High school girls tennis: Woods Cross state title is a family affair

Since long before this school year even started, Woods Cross tennis coach Molly Richards has felt this might be the year her Wildcats could win another girls state title.

Richards, a Woods Cross tennis alum, even asked her oldest daughter Emmy to join her staff, and the squad made the 5A state tournament a special moment for the family by taking home the team trophy for the first time in 20 years under near-perfect weather conditions at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.

"We knew we had the talent, but you never know," Molly Richards said. "We also had the experience, and you need those two to handle the pressure situations that can come up at state. We really helped ourselves by getting players into the championship matches in all five divisions."

After winning its eighth-straight Region 6 championship last month, Woods Cross ended the three-day state tourney with 65 points and finished comfortably ahead of second-place Timpview (43), followed by Wasatch (25) and last year's champ, Olympus (21).

Coach Richards' other daughter, Macy, started the day by claiming the No. 1 singles crown. Woods Cross also had an individual champion in Sydney Kemp in No. 2 singles, and the No. 2 doubles tandem of Lillie Bennion and Ruby Robbins had little trouble dispatching their opponents.

Woods Cross started the final day tied with Timpview but rolled through the semifinal round so easily that one of its player's parents had enough time (and confidence) to drive to a nearby Halloween costume store and purchase imitation gold necklaces for the players to wear and celebrate while posing for photos afterward.

Timpview, and possibly Olympus, were the only teams that had a chance to give the 'Cats much of a fight. The Thunderbirds' Addison Burt claimed the No. 3 singles crown and Olympus' Wilhelmina Hoggan and Samantha Hall finished a fine week by winning No. 1 doubles.

"There's a lot of good competition in 5A. We had our whole lineup back and the girls wanted to walk away from here feeling good after finishing in second place so many times," coach Richards said. "Most of these kids play year-round but we view this as a team event and wanted to do something good for our school."

Now they have a legacy at Woods Cross that will remain in the trophy cabinet for years to come, and perhaps something to build on if the Richards' kids want to add to their legacy, like their mother, and return to coach later in life at their alma mater.