak [Hazlett] matured greatly during the course of the year, and should be proud of both his region championship and his performance at state,” said DeFrancia said. “A 13-1 record is outstanding.”
Lewis fell to Rowland Hall’s Matt Bossart in the semifinal match and the Red Devils finished the state tournament in fifth place out of 12 schools.
“All these guys played well, and the future looks good for tennis,” DeFrancia said. “The team will only lose three players, and two of the four state qualifiers are a freshman and a sophomore.”
The previous week, on May 3, the GCHS boys tennis team played their state qualifying region tournament at South Sevier High School. Grand had numerous players seeded at or near the top of their respective brackets.
Playing No. 1 singles, Grand’s Ravon Martin lost the first round to South Sevier’s Karson Nillson. Martin faced Millard on the consolation side, winning easily and then lost to Nillson again in a pro-set (first to eight games) match.
At No. 2 singles, Hazlett downed both South Sevier and Parowan in straight sets, and claiming his first region championship.
Lewis garnered the No. 3 seed and began by defeating Millard 6-0, 6-1. In the semi-final match against the second-seed from South Sevier, Lewis won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. But in the final, Lewis lost to Parowan, 6-2, 6-4.
Zach Johnson and Kris Kemp, at No. 1 doubles, first defeated Gunnison in two sets, 6-3, 7-5. In the semifinals they faced the top seed from Parowan, and lost in straight sets. In a third-place match against San Juan, Johnson and Kemp won in two sets, and the third-place overall finish gave them a spot a state.
Grand’s No. 2 seeded doubles team of Kory Sheldon and Swain Begaye earned a bye in the first round and started out strong against South Sevier, but ended up losing in three sets. In the third-place match, they lost to San Juan, and then lost the pro set to Gunnison by the score of 8-4.
The Red Devils team finished in third place, one point behind South Sevier. Parowan won the region title.