Deep Park City team cruises to tennis title

All season long, Park City coach Warren Pretorius told his team to take things one match at a time. Heeding that advice, the Miners established themselves during the regular season as one of the deepest teams in the state.

Saturday's 3A state meet was no different for the Miners, who again responded to their coach's plea of "one match at a time." All in all, the team lost just once the entire tournament en route to the 3A title.

Park City won four out of five events to claim 28 points, doubling the total of their nearest competitor, Ogden, which finished with 14 points.

"We're psyched to win the championship," Pretorius said. "That was our goal all season but we never took things for granted. We knew we were never assured of a spot. We had to go out and earn it."

J.P. Perez of Park City easily coasted to victory in the No. 2 singles.

Perez never lost more than one point in a set the entire tournament. In the finals against Ogden's Paul Gagliano, Perez won 6- 1, 6-1. The No. 3 singles title went Park City freshman Nick Vonderahe, who beat Ogden's Mike Bokinskie, 6-2, 6-1. The Miner freshman finished undefeated for the 2003 season.

Even though Park City never needed more than two sets in its championship matches, the No. 1 doubles title was probably the Miners' most difficult to win. In the end, however, Matt Kunkel and Nick Perez were able to knock off defending champions Logan Endsley and L.J. Alred of Dixie, 6-3, 7-5.

In No. 2 doubles, Hank Mastain and David Marsh earned the victory for the Miners. Of Park City's five events, three of them were fielded by freshman. With a young team, the pressure will be on Park City to contend for the championship next year as well.

"Tennis is not a seasonal sport," Pretorius said. "We will need a big commitment from these kids. But I think they will have a really good squad next year."

The only event that eluded Park City's grasp was the No. 1 singles title. That championship went to Pine View's Wes Hancock, who easily dispatched Park City's Ty Glauser, 6-3, 6-1 to defend his 2002 title. Hancock, who is only a sophomore, will be the top contender to win the title again next year if he can avoid injuries.

After rainy and soggy conditions forced delays on Friday, the weather was again a factor on Saturday. With the prospect of delaying matches in the tournament until Monday, quick thinking by Pretorius helped to keep the tournament running.

The Park City coach quickly telephoned indoor courts in the Salt Lake area as well as his own courts in Park City. Pretorius was able to book the Eccles Tennis Center as well his own courts to host Saturday's matches. After initially rejecting the idea of moving the tournament, officials agreed it would better to finish Saturday than delay the event over the weekend.

"With all the kids in Dixie, it wouldn't be good for them to have to drive all the way home and back again," Pretorius said. "We just wanted to play."

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