Miners, Maroons Close with Wins to Share
June 2, 2016
By Steve Brownlee
Special for Second Half
NEGAUNEE — A tale of two strategies worked out about as well as possible for the Negaunee and Menominee high school tennis teams Thursday afternoon.
In the end, each won its final match of the day to forge a tie for the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys tennis title at the Miners’ courts.
It will be considered a win for each school, with each adding to its respective trophy case. A duplicate will be ordered and sent out, of course, so each team can claim the ultimate spring victory.
The Maroons claimed their half of the title when juniors Levi Kempka and Jake Anglehart pulled out a comeback 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Negaunee seniors Jacob Paupore and Matthew Jandron in the No. 2 doubles final.
Theirs was one of only two matches still going late in the afternoon at the new set of eight side-by-side courts at Negaunee High School.
Asked if they had an inkling their match might help determine the meet’s winner, Kempka said they had much more than an inkling.
“Right after the first set was over, (Menominee) coach (Troy Reuter) came over and asked if we wanted to know where we were in the meet,” Kempka said. “I said, ‘Yeah, tell us.’ And he said if we won, we wrapped up at least a share of the title.
“I think we started playing a lot better after that. The intensity went way up.”
The second-year doubles partners rallied to win those last two sets and get their team to 16 points.
One final match continued after theirs, Miners sophomore and first-year varsity player Thomas Sertich versus Kingsford’s Mikhail Roell.
Sertich would need a win to get Negaunee to its 16th point.
However, he had no idea what was on the line.
“I had no idea what the magnitude of the match was,” Sertich said. “I just thought that it was the last match.”
“We try to keep our distance and stay quiet in those kind of circumstances,” Negaunee coach Kyle Saari said. “Just let nature take its course.”
That was readily apparent as Menominee players and coaches crowded close to the fence to watch the outcome of the match, while no one from Negaunee stood within 40 or 50 feet of the adjoining outside fence where Sertich was playing.
And it worked perfectly, as Sertich won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.
“You’ve got to give Thomas credit,” Saari said. “He’s a consistent hitter, he hits a slow ball back, and at No. 4, that can be frustrating to a lot of players.
“Give him credit, too, especially with the pressure of having two teams rooting against you.”
While this was Menominee’s first U.P. title since 1998, Negaunee added to its legacy in the second decade of the 21st century — the Miners also shared the 2010 title along with winning outright in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
“What it comes down to, going back to 2010, is that the groups (of players) that follow watch it being done, and that next group comes in not only expecting to contend, but believing they can do it.
“It makes them work that much harder to see if they can achieve more than the group that preceded them.”
On Thursday, Menominee won four flight championships and Negaunee three, accounting for all but one title among the eight flights as each scored 16 points.
Despite not winning a title, Kingsford finished third with 12 points as the Flivvers had four runner-up finishes.
Escanaba was fourth with five points, followed by Marquette with four and Gladstone with one.
The Redmen had the other champion, freshman Alec Olivier at No. 1 singles. He slipped by Kingsford’s Brady Hicks 6-2, 6-0 in his finale.
Menominee also got wins from No. 3 singles player Mitchell Boucher, 6-4, 6-4 over Negaunee’s Luke Skewis; the No. 1 doubles tandem of Adam Nolde and Aaron Maas, 6-4, 6-1 over Brett Hicks and Chris Roell of Kingsford; and the No. 3 doubles pair of Peyton Mileski and Joe Anttila, 6-4, 6-1 over Negaunee’s Dylan Tasson and Peyton Anderson.
Negaunee’s other victories came from No. 2 singles player Eric Hurst, 6-4, 6-4 over Kingsford’s Alec Shanks; and the No. 4 doubles duo of Klay Ronn and Tyler Ryan, 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-4) over Menominee’s Sam Larson and Andrew Leinonen.
PHOTOS: (Top) Menominee's Aaron Maas takes a swing during the No. 1 doubles championship match against Kingsford on Thursday. (Middle) Negaunee's Thomas Sertich serves the ball during the No. 4 singles semifinal match against Escanaba's Christer Carne. (Photos by Elizabeth Bailey.)
Liggett Outlasts Greenhills for D4 Repeat
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2017
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
NOVI – With its second straight Division 4 team title minutes from being locked up, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett received a scare when William Cooksey, the second seed at No. 1 singles, went down writhing in pain after hurting his left wrist.
