ST. GEORGE — The Region 9 boys tennis season came to a head on Friday and Saturday with the regional tournament at Tonaquint Park.
Pine View claimed the top doubles spot while Dixie took the second. The Crimson Cliffs Mustangs, behind freshman singles first player Max Miner, swept through singles play to claim all three top spots. Zachary Sodorff took second singles and Liam Duggin claimed third.
“It feels amazing,” Duggin said. “This is just a step for us, just another thing we can do. Hopefully we can win state as a team.”
The Mustangs trio ran the table through their brackets without losing a single set. Sodorff lost only three games. Duffin lost only four. Duffin’s win in the third singles finals over top-ranked Chase Poulton from Dixie included the only set in which on of the three lost more than one game. Miner didn’t lose a single game through the tournament, playing against Region 9’s top competition.
Miner swept Desert Hills’ Jaden Wittwer in the finals, the No. 2 player in the region. After doing so, he completed the entirety of his Region 9 season without a full loss in his first of four years of eligibility.
He’ll be one of five Region 9 freshmen moving on to challenge for a state title. Sodorff beat Desert Hills’ Jackson Holman, the only other ninth-grader playing in a championship round. Dixie’s Gavin Bishop finished third in that bracket. Miner is the only one in the group entering as a regional champ.
“As a freshman, just doing my best and hoping for the best,” Miner said.
Crimson’s doubles squads were unable to complete the regional sweep, finishing third in first doubles and seventh in second.
Pine View’s tandem of Coby Christenson and Kaden Koch took the title in firsts after winning seven regular season matches. Dixie’s Korbin Suwyn and Brandon Snow took second doubles.
The two-day tournament determined the individual seeding for singles and pairs, with the top six finishers from each bracket advancing to the state tournament. The Utah champions will be awarded at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
Here are all the qualifiers from Region 9 tennis for state, in order of their placement in the regional tournament:
First singles
- Max Miner, Crimson Cliffs
- Jaden Wittwer, Desert Hills
- Rockwell Grose, Pine View
- Caleb Kroll, Dixie
- Bryce Christiansen, Snow Canyon
- Calvin Beck, Cedar
Second singles
- Zachary Sodorff, Crimson Cliffs
- Jackson Holman, Desert Hills
- Gavin Bishop, Dixie
- Pearce Morris, Hurricane
- Dallin Racker, Pine View
- Nathan heinz, Snow Canyon
Third singles
- Liam Duffin, Crimson Cliffs
- Chase Poulton, Dixie
- Logan White, Desert Hills
- Britton Bringhurst, Hurricane
- Hunter Edwards, Pine View
- Kirk Jackson, Snow Canyon
First doubles
- Colby Christenson/Kaden Koch, Pine View
- Brady Madrid/Josh Barney, Dixie
- Jacob Brown/Jack Hodges, Crimson Cliffs
- Jace Wilkins/Nathan Wade, Desert Hills
- Ethan Richardson/Nathan Parker, Hurricane
- Caden Selby/Caleb Selby, Cedar
Second doubles
- Korbin Suwyn/Brandon Snow, Dixie
- Benson Parry/Tayen Clark, Pine View
- Braden Koch/Andrew Ord, Snow Canyon
- Jeff Purcell/Cole Simon, Desert Hills
- Bridger Coates/William Geddes, Cedar
- Kevin Bunn/Preston Monson, Hurricane
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Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 7, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News Region 9 tennis regionals, Tonaquint Park, St. George, Utah, May 8, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News
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