Morgan tennis team opens with win over Syracuse
Aug 22, 2024 08:26AM ● By Liisa London Mecham
The Morgan High tennis team opened with a win over 6A Syracuse. They return five players out of the seven in the varsity lineup. Coach Hadley is excited about her team’s chances in region and at state. The Trojans placed second to Rowland Hall last year at state and won state in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Photo credit Lynzee Ouellette
The 2024 MHS girls tennis team opened their season with a 4-1 victory over 6A Syracuse before facing the 5A Viewmont Vikings. The matches against Viewmont were “excellent” and “pushed the girls” according to Coach Katherine Hadley.
“They did a great job against Viewmont,” Hadley explained, “Even though we lost all of our singles matches, it was a great pre-season experience for our girls to play against tough competition, and our girls fought so hard.” The Trojans lost the match 2-3 with both doubles teams winning.
Senior Sophie Rabe who plays 1st Singles was named “Player of the Match” against Viewmont. In the Syracuse contest, the honors went to junior Isabella Dickman, 2nd Doubles.
Hadley is excited about the 20 athletes on the tennis team and explained how “fun it is to see the returning players and to see how much they have improved since last season.”
“I know how hard they work in the offseason, and it’s fun to see it pay off on the court,” Hadley continued.
Morgan’s varsity lineup at the present is Rabe filling the 1st Singles position. She advanced to finals in 2nd Singles at state last year and took second place. Playing 2nd Singles this season will be junior Macey Dee. Dee also advanced to the finals last year in 3rd Singles and took second.
A new face, freshman Vyvian Bailey, will be filling the 3rd Singles slot this year. Bailey “plays year round and is ‘super dedicated’ and talented” per Coach Hadley.
Seniors Willa Anderton and Kaitlyn Carter return to their 1st Doubles position from last year and look to improve on their quarterfinal finish at state last year. Juniors Isabella Dickman and Sydney Jensen will play 2nd Doubles. Dickman placed second at state last year in 2nd Doubles with partner Carys Morgan, who graduated in May.
As a team, Morgan placed second in the state last fall to Rowland Hall. In 2022, the Trojans beat Rowland Hall to win state for the second straight year. They won their first girls title in 2019.
Coach Hadley likes her team’s chances this year at state, but “there’s always a surprise with the private schools like Rowland Hall, you never know who will be playing for them.”
She continued, “Grantsville is always tough competition, and Judge Memorial is looking strong with returning doubles players and a new freshman.”
“As far as I know, I feel like we will compete very well in our region and at state,” Hadley concluded.
As with any successful program, Hadley is constantly developing her younger players and has a strong group of rising players. The JV won their opening match against Syracuse 4-3, and the future of Morgan tennis is looking strong.
In addition to the starting varsity players, seniors on the team include Ally Compton, Alli Larsen, Averee Mecham, and Kinlee Pitcher. The junior class is represented by Lucy Montgomery and Bo Sandoval. Sophomores playing are Chloe Dutson, Ella Kelley, Kennedy McKay, Molly Scoresby, and Rylee Telford. Devaney Barney and Karley Huber round out the freshman class.
Morgan played in the rain-rescheduled Cache Valley Invitational Monday and traveled to each on Tuesday. They will play in the St. George Tournament this weekend. Their next home match will be Thursday, Aug. 29 against rival Rowland Hall. Matches start at 3:30
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Volleyball Update: Morgan won their opening volleyball game at home 3-1 over 4A powerhouse Sky View. The Bobcats took the first game 17-25 before the Trojans roared back stifling Sky View 25-14, 25-17, 25-15. Morgan will play at home Tuesday, Sept. 3 against Farmington after three away games at Salem Hills, Davis, and Green Canyon over the next few weeks. λ