At the time, the team title was still on the line and he was up against Evan Sood of Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 6-1, 2-1.
After getting his left wrist wrapped, the freshman continued and prevailed 6-1, 6-3.
“I fell and it caught me off guard,’’ said Cooksey. “I fell awkwardly on it. There was no way I wasn’t going to finish. It’s just sore now.”
He scored five points on the weekend, but his final point ended up not needed as the Knights had already defended their title by edging Ann Arbor Greenhills, eventually claiming a 34-32 victory Saturday afternoon at Novi High School. Traverse City St. Francis finished third with 28 points.
“I thought it was broken when he went down; he’s still good enough to get the job done,’’ said Coach Mark Sobieralski of Cooksey’s injury. “He’s a tough kid and a good athlete.
“We’ve revived the program. Six guys on this team are four-year varsity starters. The experience was helpful. In three matches in the semis we met up with Greenhills, and we won all three. In two of the three there were match points against us.’’
High drama filled the air as three teams had a legitimate chance at winning the team title.
After dominating the Lower Peninsula’s Division 4 for eight years under longtime coach Eric Gajar, Greenhills finished second to Liggett last year.
“They’re a good team; they deserved it,’’ said Gajar. “I’m proud of my guys.’’
Friday’s first rounds left a three-team fight between Liggett, Greenhills and Traverse City St. Francis going into the semifinals, with each team sitting at 24 points.
Top-ranked Liggett and No. 2 Greenhills started to separate themselves going into the championship flight. Liggett had 31 points with Greenhills two behind at 29 and St. Francis trailing with 26.
However, the Gladiators and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard had a chance to play spoiler with four spots in the finals.
Greenhills got one point closer when Kaan Oral beat Ian Sood of Gabriel Richard, 6-3, 6-2, for the No. 2 singles championship. It was the third time Oral beat Sood this season.
“Obviously this means a lot,’’ said Oral, a sophomore. “Winning eight years in a row and then losing last year was tough. We’ve all worked very hard all year to try and get back to where it belongs. It’s a dogfight. They’re working hard and they want it, and we want it even more.
“Ian is very consistent on the baseline and I just don’t try to give him any easy points.’’
Greenhills evened the team score when Drake Rosenberg and Taha Zirapury beat Matthew Lesha and Craig Buhler of Liggett 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 3 doubles.
“We lost to them pretty bad earlier in the year,’’ said Zirapury. “Liggett was the only team we hadn’t beaten. I was really nervous, and in the first set it was difficult for us getting balls back. Later in the first set we kind of figured it out, what’s Liggett’s game. We played against it, and that helped us come out on top.’’
St. Francis senior Nathan Sodini denied Liggett a point at No. 3 singles, beating Casey Scoggin, 6-1, 6-2 for that flight title.
“We set a team record for points scored at the final yesterday (Friday), so it’s cool being able to get to this point,” Sodini said. “I had played (Scoggin) before. We’re just all trying to beat each other – St. Francis, Greenhills and Liggett. We lost some close matches in the semifinals, so we’re just trying to get as many points as we can.’’
Liggett came through at No. 2 doubles with top-seeded Thomas Van Pelt and Spencer Warezak beating Sushruta Shankar and Joey Formicola of Greenhills, 6-7 (6-2), 6-2, 6-4.
“I try not to think about (the team title), but it’s very stressful,’’ said Van Pelt. “After the first set we had a really good meeting with our head coach Mark (Sobieralski) and our assistant coach. We didn’t play that well, and we still almost won it. That gave us confidence. We were reminded that we’re a team. We put it to them in the second set.’’
Liggett extended its team lead when Andrew Staricco, the top seed at No. 4 singles, beat Greenhills’ Nathan Rosenberg, 6-4, 6-2.
At No. 1 doubles Jack Harris and Trey Feldeisen of Greenhills defeated Alec Azar and Maddie Fozo of Liggett, 6-3, 7-5.
PHOTOS: (Top) University Liggett's William Cooksey returns a volleyball during a No. 1 singles match Saturday at Novi. (Middle) Greenhills' Nathan Rosenberg unloads during a match at No. 4 singles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)