Todd Debenham of Dimond returns a shot during the boys singles final at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

A common theme in two of the most exciting matches from the 2026 ASAA High School State Tennis Championship finals was unfinished business.

Last year, Dimond’s Todd Debenham didn’t go home empty-handed after making it to the boys singles finals. But he still fell short of claiming the top spot when he lost to Elliot Welch of Juneau-Douglas.

This time around, failure wasn’t an option for the 6-foot-5 powerful hitter as he defeated Service’s Han Keum to go out on top as a senior.

“Taking first was always the hope from the beginning,” Debenham said.

It took a back-and-forth, third-set tiebreaker to decide the winner, and he felt a sense of relief after securing the title. The final score was 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 1-0 (10-7).

Todd Debenham of Dimond and Service’s Han Keum shake hands after the boys singles final at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News) Service’s Han Keum returns a shot during the boys singles final at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

Debenham went undefeated during the regular season but entered the state tournament coming off his lone loss, to top-seeded Adam Kaufman in the Region IV finals.

The lessons he learned from that setback helped propel him to his ultimate goal.

“I think it was really mind-opening,” Debenham said. “All the competitors had a shot, and it felt good to bring it back here at state.”

He was in control early in the finals match, winning the first set. Keum rallied in the second, but Debenham got the job done in the tiebreak.

“The first set was good, I felt really good,” Debenham said. “He was really hitting the ball hard in the second set, so I was really pushing it and the third set was close. We were both trying to finish for the win.”

West Anchorage’s Maria Hrgovic returns a shot against a Juneau-Douglas team as her doubles partner Grace Yang looks on at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

The longest match of the finals and last to wrap saw the second-seeded pairing of Maria Hrgovic and Grace Yang of West upset the top-ranked duo of Aurora Madsen and Fallon Dale of Juneau-Douglas.

“It’s really awesome,” Yang said. “I know both of us really wanted it.”

This unfinished business was three years in the making as Hrgovic was part of an Eagles girls doubles pairing that came in second at state in 2024. Yang was one half of last year’s runner-up tandem.

“We lost to Juneau yesterday, and it was a little hard to deal with that, but we kind of went home and really thought through the match, and then the next day we came and were ready for Juneau,” Yang said.

West Anchorage’s Maria Hrgovic returns a shot against a Juneau-Douglas team as her doubles partner Grace Yang looks on at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

By winning their rematch against the Crimson Bears, the West team forced a final match, since the tournament has a double-elimination format and both teams had one loss.

“When we beat them the first time today, it really helped us,” Hrgovic said.

Their mindset heading into the final match was to take it “one point at a time,” according to Yang, and not get caught up in the score.

While this was their first year playing together, their preexisting friendship off the court helped them become a better tandem on it.

“We had a lot of practice over the years,” Hrgovic said. “We’ve always played together, but this was our first year being partners, so that definitely helped with the team chemistry.”

West Anchorage’s Lana Cebrian returns a shot against West Valley’s Leah Austin at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

The girls singles finals match also saw a representative from West prevail, but unlike in doubles, there was no upset as top-seeded Lana Cebrian capped off her dominant prep career with her third state title.

“I’m excited and happy,” she said. “It’s my senior year, so I’m really, really happy I went all out for my senior year. I’m really happy I stuck with tennis. It’s a passion.”

She was impressed by her opponent, Leah Austin of West Valley, whom she played Friday. In Saturday’s championship, Cebrian won 6-2, 6-0.

“Leah locked in a lot with this one, especially in the first set,” Cebrian said. “I feel like I locked in a lot during the second set.”

West Anchorage’s Lana Cebrian and West Valley’s Leah Austin meet at the net after the girls singles championship at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

She said she grew emotional after the win because tennis means “everything” to her.

“I’m really happy with my parents for teaching us and telling us we should do tennis,” Cebrian said. “How we started out in Wasilla to here has been a huge improvement. … Without their guidance, helping us to get to where we are and the teachings, it all goes to my parents.”

In addition to finishing as a state champion, the University of Portland commit is happy to be passing the torch to her younger sister Cherish, who finished second at regions and third at state as a freshman.

“I hope she will win all her matches and games,” Cebrian said. “I plan to support her from afar since I’ll be gone for college, and I want her to at least keep it up.”

West head coach Ben Larson spent most of the girls doubles final match pacing and limbering up with squats and high knees behind the court to get rid of some nervous energy and prepare himself to deliver on a promise that has become an annual tradition at the state tournament.

“If we win regions or state, I do a backflip for the team,” he said. “But I’m not as young as I used to be, so I got to warm it up a little bit.”

Lathrop’s Bode Leonelli and teammate Lilly Anderson wait for a return shot during the mixed doubles final at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

After the awards ceremony concluded and the Eagles were crowned team champions for the eighth year in a row and 14th time in program history, he made good on his promise after an impressive week of performances by West.

“So many teams outperformed expectations,” Larson said. “Girls doubles at the end. The Juneau team they played is tremendously skilled and incredibly well-coached. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but they really dug down and played such a solid match.”

He also commended the efforts of junior Adam Kaufman, who went from almost withdrawing from the tournament entirely due to a debilitating back injury to gutting it out and finishing in third place for the second year in a row.

“He managed to fight through it, loosened up as the days went on and got a top-three finish behind some really good players,” Larson said.

Service’s Shiloh Perkins returns a shot in front of teammate Ryan Hung during a doubles match at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News)

Even their second girls doubles team of Mckenna Hanson and Madigan Carey exceeded expectations.

“Going into the season, I never would have expected them to make state at all, let alone get us points here but ended up tying for fifth place,” Larson said.

With Cebrian being their only champion graduating in the spring, West is poised to be a favorite to repeat again next year.

“Every year is a new puzzle, a new challenge, a new time to dig in and try to make the best you can out of all the pieces that you got and we have a lot of good pieces to put on the board,” Larson said. “I think we’ll be really tough to beat as long as nothing crazy happens.”

Elias Barnard of Bettye Davis East High watches his drop shot as teammate Bridget Hall looks on during the mixed doubles final at the Alaska State High School Tennis Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Alaska Club East in Anchorage. (Photo by Michael Dinneen for the Daily News) ASAA 2026 State Tennis Championship

Finals

Boys Singles: Todd Debenham (Dimond) over Han Keum (Service), 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 1-0 (10-7)

Girls Singles: Lana Cebrian (West) over Leah Austin (West Valley), 6-2, 6-0

Boys Doubles: Shilo Perkins/Ryan Hung (Service) over Jared Sabey/ Henri Van Den Berg- (Lathrop), 6-3, 6-3

Girls Doubles: Maria Hrgovic/ Grace Yang (West) over Aurora Madsen/ Fallon Dale (Juneau), 3-5, 5-4, 1-0 (10-7)

Mixed Doubles: Lilly Anderson/ Bode Leonelli (Lathrop) over Elias Barnard/Bridget Hall (East), 6-3, 6-3