All-Tribune First Team
Player(s) School Yr. Comment
Alex Lawson Corona del Sol Sr. Two-time POY with four HS state titles; headed to Notre Dame
Dominic Patrick Campo Verde Sr. Two-time Div. II state champ was undefeated in power point singles matches; headed to Univ. of Iowa
Griffin Dales/Josh Hedderig Cactus Shadows Sr./Jr. Won Div. II doubles state championship
Hudson Blake/Zach Cihlar Brophy Jr./Fr. Div. I runners-up in doubles for team state champs
Nolan Bauer Chaparral Sr. Top-five player as a senior beat Scottsdale’s best before falling to Lawson in Div. I singles title match
C.J. Krimbill Desert Mtn. Sr. Led Wolves at No. 1 to consecutive team state title appearances; took fourth in Div. I singles
Player of the Year: Alex Lawson, Corona del Sol
Coach of the Year: Phil Gonzales, Hamilton: Has built Huskies into a championship contender the past two years with a 14-0 regular season, sectional and Chandler city championships and second consecutive team state semifinal appearance.
All-Tribune Second Team
Player(s) School Yr. Comment
Ian Glessing/Jason Auh Desert Mtn. Sr./Jr. Pair finished 3rd in Div. I state doubles for second consecutive year; Glessing was two-time all-city pick
Andy Nguyen Hamilton Jr. Won Chandler Invitational and led Huskies to 16-1 overall record and consecutive Div. I team semifinals
Nicolas Montoya Horizon Sr. Finished third in Div. I singles after runner-up finish in 2011
James Ponwith Chaparral So. Beat Nos. 2 from Desert Mtn., Brophy and Hamilton to form top 1-2 punch in state with Bauer
Jacob Hedderig Cactus Shadows Sr. Div. II singles runner-up to Patrick led Falcons to third consecutive undefeated regular season
Jun Terashima Gilbert Sr. Popular vote by coaches for ability and academics after fifth place finish in Div. I singles
Samuel Wang/Cory Rizzi-Wise Hamilton So./Sr. Duo won Kiwanis Invitational before taking fourth in Div. I doubles for team tournament semifinalists
Honorable Mention
Apache Junction: Ty Adair, Andrew Gyenize; Arcadia: Caleb Rose-Kamprath; Brophy: David Akin, Kyle Chalmers; Campo Verde: Cassidy Reader; Chandler: Matt Beebe, Kiran Pendyala; Chaparral: Matthew Spalter; Coronado: Reid Blackley; Desert Ridge: Zack Dixson; Desert Vista: Mohammad Saleem; Dobson: Michael Green; Gilbert: Max Kaito, Chase Mueller; Gilbert Christian: Paul Bishop, Zack Gibson, Tyler Johnson; Highland: Tanner Erickson, John Nelson; Brandon Sucher; Horizon: Kevin Morris, Sam Shi; Marcos de Niza: Peter Hemes; Mesa: Tommy Durant, Matthew Ledwith; Mesquite: Idrys Durrani, Daniel Hollands, Chrisman Smith; Mountain Pointe: David Battock, Jonah Matanky; Mountain View: Colton Blomberg, Michael Brimhall, Gabe Cerrillos; Notre Dame: Luke Carstens, Adrian Cordova, Bo Oelkers; Perry: Nicolas Cook, Samuel Lin, Austin Stradling; Red Mountain: Ryan Huss, Cade Lortie, Chase Lortie; Saguaro: Ian Hessler; Scottsdale Christian: David Amano, Ryan McDowell, David McIntyre; Seton Catholic: Frankie Lister, Nam Tran; Williams Field: Clint Smith, Porter Derrick.
Memorable Moments from the 2012 Season
• Top tennis talent has run through Corona del Sol in recent years — mostly within the Lawson family — but Alex Lawson may have taken things up a notch. He won a fourth state title in four years in 2012 (doubles titles as a freshman and sophomore, singles titles as a junior and senior). Lawson tore through the regular season and most of the Div. I state tournament as well, as he didn’t drop a set in the tournament until the first set of the championship match with Chaparral’s Nolan Bauer.
• Speaking of repeats, Campo Verde senior Dominic Patrick didn’t lose a match during the past two years of power point matches. The No. 1 seed in Div. II also lost one set in the state tournament to Cactus Shadows’ Jacob Hedderig but held a 5-3 lead in the pivotal third set when Hedderig had to retire late in the third set with leg cramps, and Patrick had a second consecutive singles state championship as he heads to the University of Iowa this fall.
• Brophy’s talent and depth made the Broncos a favorite in February, and, thanks to four returning starters and freshman Zach Cihlar, Bill Woods’ bunch won a third team state title in the past four years. The clincher came in a 3-hour, 45-minute match in abnormal April heat by Alex Curtis at No. 6 as the Broncos knocked off defending-champion Desert Mountain. Blake Hudson and Cihlar finished runners-up in Div. I doubles, but the depth of Cihlar, Hudson Blake, David Akin and Christian Franco proved the difference.
Mark Heller is the East Valley Tribune sports editor. He can be reached at mheller@evtrib.com or (480) 898-6576.
