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Manti tennis tops Gunnison Valley, ties North Sanpete in region play

ByGreg Knight
Templar Trace Johnson (right) returns a volley to North Sanpete’s Kamden Grasteit on Thursday, March 26 in Manti.

MANTI—Manti High School went 1-0-1 in a pair of boys tennis dual matches last week, defeating Gunnison Valley High School 3-2 on Wednesday before playing North Sanpete High School to a 3-3 draw on Thursday.

Against Gunnison Valley, the Templars relied on their depth in doubles to secure the team victory. Gunnison Valley claimed three of five singles matches, with Emery Kjar and Lucas Nelson winning at Nos. 1 and 2, and Aaden Donaldson adding a win at No. 4. Manti stayed within striking distance behind wins from Trace Johnson at No. 3 singles and Travis Everitt at No. 5.

Trailing after singles, the Templars swept all three doubles matches to clinch the dual. Evan Lambourne and Cole Wintch earned a straight-set win at No. 1 doubles, while Don Wood and Hyrum Peterson followed with a three-set victory at No. 2. The deciding point came at No. 3 doubles, where Aden Johnson and Lee Noyes rallied for a 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (12-10) win in a tightly contested match.

Manti returned to the court Thursday against North Sanpete in a back-and-forth contest that ended in a 3-3 tie. Kingston Sorensen led the Templars in singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1, while the Hawks captured the remaining singles matches, including a pair of three-set decisions.

In doubles, North Sanpete won the top three positions, but Manti answered in the lower flights. Brady Gerber and Aden Johnson posted a 9-7 win at No. 4 doubles, Lee Noyes and TJ Harmon added an 8-5 victory at No. 5, and Emerson Bailey and Everitt secured an 8-4 win at No. 6 to help the Templars earn the draw.

With the split, Manti moved to 4-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in 3A Region 13 play, placing the Templars near the top of the standings behind Carbon, which sits at 4-3 overall and 1-0 in region matches. North Sanpete stands at 1-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in region play, while Union remained winless in region competition. Overall and regional results for Emery High School were not reported by press time.

The Templars will travel to Wasatch Academy on April 7, while North Sanpete will face Carbon High School on the road the same day.