Alex Lawson, a Corona del Sol junior, has won his third straight 5A state championship trophy, defeating Horizon’s Nic Montoya in the singles finals at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale.
Lawson’s other championship trophies were in the doubles competition the previous two years with his long-time partner Kyle Ogren, who is currently playing tennis at Mesa Community College.
“It felt great to finally become a singles state champion,” said Lawson. “Obviously, it was great to win two doubles titles my freshman and sophomore years, but finally getting a singles title felt pretty special.”
Lawson, entering the singles tournament ranked No. 1, had to play seven matches over almost three weeks to make it to the finals because new AIA state tournament regulations combined 5A-I and 5A-II into Division I.
“The new format was frustrating because the tournament was a much bigger draw this year, and it took much longer to finish,” said Lawson. “But with the combination of the divisions it did make the competition tougher, which was good.”
Lawson, who made it into the finals without losing a set, actually lost the first set of the finals 3-6 and had some difficulty putting Montoya away because both competitors are familiar with each other’s game.
“Going into it I knew Montoya was going to be a tough opponent. I must have played him at least 10 times before in other tournaments, and he’s beaten me before,” said Lawson. “So losing the first set didn’t freak me out or anything. I knew I just had to stick with it and make adjustments to turn the match in my favor.”
Lawson’s third championship title this season is the sixth state tennis title in the Lawson family. His sister Kelsey won the state singles championship titles in 2009 and 2010. His mom, Tracy Lawson, won the state singles championship title for McClintock in 1981.
“McClintock was classified 3A, which was part of the largest school division back then,” said Tracy. “I beat Allyson Ingram of Saguaro High School at a Tucson country club in a two-hour battle where I won the big points leading to a 6-0, 6-0 score.”
His dad, Slade Lawson, although a talented athlete himself, prefers to be known as his childrens’ “greatest fan.”
Corona fans may be hearing the Lawson name from another member of the family next season. Zach Lawson, Alex’s younger brother, will be a freshman at Corona. But any athletic achievements likely won’t come from the tennis court. Zach loves baseball and was part of the Kyrene Middle School baseball team that won back-to-back district championships the past two seasons.
Alex Lawson, who started playing tennis with his mom almost before he was three, has a full schedule of national tournaments lined up this summer to play in places like Florida, Michigan, Illinois and California. He’s also considering college scholarships, probably out of state, at a large university, but doesn’t have any favorites yet.
