Riverton High School’s girls tennis teams capitalized on opportunities through hard work and determination.

“The main reason we were successful is the fact that this particular year Riverton has had more depth of quality players than in past years,” Silverwolves head girls tennis coach Ron Ence said. “We moved into a new region, and we made the best of it.”

The Utah High School Activities Association realigned its representative schools into new regions beginning this fall. Riverton moved into Region 3. Last season it placed second in Region 4; this year it moved up one spot to first place.

“This was by far the best year in girls tennis in our school’s history,” Ence said. “Winning our first region title and placing third at the state tournament has been great. We are so happy for the players to have had this experience and memory.”

Two Silverwolves advanced with two wins each in the state tournament. The doubles teams and nos. one and three singles players each advanced one round.

Junior Hailey Anderson advanced to the semifinals in second singles. She defeated Westlake’s Lynsea Hayes 6-1, 6-2 and Layton’s Lauren Bitner 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the tournament. She was undefeated in her region matches, defeating all 10 opponents she faced this season.

Not to be outdone by her teammate, fellow junior Madi Burke also advanced to the state semifinals. She played in third singles for the Silverwolves. She defeated Hunter’s Elyse Farley 6-0, 6-1 and American Fork’s Mia Beck 6-0, 6-1. She was also undefeated in the regular season.

“Hailey and Madi are two examples of players who have put in many hours outside of regular tennis practice,” Ence said. “In the offseason, they took private lessons and played in local tournaments. Mia Seegmiller is also one that fits in this category.”

Seegmiller won her first-round matchup 6-4, 6-2 over Layton’s Anna Kemp. As a senior, she finished her regular season with a 9-2 record. Playing in the first singles position, she faced many of the opponents’ best players.

The Silverwolves’ varsity doubles teams also had good seasons. First doubles competitors Lexi Robbins and Paige Hogan won their first-round state matchup 6-0, 6-1 over a team from Fremont. They also finished their regular season undefeated.

The second doubles team of Alyssa Sinks and Delaney Harris defeated the Bingham doubles team 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the state tournament. They were 9-1 during the regular season.

“It was an awesome year—the very best yet,” Hogan said. “We were determined to win from the start. We worked hard and had fun. I was excited we did so well. We all get along really well. We were with each other every day, so we joked around and want the best for each other. It is 100 percent easier to play well when I like my teammates.”

The four state first-round victories and two second-round wins earned the Silverwolves six points. They finished in a three-way-tie for third place with American Fork and Layton. Lone Peak won the state title, and Davis placed second.