6A tennis championships: Skyridge senior Andi Armstrong polishes off her prep career in style
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- Ben Armstrong instructs his daughter, Andi Armstrong between sets during the first singles championship match
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- Andi Armstrong returns a shot during her 6A first singles championship win on Saturday
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- Skyridge Coach Ben Armstrong, Andi’s father, gives Andi a big hug following her championship match on Saturday
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- American Fork’s Allie Jenkins during her third singles championship match on Saturday
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- Lone Peak’s Eden Conley was the runner-up in the 6A second singles competition
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- Andi Armstrong received lots of hugs from family following her 1st singles championship win
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- Andi Armstrong’s serve was on point throughout her championship match on Saturday
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- Lone Peak’s Halle Kitchen won the third singles championship on Saturday
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- Andi Armstrong unleashes one of her big serves during Saturday’s 6A tennis championships
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- Andi Armstrong pumps her fist after scoring a big point during her first singles championship win
Skyridge senior Andi Armstrong spent much of her early life kicking and screaming at the prospect of playing tennis, yet couldn’t have appeared more comfortable and intent on the court this past Saturday during the 6A 1st Singles tennis championship.
With Saturday’s final day of competition moved inside due to rain, Armstrong polished off her prep tennis career in grand style, defeating No. 1 seed Kamryn Newman from Bingham in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) and was at a loss for words after.
“It feels great and I’m just sort of shook right now,” Armstrong, after receiving multiple hugs and congratulations from family and friends, said. “I was the underdog, and I wanted nothing more than to take it. All it took was one day and one day of me playing great, and it happened.”
Becoming great is a long process for any athlete, and for Armstrong, that process began in earnest when she was 12 years old. Sure, she began playing tennis well before her twelfth year, as part of a family that took tennis very seriously, but it took time for Armstrong to enjoy the sport.
“My parents kept sending me to lessons, whether I wanted to or not,” Armstrong said. “But then I started loving it around when I was 12 years old. That’s when I started playing legit tennis.”
“She used to hate tennis,” added Andi’s father and Skyridge Coach Ben Armstrong. “We’d travel all over the country playing and I remember one time we were driving and she started yelling, ‘No more tennis!’ But later on she found an affinity and genuine love for the sport and that’s when she really began to take off.”
As mentioned, tennis is a big thing in the Armstrong family. Ben Armstrong’s wife, Tanya Armstrong was a tennis player in high school and the two decided early on in their marriage that they’d be what could well be defined as a tennis family. Most of the kids ahead of Andi grew to love the game almost instantly and find a lot of success in doing so.
“I dedicated myself to becoming a student of the game, started going to all my kid’s lessons and eventually became coach here at Skyridge,” Ben Armstrong said. “Andi is our youngest, and it took some time for her to truly love the sport, but once she decided that she wanted it she really took off as a player. It had to be her, and the sky was the limit when she decided that, and it’s worked out well.”
Ben Armstrong has helped coach Skyridge to five straight team championships, and although the Falcons came up just short of the team win on Saturday, Andi’s championship win in the first singles category provided a very nice moment for all involved.
“Tennis is a brutal sport, and you go home a loser a lot,” said Ben Armstrong. “But today it’s really, really fun to have a goal and to see her accomplish it. She played her style of tennis and she gets all the credit for all of it.”
As for what went right for Andi Armstrong in her win, it was all about setting a strong mental identity.
“Pressure is a privilege and you have to learn how to become a mental demon,” she said. “Today I just had to step into my shots when I had them and be willing to press back when (my opponent) was pressing. I kept telling myself that you can’t live in the past, but for the moment and, ‘Just one more point. One more point.'”
As for the team championship, Lone Peak took that honor, led by Halle Kitchen, who won the 3rd Singles competition by defeating American Fork’s Allie Jenkins in a three set thriller (6-3, 6-7, 7-6.) The Knights proved particularly strong in the doubles competition, sweeping both of the doubles championships with Emmeline Smith and Ruby Bautista winning the 1st Doubles championship and Ella Bradford and Ava Jensen claiming the 2nd Doubles title.
It was Lone Peak’s first team state title since 2019, ending a five-year streak by Skyridge.
American Fork’s Sophia Leavitt defeated Lone Peak’s Eden Conley to take home the gold medal in the 2nd Singles championship.
CLASS 4A
Green Canyon won 2nd Singles and 1st Doubles while earning points as runners-up in 1st and 3rd Singles to run away with the title, scoring 56 team points. Desert Hills was second (33 points) and Highland third (31). Provo and Timpanogos tied for sixth with 13 points apiece. Orem and Mountain View joined Snow Canyon in eighth place with 12 points each.
Individually, Orem’s 1st Doubles team of sophomore Megan Carlson and senior Annabelle Baker, the No. 7 seed, knocked off No. 3 seed Summer Spaulding and Elizabeth Freeman of Ridgeline in the semifinals to earn a spot in the final match. No. 1 seed Laycee Falslev and Norah Washburn of Green Canyon prevailed to earn five points for their team.
No. 5 seed Sana Ueno of Mountain View advanced to the No. 3 single semifinals before losing to No. 1 seed and eventual state champion Stella Shiozawa of Desert Hills. No. 3 seed Lindsey Holyoak of Mountain View made the No. 2 Singles semifinals but lost to No. 2 seed Macy Whittwer of Desert Hills.
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6A tennis championships: Skyridge senior Andi Armstrong polishes off her prep career in style
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