By Brian Shaw | [email protected]

Under the guidance of a new head coach, the Bingham Miners boys tennis team came into this season looking young. Really young, according to new head coach Lorin Brown.

“We had nine freshman on the team this year,” explained Brown, who was inheriting a Bingham team that had won several region team and individual championships prior to his arrival.

The Bingham boys, however, have never won a state team tennis title in the school’s history and have only had a handful of individual state title holders.

But that may soon change, because with such a young squad the Miners still were able to do what they have done in the past, added Brown.

“The boys team won Region this year and we were pleased to be able to hoist the Region Trophy for another year!” said Brown, who in his first year appears to have some talent for coaching.

First, that team region title the Miners won placed them in every singles and doubles category at the 6A state tournament that was held May 6-14.

That was huge for a Bingham team led by Kingsley Hoang, the Miners No. 1 singles player. The junior was so prolific in his first two matches at state, in fact, that he gave up just four set points en route to another milestone for the program.

It set up a state semifinal meeting of the top four seeds at Liberty Park, at which Hoang, the No. 3 seed, faced off against 2-seed Josh Jones of Farmington on May 12.

The underclassman Hoang met his demise in a match that his coach characterized as one that was “hard fought.” The final score indicated that, as Hoang broke Jones’ serve once in the first set but ultimately fell, 3-6 and 1-6.

Then in second singles at the state tournament, the Miners were represented by Isaac Jewkes, an 8-seed who is one of only two seniors on this Bingham squad.

Jewkes won his first match against a competitor from Lone Peak and then in the round of 16 recorded the largest-margin victory of any Bingham boys tennis player at state, a 6-0, 6-0 pounding of No. 9 seed Chase Peterson of Kearns.

Jewkes fell in the state quarterfinals in No. 2 singles to 1-seed and eventual state champion Griffin Karras of American Fork, 1-6 and 1-6.

Bingham’s No. 3 singles player at state was senior Tabor Harvey who, with the 6-seed, received a first-round bye into the round of 16, where his journey ended with a 4-6, 4-6 slugfest defeat to Weber’s Gabriel Olsen.

Brown added that he was very pleased to have had the opportunity to coach both Jewkes and Harvey in their final year at Bingham.

“We will be losing two amazing seniors that both played on our varsity boys team,” Brown said. “Huge thanks to Tabor Harvey and Isaac Jewkes for their leadership. We will miss them but wish them all the best for the future.”

In No. 1 doubles at the state tournament, the Miners trotted out the duo of juniors Sam Roberts and Parker Pedersen, the No. 18 seeds who pulled off a mild upset of a No. 15 team from Roy in the first round before falling in a round of 16 showdown to a team from Skyridge.

The same fate befell the Miners No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Treyton Brown and freshman Luke Huber, who at No. 8 defeated their first-round opponents from Clearfield and then suffered a thrilling three-set loss to a team from rival Herriman, 6-7, 6-1 and 4-6. 

For this Bingham boys tennis team, the future looks bright for a squad that only loses Jewkes and Harvey to graduation, according to Brown.

Here was the Bingham boys tennis team for 2022: Kingsley Hoang, Isaac Jewkes, Tabor Harvey, Parker Pedersen, Sam Roberts, Treyton Brown, Luke Huber, Joonyoung Jeon, Riman Dickson, Will Linton, Tyler Langston, Ty Middleton, Drew Spencer, Christian Jack, Bridger Newsome, Dallin Nordgren, Drew McCoy, Schyler Dension, Owen Simpson, Blake Driscoll, Isaac Bryner, Max Reinhold and Ryan McMillan.

“We have some very strong juniors and sophomores that will be returning next year so the boys tennis program at Bingham is looking very strong for the future,” Brown said.  

“It has been a great season. The boys played really well and we are super proud of them.”