Phoenix Xavier’s Vianett Mena took her second straight Dobson Badminton Invitational individual title on Saturday, but this year’s win over Scottsdale Desert Mountain’s Emily Harris was probably the toughest match of her life.

Mena, who came into the tournament as the top seed, won 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, but almost every point was hard fought.

“It was really tough,” Mena, a senior and 2006 state title runner-up, said. “There was a lot of tension in this match. She is really good and she is only a sophomore.”

Twenty-four teams, many of them the best from 4A and 5A, dueled for more than eight hours to determine the top eight individuals and doubles teams in the tournament.

Winners have usually finished in the top four in state tournament competition.

For Harris, the defending state 5A-II individual tennis champion, the battle with Mena was a learning experience.

“I was just happy to win a game because she is really good,” Harris, a third seed, said. “This helps boost my confidence. It was really nice.”

In doubles competition, unseeded Leslie Appleton and Liz Hudson of Scottsdale Chaparral stunned Chandler’s top-seeded doubles team of Guadalupe Farfan and Alheli Jacquez 15-6, 15-14. “We started playing together this year and lately we found that we work really well together,” Appleton said.

The doubles win was key for Chaparral’s desire to retake the state title from 4A rival Sunnyslope.

“Coming to a tournament like this helps us to see how our style matches up against different teams,” Hudson said.

Although second-seeded Ashley Dreas of Phoenix Mountain Pointe finished third, and sixth seed Mandi Winters of Gilbert Mesquite finished fifth, other top seeds did not fare so well.

Chandler Hamilton’s Ariel Malor was fourth, while Chandler’s Amy Cappuccio, a fourth seed, did not finish in the top eight.

Mountain Pointe made the third-place doubles match its own affair, as juniors Kathryn Cantrill and Melissa LeBlanc defeated teammates Sam Morrison (senior) and Alisha Howe (junior) 15-10, 15-12.

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