Gorman girls snag tennis state title

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | 4:36 p.m.

It was business as usual for Bishop Gorman's girls tennis team at the large-school state tournament Oct. 24 to 25 in Carson City.

The Gaels cruised to their fourth straight championship, defeating Reno's Galena High 12-6 in the finals on Saturday.

In the individual tournament, Gorman junior Anita Lee and freshman Sarah Bessen teamed to captures the state doubles title, while sophomore Sarah Toti was runner-up in girls singles.

"This one was unique from all the others," Gorman coach Gordon Hammond said. "Each year, it's its own little challenge. You get a different group of girls and they all have to come together."

The Gaels were hardly challenged this year, finishing 19-0. They beat Reno High 14-4 in the state semifinals.

Lee, Bessen and Toti dominated each went 5-0 in singles sets during the team tournament.

"Every time our singles took the court we had a huge advantage," Hammond said. "We did a really good job of keeping the ball in play and exposing their weaknesses."

Gorman went into the state tournament with plenty of confidence.

"I'm really excited we could keep the streak going," Lee said. "Winning four in a row gives us confidence to do it again next year."

Lee and Bessen proved to be just as dominant in doubles as they were in singles.

The girls, who began playing together shortly before the Sunset Regional playoffs, beat Silverado's Kristen Santero and Nicole Santero 6-0, 7-6 in the finals.

"When we started off really strong and I think we surprised them," said Lee, who won the state singles title last season. "They picked it up in the second set but we were able to pull it together and hang on."

Toti lost in the individual finals 6-2, 6-4 to Canyon Springs' Rebecca Breland.

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