The old dogs taught the young dogs a few new tricks except for first doubles. Parker Earl and Colton Clark were able to weather the storm from alumni players, and current Snow College Badgers, Jordan Blackham and Spencer Poulson.

Earl and Clark snapped a four-match losing streak against last year’s first doubles duo 6-4, 5-7 (10-8). After splitting the first two sets, they had to win a very close super-tiebreaker.

Thirty-four-year-old Head Coach Jeff Ericksen stepped into the top spot and beat North Sanpete’s Josh Benson 6-2, 6-2. Ericksen represented the class of 1991.

Coach Ericksen said, “It was just fun to play competitively again. Just the fact that we are older, gives us a slight mental edge over these youngsters, but if they only knew how good they are and how fast we get tired, that mental edge would disappear fast. The young legs would win a lot more matches!”

Jeff Jorgensen, a local photographer, came back to school to represent the class of 1978 and represent them well he did. He faced junior Scott Bentley in second singles and beat him 6-3, 6-1. Jorgensen wasn’t overpowering but he used his shot selection and nice backhand slice to keep the ball in play.

Assistant Coach Brad Bentley helped round out the alumni lineup by facing Shawn Miner in third singles. Miner played well but Coach Bentley kept him in a hole he couldn’t climb out of and beat him 6-4, 6-1.

Coach Bentley commented, “It is nice for our young guys to see the level of play that they can still rise to as well as see the tradition of great tennis that has been established the last 35 years or so here at North Sanpete High School.”

In second doubles, Brian Anderson and Spencer Shelley had to face a couple of almost 30-year-olds in Ben Cox and Jeremy Madsen.

Cox graduated in 1996 and Madsen in 1994. They beat Anderson and Shelley 6-4, 6-3. North Sanpete alumnus and current faculty member, Ben Cox, exclaimed, “I had a blast and hope to do this again next year!”

In an extra match, Michael Lewis was able to beat alumnus Sam Allred 6-0, 7-6(4). Allred represented the class of 1998 very well.

Ten years ago, Allred was the number one singles for the high school team but this year it took him a while to shake off the rust and make a match out of it.

Lewis kept the ball in play and used a big first serve to win. Also in an extra match, Jeff Jorgensen beat freshman Tucker Morin 6-1.

Brad Bentley and Ben Cox teamed up to oust Jarryd Seely and Jeremy Garlick, 8-1 and Kim Bailey, a high school faculty member came out to beat senior Jason Anderson, 6-4 and Caleb Rose defeated Dyllon Tabler, 8-6 in challenge match.

Hawks beat Carbon Dinos, 4-1

Earlier in the week, the Hawks were able to beat the Carbon Dinos, 4-1 in their first region match of the season. First singles Josh Benson didn’t make the trip due to a violation of team rules.

Junior Scott Bentley stepped up into his place and took care of business with a dominant 6-1, 6-4. Bentley won match-point on an ace down the middle, to punctuate his great performance.

Shawn Miner easily beat his opponent 6-3, 6-1. Coach Bentley commented, “Shawn is starting to find his groove and play with confidence.”

In third singles, Michael Lewis stepped into the limelight and really shined. He loved his opponent in the first set and only gave up one game in the second set for a final score of 6-0,6-1.

In second doubles, Brian Anderson and Spencer Shelley also won for the Hawks, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. After a great first set, Anderson and Shelley must have gone on a date with their girlfriends mentally because they dropped the second set, 1-6.

After dropping their dates off at their front porches and refocusing, Anderson and Shelley were able to come back and win the third set, 6-4.

The Hawks’ first doubles of Parker Earl and Colton Clark lost a close one, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. “I fully expect Clark and Eark to learn from their mistakes and take care of business the next time they face this team,” Coach Ericksen said. Extra-match winners included Tucker Morin, 8-6, and Jason Anderson, 8-4.

This week, the Hawks faced region foe Delta at North Sanpete with results not available at press time. The Hawks travel to Juan Diego Thursday, April 19 to take on the Soaring Eagle. The Hawks current record is 3-8 and 1-0 in region play.