Five for five: Skyridge girls tennis sweeps through 6A to win fifth straight title
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- The Skyridge girls tennis team poses for a photo with the state title trophy after the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
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- Skyridge senior Ava Ericksen hits a shot during the first day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Skyridge senior Naomi Johnson hits a shot during the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
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- The Skyridge doubles team of seniors Ava Ericksen (left) and Kaia Sperry prepares for a match during the first day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Skyridge head coach Ben Armstrong (left) talks to senior Naomi Johnson after her first match during the first day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- The Skyridge doubles team of Ava Ericksen (left) and Kaia Sperry compete during the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
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- Skyridge senior Ava Ericksen serves the ball during the first day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Skyridge junior Andi Armstrong hits a volley during the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
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- Skyridge senior Kaia Sperry hits a shot during the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
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- Lone Peak junior Eden Conley hits a shot during the first day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Provo senior Allison Chambers hits a shot during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
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- Timpanogos senior Sophia Boa hits a shot during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
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- Mountain View sophomore Lindsey Holyoak prepares to serve during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
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- Timpanogos senior Sophia Boa serves the ball during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
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- Mountain View sophomore Lindsey Holyoak hits a shot during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
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- Timpanogos sophomore Tessa Parkinson poses for a photo after winning a match during the first day of the 4A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
What does a team who has won four consecutive state championships do to elevate its performance?
That was a question the Skyridge girls tennis squad faced heading into the 2024 season, but Falcon head coach Ben Armstrong said they had a dream.
“As a coaching staff, we kind of got together and talked about how we thought we could not only get our fifth consecutive this year, but potentially even win at every single position,” Armstrong said Saturday. “We called it our five for five, getting all five lines and our fifth championship. We’d had everyone in the finals but we’d never done that.”
The Skyridge coaches didn’t make that the team goal or anything public but started working with their talented squad to give it the best chance to succeed.
As the season progressed, however, Armstrong said they felt like they weren’t quite hitting their potential.
“We said, ‘OK, girls, we really need to focus and really need to push ourselves to be the best version of ourselves for this year so we can try to accomplish the goals that we have set before us,'” Armstrong said. “I’m sure they wanted to do their best at their own positions and they wanted to win as a team. But worked hard to develop the right strategies and find the right pairings.”
In addition, he explained that the athletes worked on being prepared if they found themselves in a tough spot along the way.
“During the past 10 days, we’ve focused a lot on mental toughness,” Armstrong said. “Every practice we will take 15 minutes and each coach will share their insights on being mentally tough, how you can fight through. I think that really benefitted the girls, hopefully not just for their tennis matches but throughout their lives.”
As he thought about what he saw from the Falcons when the stakes were the highest on the final day of the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, he felt like they rose to every challenge.
“It was amazing,” Armstrong said. “Even though you’re the favorite and you’re expected to win, you still have to go out and play the match and execute. Sometimes the nerves or that pressure causes you to maybe not perform it at your best level. You have to learn how to be OK with what you are giving right now and fight off those nerves and be willing to hit committed shots, even in the midst of the pressure or fear of losing.”
He felt like the Falcon No. 2 doubles team of seniors Sophia Bleak and Lacey Jaussi exemplified that mentality when they played in the finals against top-seeded Region 3 opponents from Lone Peak, senior Janessa Ashton and junior Emmaline Smith.
“Sophia and Lacey came out really strong and won the first set, but then lost the second set,” Armstrong said. “During the break, you could see the little stress on their eyes. We talked to them about playing to win and asking them what they thought that that meant.”
He related it to a relationship where you have to be willing to be vulnerable, be willing to put yourself out there.
“They had to decide that they were going to play to win, knowing that they could also lose,” Armstrong said. “That gives them their best chance, and they’ll be able to hold their heads up because they gave everything to try to accomplish that goal. And they came out really, really strong.”
The Knights didn’t go down without a fight and had the serve trailing 5-4, but Bleak and Jaussi were able to get the break to win the match.
That completed the full sweep for Skyridge, achieving their goals of winning all five categories and their fifth consecutive title.
In addition to Bleak and Jaussi, Falcon senior Bella Lewis won No. 1 singles, junior Andi Armstrong won No. 2 singles, senior Naomi Johnson won No. 3 singles and seniors Kaia Sperry and Ava Ericksen won No. 1 doubles.
That gave Lone Peak nearly twice as many team points as second-place Lone Peak.
“I was just extremely proud of the way that they came together, the players and the community,” Armstrong said. “We had a lot of orange in the crowd today. It’s neat to be part of something that’s that big and has that many moving parts. There was a lot of love and care and a lot of devotion that gets put in by not only the players and the coaches, but all the parents and the community in the school.”
With six of the seven players graduating, Ben Armstrong hopes the returners saw the team-first mentality from the seniors and that continues on as the legacy of the 2024 team.
“It’s about swallowing your individual pride and being part of something bigger than yourself, because I think that’s what really has made us successful,” the Skyridge head coach said. “Many choose not to play high school tennis for a variety of reasons. But this is your playing for your community. This is your playing for your team and being part of something bigger than just yourself. That’s sometimes hard.
“We spend a lot of time and money and effort trying to become the best versions of ourselves. To be able to put that as a secondary thing and say I’m going to come and try to do what I can do for a team as well, that is something that’s special. I think it’s something that I almost cherish more than something when you’re working just totally for yourself.”
Class 4A girls tennis finals
Facing tremendous competition in the 4A state tournament, a few Region 8 girls tennis players battled through to the final day of action.
Provo senior Allison Chambers made it to the semifinals in No. 3 singles before falling, 6-3, 6-2, to top-seeded Nivedita Bakshi, a freshman from Hillcrest.
The other Utah Valley athletes to reach the semifinals were the Orem doubles team of senior Julia Baker and junior Annabelle Baker.
They won the first set against the top-seeded team from Logan but couldn’t quite close it out, losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Provo finished 10th as a team, while Orem ended up 11th. Green Canyon pulled away to win the 2024 4A state championship.
