Lulu Shiozawa has already won a lot of tennis matches in her young career, but she admitted Saturday that none felt more important than when she captured the No. 1 singles trophy at the 4A girls state tournament at Liberty Park.
The Desert Hills freshman celebrated with sister, Stella, and their teammates after the Shiozawas won individual titles and earned the majority of their team’s 40 points to outlast Highland (33), Green Canyon and Deer Creek (32) and Orem (25) for the team title.
Saturday’s matches were played in cloudy and breezy but mostly dry conditions at Liberty Park’s outdoor courts. Desert Hills coach Emily Christensen said she was proud that her talented squad earned the school’s fifth girls state title and also finished before the forecasted storm arrived.
“We needed every point, and Lulu’s win was actually an upset because she was a No. 2 seed,” Christensen said.
Shortly afterward, the Thunder players were anxious to leave the park, get something to eat and drive south to St. George and into the teeth of the approaching storm.
The Shiozawas, however, were planning to stay in Salt Lake and then fly to Canada to play in another tournament that will feature players from all over the world, Lulu Shiozawa said.
However, the Shiozawa sisters won’t have the intense cheering section they felt this weekend.
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“This will be one of my biggest wins,” Lulu Shiozawa said. “That’s what’s so great about playing in this (high school) tournament. I played really well because there were so many people cheering for me and I could hear them. Normally, it’s just me on the court and maybe my parents in the stands.”
Saturday’s win also marked the first time in four attempts that Lulu Shiozawa was able to beat Orem freshman Sydney Eraso. The match was relatively close, with Shiozawa winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
Eraso had won her previous three state tourney matches 6-0, 6-0.
Stella Shiozawa, meanwhile, also won her second straight individual title. She dominated her first three matches at No. 2 singles in straight sets, and then defeated Highland’s Caroline Gardner 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the finale.
At No. 3 singles, top-seeded Grace Fotheringham of Highland edged Deer Creek’s Siena Miller, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Deer Creek, of course, is a new school near Midway and put its first trophy in the school’s cabinet when Brinley Studdert and Chandler Davies won their finale in No. 1 doubles over Green Canyon’s Ruby Warner and Norah Washburn.
Green Canyon’s Amelia Wilkinson and Ellie Jones took the trophy in No. 2 doubles over Bentley Bowles and Carina Wright of Crimson Cliffs.