Remarkable repeat: Lone Peak takes a second-straight 6A tennis championship
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- Halle Kitchen’s and her teammates celebrate Lone Peak’s second straight team championship on October 10, 2026
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- Skyridge’s Elizabeth Ludlow receives instruction from her coach in between sets during the 6A No. 2 single’s championship on October 10, 2026
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- Lone Peak’s Halle Kitchen sets up for a forehand return during her thrilling championship win on October 10, 2026
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- Skyridge’s Kiri Sperry and teammate Molly Jarvie congratulate one another after scoring a point during the 6A No. 1 doubles championship on October 10, 2026
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- Lone Peak’s Halle Kitchen lunges to return a backhand during her 6A No. 2 singles championship win on October 10, 2026
Lone Peak girls tennis coach Roger Baumgartner admits that he probably wouldn’t have picked his team to win it all at the start of the season.
And who could blame him?
After securing the 6A tennis title last year, the Knights took to the courts in 2026 without five of their top players and just two returning varsity players from last year’s team. But despite all that, Baumgartner’s girls went to work, and ultimately rose to beat just about everyone’s expectations in hoisting a second-straight team championship trophy on Saturday at Liberty Park with a final team score of 53 points, finishing just seven points ahead of second-place Skyridge (46.)
“To win a championship again this year is something I never would have predicted after last year,” Baumgartner confirmed. “But these girls — I just can’t say enough about how they’ve worked and how they focused to be at their best today. It’s a testament to them and their willingness to do whatever it takes to get back to this spot. I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them. We needed all of them, just like last year.”
Lone Peak didn’t learn of its second-straight team title until right after Halle Kitchen finished off her dramatic comeback win to take the No. 2 single’s championship over Skyridge’s Elizabeth Ludlow. Sure, Kitchen only took two sets to do it, but considering she was down 0-5 during the second set, rallying to complete a 7-6, 6-1 win was truly remarkable while proving pivotal in securing a team championship for the Knights.
“Halle is just one of the two players we had returning on the team this year, and she’s so steady with her approach. She’s a rock out there,” Baumgartner said. “She was that way in taking the No. 3 singles last year and she did it again this year. She had to be a leader for us, and she definitely was in rallying like she had to.”
Kitchen was mobbed by her teammates after her win, showing emotion for perhaps the first time since the beginning of what proved one of the more challenging matches of the day.
Lone Peak’s other individual championship was secured by first-year varsity player Lily Goodwin, who took a straight set 6-4, 6-4 win over Skyridge’s Maezie Oswald to take the No. 3 singles crown.
“Lily Goodwin has worked so hard. This is her first year playing varsity, and she wanted to get to state and she wanted to do really well,” Baumgartner said. “So her and I have been working really hard over the last two months um to help her get prepared for this this moment, and I couldn’t be more happy for her because she played lights out today.”
Although Ava Jensen lost her championship match to Bingham’s Kamryn Newman in No. 1 singles competition, Baumgartner reserved particular praise for his senior leader in securing valuable points by just advancing to the final match in her bracket.
“We weren’t expecting her to play No. 1 singles, but we had a talk, and I told her what she was going to need to do to take over that spot and how hard she’s going to have to work,” Baumgartner said. “So it’s been a long time since we had a No. 1 singles take second in state, so it was incredible and another testament to the work she put in to get there. She’s our captain, our leader, and just a super young lady.”
Another key performance was provided by Lone Peak’s No. 2 doubles team of Brinley Santiago and Mehek Sameer, who fought hard before ultimately losing a 3-set game to Skyridge in the final by a score of 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
Overall it was everyone’s focus and dedication that ultimately won out for a Knight team that is establishing itself as a top program with a second-straight team championship.
“There’s so much I could say about each of our players, but it’s their willingness to put the team first above everything. That’s what defines this team more than anything,” Baumgartner concluded. “There’s no egos on this team. So whatever we have to do as a team to make us better from top to bottom, every single player and girl bought into that. They’ve also been such a fun group to be around. And then I’m so lucky to have all the coaches I have that dedicate their time and knowledge. It’s been a crazy ride, but I’m so happy for all of them.”
