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The question around the courts at the Class 2A boys' tennis state tournament where Waterford senior Jay T. Anderson played was simple.
It wasn't how many games he was going to lose to opponents but how many points.
That's because the latter was even a manageable number to track as Anderson dominated in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds Saturday at Liberty Park.
But Anderson dropped the first game in the No. 1 singles title match to Rowland Hall's Bryce Baker.
Was Anderson, who had won both of his previous matches at Liberty Park by 6-0, 6-0 scores, stunned?
Not really.
"I was actually happy to lose that game so I didn't have to worry about keeping a clean slate anymore," Anderson said. "You can't be perfect ever. You've just got to win."
Anderson, who put on the pressure with his serve-and-volley game and aggressive attacks on Baker's second serve, reeled off 11 straight games after dropping the opener. Baker grabbed another game right before Anderson put the finishing touches on a 6-1, 6-1 victory to claim the state title.
The win marked a second consecutive 2A singles championship for Anderson.
"Hey, two's plenty," Anderson said. "I was happy to get one.
"This year was a little different. There were a few new players who moved in, but I've improved since last year."
The contestants in the finals were quite familiar with each other. Anderson and Baker have developed a friendship that began on the golf course.
"We play golf and tennis all the time," Baker said. "He's great on the baseline and has this fantastic forehand — puts a lot of good spin and pace. I was trying to get it to his backhand. That was really the only chance I had."
For Baker, it was his third straight time in a state title match. He was part of a doubles winning team as a freshman and won the No. 2 doubles title last year.
The No. 1 singles match was emblematic of an all-day trend of championship matches between Waterford and Rowland Hall players. The only exception was at No. 2 doubles, where the Richfield tandem of Curtis Jeffery and Wyatt Pererson beat the Manti duo of Eric Lee and Davis Hardy 6-2, 6-2.
The end result in the team standings: A dead heat for the championship between the two schools. Both Waterford and Rowland Hall finished with 17 points, while Manti took third with seven.
More of that may come in the future.
"I'm really happy with how we played," Anderson said. "We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores — a lot of new kids who stepped up and played well today."
Baker said: "We've got a lot of young guys. And they really played great today."
In the No. 1 doubles finale, it was Roland Hall's Jonathon Zubair and Karim Shaaban who outlasted the Waterfield team of George Matus and Max Gruber, 6-7, 6-1, 6-1.
Waterford and Rowland Hall also split the other two singles contests. Quinn Pritchett of Waterford grabbed the No. 2 singles title with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rowland Hall's Matthew Zubair, while the No. 3 singles state title went to Rowland Hall's Aaron Friedman, a 6-0, 6-2 victor over Waterford's Christian Heath. —
Storylines Rowland Hall, Waterford tie
R The two teams combine to win four of the five title matches to share the team title. Class 2A state tennis
Saturday's results
Team scores • Rowland Hall 17, Waterford 17, Manti 7, Richfield 5, Grand County 1, Layton Christian 1, San Juan 1, Wasatch Academy 1
No. 1 singles
Quarterfinals
• Jay T. Anderson, Waterford, def. Caleb Roundy, South Sevier, 6-0, 6-0
• Ricardo Gomez, Layton Christian, def. Jacob Hatch, Gunnison Valley, 6-3, 6-4
• Joshua Yang, Manti, def. Alex Henabray, St. Joseph, 6-4, 6-0
• Bryce Baker, Rowland Hall, def. Taylor Harris, Parowan, 6-2, 6-0
Semifinals
• Anderson def. Gomez 6-0, 6-0
• Baker def. Yang 6-4, 6-3
Title match
• Anderson def. Baker 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 singles
Quarterfinals
• Quinn Pritchett, Waterford, def. Bo Burrell, Gunnison Valley, 6-0, 6-2
• Elijah Stock, Grand County, def. Bailey McDougal, Summit Academy, 6-1, 6-3
• Connor Aste, Manti, def. Nathaniel Rose, Wasatch Academy, by forfeit
• Matthew Zubair, Rowland Hall, def. Carter Holliday, San Juan, 6-0, 6-1
Semifinals
• Pritchett def. Stock 6-3, 6-3
• Zubair def. Aste 7-5, 6-3
Title match
• Pritchett def. Zubair 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 singles
Quarterfinals
• Aaron Friedman, Rowland Hall, def. Bo McKinlay, Richfield, 6-0, 6-0
• Daniel Perdomo, San Juan, def. Jordan Heaton, Summit Academy, 6-1, 6-1
• Preston Clark, Manti, def. Gordon Hsu, Wasatch Academy, 6-0, 6-3
• Christian Heath, Waterford, def. Joey Carlisle, Gunnison Valley, 6-4, 6-4
Semifinals
• Friedman def. Perdomo 6-3, 6-0
• Heath def. Clark 6-0, 6-2
No. 1 doubles
Quarterfinals
• Jonathon Zubair/Karim Shaaban, Rowland Hall, def. Macrae Olson/Alec Tatton, Grand County, 6-0, 6-1
• Kyle Kim/Jason Wang, Wasatch Academy, def. Joshua Jensen/Tanner Jones, Richfield, 6-2, 6-4
• Jeremy Anderson/Logan Lund, Manti, def. Colin Greenhill/Duce Namazi, Layton Christian, 6-2, 6-3
• George Matus/Max Gruber, Waterford, def. Dallin Jacobsen/Jeff Walker, 6-0, 6-1
Semifinals
• Zubair/Shaaban def. Kim/Wang
• Matus/Gruber def. Anderson/Lund
Title match
• Zubair/Shaaban def. Matus/Gruber 6-7, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 doubles
Quarterfinals
• Dylan Zanker/Julian Stacey, Rowland Hall, def. Jordan Jones/Trent Leavitt, South Sevier, 6-0, 6-2
• Eric Lee/Davis Hardy, Manti, def. Mason Galecki/Spencer Hall, Wasatch Academy, 6-1, 6-2
• Curtis Jeffery/Wyatt Pererson, Richfield, def. Preston Mayer/Quinton Hildreth, Summit Academy, 6-1, 6-0
• Kevin Wu/Shravan Ramayanapu, Waterford, def. Dakota Adams/Kesian Barton, San Juan, 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals
• Lee/Hardy def. Zanker/Stacey
• Jeffery/Pererson def. Wu/ Ramayanapu
Title match
• Jeffery/Pererson def. Lee/Hardy 6-2, 6-2