• by Rich Winter
• October 8, 2011
• Salt Lake Tribune article link

Every time Judge Memorial’s No. 1 singles player Emily Murnin takes to the court, the thoughts of her performance affecting the team’s outcome are never far from her mind.

Murnin easily advanced to Monday’s semifinals with 6-0, 6-0 wins over opponents from Desert Hills and Carbon and helped the Bulldogs to 10 points after day one of the 3A state tennis tournament Saturday afternoon.

“When I’m on the court I’m playing for my team and I think we have a pretty good shot so I’m just trying to do my part,” said Murnin.

The Bulldogs advanced their No. 2 and No. 3 singles players, Whitney Weisberg and Katie Iwasaki to the semifinal round. With both doubles teams advancing, the Bulldogs scored 10 points to lead Park City and Spanish Fork, which tallied six apiece.

“This is one of the strongest teams I’ve ever had at Judge Memorial,” said coach Lani Wilcox. “Seems like the girls have all peaked at the right time, and I feel good going into the semis.”

Defending champion Desert Hills’ title hopes took a hit when their No. 1 and No. 3 singles players were eliminated in first-round action.

While Park City struggled in quarterfinal action, the Miners got a lift from No. 1 singles player Karslon Solveig, who advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over previously undefeated McKenna West of Spanish Fork.

“She’s a really good player and hits the ball hard, so I just tried to stay consistent and concentrate on my return game,” said Solveig. Solvieg will meet Dixie’s Cydnee Wilkinson in a No. 1 singles match when play resumes Monday morning, while Judge Memorial’s Murnin will square off against Pine View’s highly touted freshman Lacey Hancock.

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3A girls’ tennis tournament highlights

• After day one of the 3A state tennis tournament, the Judge Memorial Bulldogs advanced all of their players to Monday’s semifinals.

• With play originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, players and teams had to do some shuffling to get all early matches in on Saturday. Semifinal action resumes Monday at 9:00 a.m. in Provo.

• Monday’s semifinal between Judge Memorial’s Emily Murnin and Pine View’s Lacey Hancock could be a dandy. Murnin finished second in last year’s No. 2 singles competition and Hancock has yet to incur a loss this season.