4A girls tennis: With 2 individual champions, Dixie Flyers place 2nd overall at state tournament

Dixie players and coaches pose with the runner-up trophy after placing second in the state 4A tennis tournament, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 7-8, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Dixie High School Athletics, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — With individual state champions in two of the five brackets, the Dixie High School girls tennis team placed second overall at the state 4A tennis tournament on Saturday.

Dixie senior Kylie Kezos won all of her matches in No. 1 singles, while freshman teammate Fiona Fackrell made a decisive sweep of the No. 2 singles bracket.

Although defending state 4A title holder Green Canyon amassed 60 team points to repeat as champions, Dixie finished with 32 points, just three points ahead of third-place Crimson Cliffs. The tournament was staged at Salt Lake City’s Liberty Park on Friday and Saturday.

Kezos, who came into the tournament as the top seed, first defeated Sky View’s Romy Niederhauser in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-1, after which she defeated Snow Canyon’s Maggie Crosby in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-0.

That win set up a showdown in the finals with Green Canyon sophomore Bailey Huebner, the No. 2 seed and defending state champion in first singles.

Kezos then capped off her stellar high school career with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Huebner.

Kylie Kezos of Dixie serves during the state 4A tennis tournament, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 7-8, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Dixie High School Athletics, St. George News

“Kylie has worked all season long with a very clear goal. She did not lose focus once: win state,” Dixie coach Angela Crooks told St. George News. “Every match, whether hard or not,  she worked on very specific strategies to be ready for the state final.”

Crooks said Kezos sustained a shoulder injury on Friday morning, “which was both a physical and mental challenge.”

“However, Kylie’s mental game is one of the strongest I have ever seen and what I admire most from her,” Crook added. “I believe it was because of this mental strength she was able to handle the physical pain throughout the weekend.”

Crooks said Kezos played an “incredible” finals match. 

“Her first set is some of the best tennis I have ever seen her play,” Crooks said. “She lost the second set 3-6 but did not let that shake her at all. She came out in the third set with the mentality that the match was hers. She fought her absolute hardest for every single point, taking it 6-2. Her opponent is a great player with great sportsmanship; it was a perfect way for her to end her high school tennis.”

Meanwhile in second singles, top-seeded Fackrell won all three of her state matches in straight sets, defeating in order Demi Larsen of Logan (6-0, 6-0), Megan Lewis of Desert Hills (6-1, 6-1) and Liz Murri of Green Canyon (6-0, 6-0).

“Fiona came into this season with little knowledge on how the high school season worked,” said Crooks. “She came to practice and matches with a contagious smile and positive attitude that trickled throughout the whole team. Fiona brought that same attitude to state. All of her matches, she stayed calm, happy, and focused.”

Dixie players hold aloft the runner-up trophy after placing second in the state 4A tennis tournament, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 7-8, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Dixie High School Athletics, St. George News

“I’m excited to see what she’ll do with her next three years,” Crooks added. “She is an amazing addition to the Flyer Family.”

Crimson Cliffs senior Cami Stanger, who had won the No. 2 singles title last year, instead played in No. 1 doubles this year, teaming up with junior Whitney Matheson. They were seeded second in the first singles bracket, where they won their first two matches in straight sets. That put them in the finals against Olivia Phillips and Tori Jeppson of Green Canyon, who won 6-3, 6-0.

Green Canyon also won two other brackets on Saturday, with Emma Murri taking first place in No. 3 singles and Carly Nielsen and Maren McKenna winning in No. 2 doubles, defeating Taylee Anderson and Brooklyn Price of Desert Hills in the finals match, 6-2, 7-5.

Also earning team points for Dixie by winning their play-in matches on Friday were third singles player Meg Fraser and second doubles players Tava Lutui and Katelyn Jennings.

“I am very proud of my team,” Crooks added. “They all worked so incredibly hard this season and the hard work shows.  I’m proud of how my team represented Dixie on and off the court.”

Crooks also expressed her appreciation for her players and fellow coaches.

“I’m honored to have been able to coach both Kylie and Fiona,” she added. “I’m also so grateful for my assistant coaches, Gavin Kofford and Kyle Kezos (Kylie’s dad). I would not have had the successful season we had without them.”

To see the complete brackets and team scoring, visit the tournament’s page on the Utah High School Activities Association website. Note that the team scoring system was changed this year to award more points per round and thereby reduce the chances of ties.

4A state girls tennis tournament, team scores

Liberty Park, Salt Lake City

  1. Green Canyon, 60.
  2. Dixie, 32.
  3. Crimson Cliffs, 29.
  4. Desert Hills, 26.
  5. Ridgeline, 23.
  6. Snow Canyon, 13.
  7. Sky View, 8.
  8. Logan, 6.
  9. Mountain Crest, 4.
  10. (tie) Cedar, 2.
  11. (tie) Pine View, 2.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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