Woods Cross tennis players Sage Bergeson and Emmy Richards are cousins, best friends and even next door neighbors, and they are also two-time 5A state champions at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. The sophomores successfully defended their titles Oct. 1 at Liberty Park without dropping a set throughout their individual tournament runs in leading the Wildcats to a second-place finish as a team.

“Sage and Emmy each had phenomenal second seasons, again leading our team,” said head coach Molly Richards – who is Emmy’s mom and Sage’s aunt. “They are young, but very talented and seasoned competitors and showed a lot of grit against tough opponents in the state finals.”

Bergeson beat Salem Hills’ Anna Barton 6-0, 6-0 in 5A’s second round – after a first-round bye – and then Timpview’s Anna Stewart 6-1, 6-1 and Olympus’ Lily Stohl 6-1, 6-2 to reach the finals against Brighton’s Avery Olsen, who she beat 6-4, 7-5.

Emmy Richards also had a first-round bye before defeating Salem Hill’s Kate Barton 6-0, 6-0, Alta’s Clare Bradley 6-0, 6-0 and Skyline’s Rachel Heimburger 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the final match against Olympus’ Elisabeth Carter, who she defeated 6-1, 6-4.

Rachel Preston, playing at No. 3 singles for WXHS, beat Provo’s Olivia Kelemen 6-3, 6-4 in the second round, following a first-round bye, and then beat Highland’s Grace Harman 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinal round against Skyline’s Elle Dykstra where she lost 6-2, 6-3. “Advancing to the semifinals for the first time was a tremendous accomplishment for Rachel,” coach Richards said.

The Wildcats’ doubles teams were all playing in the state tournament for the first time with the No. 2 doubles pairing of Kenna Cowley/Sydney Kemp reaching the semis and the No. 1 doubles team of Chloe Hawkins/Ruby Robbins advancing to the quarterfinals.

Both teams had first-round byes and then Cowley, who as a senior is in her first year of playing tennis, and her partner Kemp, who is a freshman, beat Brighton’s Phoebe Roberts/Sophie Hopkin 6-0, 6-3, and Viewmont’s Cara Vogrinec/Cate Gladwell 6-2, 6-3 before losing to Olympus’ Alexandra Rawlings/Wilhelmina Hoggan 6-3, 7-5.

“They showed tremendous poise under pressure as it was their first time competing,” said coach Richards.

Hawkins/Robbins defeated Lehi’s Kylee Nielson/Alyssa Wheeler 6-4, 6-1 in the second round and then lost to Park City’s Mia Jamrich/Alysa Inglish 6-1, 6-1.

The Woods Cross varsity squad won the region championship for the sixth year in a row, again led by Bergeson and Emmy Richards who successfully defended their Region 5 titles at No. 1 and No. 2 singles in an undefeated and dominating fashion throughout the region season. “We were relatively young and inexperienced and still did amazingly well,” said coach Richards, noting a “more experienced and confident” doubles group returning for next season as she also anticipates adding “some promising upcoming freshmen” to the strong WXHS program.

Viewmont

Viewmont tied for 12th at the 5A state tournament Oct. 1 at Liberty Park.

The Vikings’ No. 2 doubles pairing of Cara Vogrinec/Cate Gladwell defeated Cottonwood’s Ashley Young/Annie Pinegar in the first round and Maple Mountain’s Madison Olsen/Lexi Maltby in the second round before losing to Woods Cross’ Kemp/Cowley in the quarters.

Emmie Bowen, playing at No. 1 singles, beat Spanish Fork’s Gabby Trejo in the first round before losing to Orem’s Maya Inouye in the second round. At No. 3 singles, Bella Uffens – who earned a first-round bye – lost a tough three-setter in the second round to Hillcrest’s Sowmya Paritala 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. The No.1 doubles team of Sadie Erickson/Anna Fillmore also reached the second round by defeating Alta’s Alexa Turley/Lucy West and then lost to Timpview’s Kendall Woods/Ruby Call.

Sophia Robison lost in the first round to Orem’s Paige Liston at No. 2 singles.

Bountiful

Bountiful’s No. 2 doubles pairing of Abi Graff/Alyssa Boucha defeated Hillcrest’s Ava Butler/Ava Booker in the first round of the 5A state tournament before losing to Springville’s Britta Broberg/Nadia Templeman, who were the eventual champions.

Also competing for the Redhawks at state were Annie Black, at No. 1 singles, who lost to Highland’s Samantha Kiburtz; Christina Eyring, at No. 2 singles, who lost to Brighton’s Ellie Spangler; Hailey Johnson, at No. 3 singles, who lost to Salem Hills’ Mackenzee Nicholls; and Rebekah Palmer/Summer Willis, at No. 1 doubles, who lost to Lehi’s Kylee Nielson/Alyssa Wheeler.λ