The Manogue girl’s tennis placed third in state, with an impressive victory of the Northern Nevada regionals championship title. With a new coach leading the team, everyone had to adjust and players faced new challenges and opportunities to grow. The team deserved to go far after putting in all their hard work, hours of practice and teamwork to accomplish their achievements.
Throughout the season, the tennis team experienced great victories and unexpected losses. One of the biggest challenges this season was winning against Galena in the season. Galena’s team had improved from last season, so it would not be easy. However, the team won in a tie breaker which gave them hope for future matches. The singles players fought hard with Aliya High winning against their top singles players. She went into a tough tie breaker in which she came out on top. However, the team also faced a surprise of losing to Douglas early on in the season. The Dougals singles players had improved significantly from last year which was unexpected. Our doubles players fought hard but it wasn’t enough. The ladies didn’t get discouraged from that match and continued to improve their skills. As the season progressed, we learned to work together as a team which worked in our favor in Regionals and state.
After a successful regular season, with losing to only two teams, the Miner Ladies were determined to win regionals. The team had to play Spanish Springs and Reno in order to get the Championship title. In order to win against Spanish Springs, the coach strategically changed the line up. Our coach, Shawn Cannon, helped us win against Spanish Springs which no coach had done for us before. Before the match he said, “Girls, we have worked so hard and come this far, you guys can all do this if you believe in yourself.” This pep talk put a positive mindset in the team’s head, which led them to victory against Spanish Springs. Aiella Gilbert, a senior, won against the #2 singles opponent, which was a huge accomplishment. The next hurdle was winning against Reno. The Reno match went smoothly. The doubles players played well winning almost all their matches. Alyia High, and Aiella Gilbert both won their singles matches. Manogue Girls tennis came out on top. Winning regionals gave the team confidence and excitement to head into state.
After winning regionals, the team prepared themselves for Vegas to come to Manogue to compete in the state championship. The two teams they went against were Meadows and Doral, who were both from Vegas. The tournament was at Manogue courts, so the team had home court advantage. The tournament started a day late due to unfortunate rain and wind. Competition was intense from both teams, and each match was challenging. The singles players from Meadows crushed our singles players, while the doubles players were crushed by our Manogue team. All three singles players from Manogue including Aiella Gilbert, Rose Wiese, and Alyia High lost 0 – 6 for almost every match. Manogue had to fight through the matches. The girls ultimately took third place. Finishing top third in Nevada was a great accomplishment and a good way to end off the season. The ladies hadn’t won regionals in years, so just making it to regional was an excitement.
Even though the 2026 season had come to an end, the team had plenty to look forward to and work on. The experience of going to State and winning Regionals gives the team a strong foundation to build on for next season. The team is losing six starting seniors who will be missed deeply. Returning players will continue to practice and improve their skills to get better. Around 11 returning players will compete next season. The team hopes to come back even stronger next season.
