Song wins at Sunrise Region finals

Heather Cory

Green Valley’s Evan Song returns the ball to his opponent, Coronado’s Colton Pate, during the Sunrise Region tennis finals Friday at the Amanda and Stacy Memorial Darling Tennis Center. Song took the win and will continue to the state championship.

By Sean Ammerman (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 | 12:05 a.m.

Green Valley High sophomore Evan Song said he didn’t feel a bit of pressure Friday during the Sunrise Region tennis tournament at the Amanda and Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center.

His relaxed demeanor never waned on the court, even when he was down 2-0 to Coronado senior Colton Pate in the second set of the singles finals.

Song easily fought back to win 6-2, 6-4, earning the region singles title.

“I felt like my forehand worked really well today,” Song said. “Colton played great, but I came in today really confident.”

Canyon Springs sophomore Rebecca Breland was just as comfortable on the court, beating Liberty sophomore Denae Ingwaldson 6-0, 6-0, and garnering the girls’ singles region title.

Breland took control of the match with her serve and never looked back.

“I think my serve has been my big improvement from last year,” Breland said. “I just tried to keep my serve in today and stay consistent.”

Ingwaldson, who gets an automatic berth with Breland to the state tournament, admitted she was intimidated in her first region finals.

“I definitely want to come into the state tournament with a much more positive attitude,” she said. “I shouldn’t get frustrated like that in a match.”

The most competitive matchup in the Sunrise Region tournament was in the boys’ doubles finals between Coronado’s Brian Foley and Mitchell Smith and Silverado’s Dillon McNamara and Devon Morrissey.

Foley and Mitchell edged out a tiebreaker to win the first set 7-6 and won the second set 6-2 with more consistent shots.

“We came out pretty strong but then we let them come back,” Foley said. “I was just thinking that we need to stay calm. I think we hurt them when we got that tiebreaker.”

Foley and Mitchell, both freshmen, said they are aiming to use their youth to their advantage when they begin play in the state tournament.

“We’re both young and we’re both short,” Mitchell said. “Other teams will see how short we are and then they play worse because they think they can beat us.”

Twin sisters Kristen and Nicole Santero took the girls’ doubles title for Silverado after defeating Coronado’s Jordan Bruy and Jordan Luna 6-0, 6-1.

The sisters look to advance to the state finals for the third-straight season and are aiming to win their first state title.

“We’re hoping this could be the year, but we’re trying not to be too over-confident,” Nicole said. “From the way we have been playing we have really improved since our freshman year, so I think this year could be our strongest.”

All winners and runners-up in the region tournaments get automatic berths in the state tournament, which begins next Friday in Carson City.

The finals for third place were also held Friday.

The third-place finishers in the Sunrise Region will face the third-place finishers in the Sunset Region on Monday to determine the final berths into the state tournament.

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or sean.ammerman@hbcpub.com.