Negaunee Edges Rest at UP D1 Final
May 28, 2014
By Keith Shelton
Special to Second Half
KINGSFORD – It was a true test of depth, mental toughness and endurance Wednesday at the MHSAA Division 1 Upper Peninsula Tennis Finals at Kingsford High School.
The Negaunee Miners proved, by a slim margin, to have just enough of each to reclaim their foothold as U.P. champions.
Negaunee won with 15 points followed by Menominee’s 12, Kingsford and Marquette with 11, Escanaba two and Gladstone one. The four-team battle that ensued throughout the day made for one of the more enticing Finals events in recent history.
With four flights left finishing, all four teams still had a legitimate shot at the title. Coming down to the final two flights of the tournament, the title was still up for grabs between Negaunee and Menominee.
The Maroons needed to win No. 3 doubles. But they were denied thanks to a thrilling comeback by Anthony Moyle and Rob Loy. After dropping the first set to Aaron Maas and Adam Nolde 6-2, the Negaunee teammates found themselves down 5-0 in the second set before rallying back to win 7-5 and force a third set, which they won 6-4.
"It's unbelievable. It was an amazing comeback," said Loy after securing the U.P. title for his team.
For Loy the victory was also about validation. The junior didn't play last season and had some decision making to do before he came back this year.
"I'm really happy he decided to come back. We won, and it's definitely a good feeling," said Loy's teammate, Moyle.
The pressure of it all coming down to their match in addition to needing to rally back from a 5-0 hole did wear on the teammates, they acknowledged.
"It was nerve-wracking at first. You kind of lost your head. It's tough coming back from being down 5-0," Loy said.
Agreed Moyle, "It's pretty hard. Tennis is probably one of the biggest mind games compared to other sports you play. There's ups and downs everywhere. I'm glad we came out on top."
Negaunee’s Ben Luke at No. 4 singles was still in the midst of his match with Marquette's Justin Flood when the celebration ensued. Soon after Loy and Moyle's victory, Luke got his as well, winning 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Though the pressure was off, he said he kept his composure.
"I was just excited to see that we won, but I was focused on finishing my own match and getting it done," he said.
For Luke, it was a long day, after he went through two three-setters, including over top-seeded Alek Shanks of Kingsford.
Miners coach Kyle Saari praised his team for its mental toughness, which he said keyed its fourth Division 1 title in five years.
"We had kids come through in tough situations mentally," he said. "Ben Luke beat two kids he hadn't beat all year today, and we had that happen in a few flights. We talk about peaking at the end of the year, and that's what we were able to do, so I'm proud of them."
Defending champion Kingsford didn't go down quietly. The Flivvers started the final round hot, taking No. 1 singles and doubles and looking like they were in business for more.
Adam Szabo at No. 1 singles had perhaps the most dominant performance of the day, defeating Marquette's Josh Downs in that final 6-0, 6-1, displaying a razor quick release and a smooth and swift motion. Downs marked Szabo's only defeat during the season, but Wednesday there was no doubt who would finish on top.
The top two tennis players in the Upper Peninsula in Division 1 are both juniors, so the rivalry will no doubt continue into 2015.
"I played with a chip on my shoulder, just really confident. You have to go in that way," Szabo said.
The Flivvers also scored a nice win at No. 3 singles where Chris Roell defeated his season-long nemesis Noah Gannon of Marquette 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
The rivals played three three-set matches this season, all very close. At the Great Northern Conference Tournament earlier this month, it was Gannon who came out on top 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
"There were some close matches with Noah this year. I knew I could play with him, I knew I could beat him, and I came through," Roell said. "He's the best in the U.P., and he fought right to the end. I credit him. He had a great season. I just got the better of him today."
The Maroons put all four of their doubles flights in the finals, but their lone victory came at No. 4 where juniors Nick Cattani and Colin Merat won a contested match against Kingsford seniors Peter Fornetti and Kevin LeClaire 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
"We just fell short in a couple tiebreakers, and Negaunee played great tennis today," Maroons coach Troy Reuter said. "We had some high goals coming into the year, and the kids worked hard over the summer and winter. They gave it everything they had.
"It's a little disappointing not to take the title, but to be right there, I'm proud of the kids. I can't complain."
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Stephen Trawick and Alex Roth continue a volley during their semifinal match at No. 2 doubles Wednesday. (Middle) Kingsford’s Adam Szabo returns a shot en route to winning No. 1 singles. (Photos by Ron Deuter.)
Doubles Deliver Ishpeming's 1st Boys Tennis Finals Title Since 1994
By
Alexandria Bournonville
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2023
ISHPEMING — Through a rousing fight on neutral tennis courts at Westwood High School, Ishpeming won the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Tuesday.
It capped off quite a rollercoaster of a season for these Hematites, who hadn’t won a U.P. title in the sport since 1994 when they competed in the Class C-D division. They hadn’t even been a U.P. runner-up since finishing second in Division 2 in 2004, just a couple of years after the U.P. split into numeric divisions for tennis.
On Tuesday, Ishpeming captured three flight championships, all in doubles, to score 12 points to 11 for runner-up Iron Mountain, which won only one flight but scored points in all but one of the rest.
Munising and West Iron County tied for third with nine points, while Menominee was a relatively close fifth with seven.
Each of the five schools present won at least one flight, with Munising – with two – the only other team to win multiple championships besides the Hematites.
But it proved to be Ishpeming’s day, though that came about almost completely through doubles.
“I feel amazing,” Ishpeming head coach Kaitlin Rich said. “I was watching the last match, and the kids came over with their arms pumped in the air and … I’m just really proud of them.
“This is something that really hasn’t happened in Ishpeming for the tennis program, and it just shows how dedicated these kids are to excellence.
“I have so many kids that are dual sporting. They play baseball and AAU (basketball), and to edge out Iron Mountain by one point? I’m just really proud of them.”
Rich had a relatively inexperienced team and thought it might’ve been too soon for her lineup to contend for the title.
“I have three seniors … one senior had never played before, and I’m really happy because our other two seniors are U.P. champions,” the coach said. “I’m really glad their last meet of the year they took the gold, and I’m really proud of them.
“We’ll have a very stocked team next year as well. … Hopefully, we can work a little bit in the summer and come back for another one next year.”
The Hematites scored 11 of their 12 points in doubles, winning championships at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 and finishing as runners-up at No. 1.
At No. 2, Logan Hurkmans and Ben Rubick scored a 6-1, 6-3 win in the championship match over Tanner Theurerkauf and Landon Daigneau of Menominee.
No. 3 proved to be one of the most competitive finals matches of the day, even though it went only two sets. Ishpeming’s Caden Luoma and Ryan Maki hung on for a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) win over Munising’s duo of Mike Robinson II and Logan Walsh.
And No. 4 appeared to be more typical only by that standard set at No. 3 as the Hematites’ Griffin Argall and Ethan Corp won 6-1, 6-4 in the final over West Iron’s Dominick Brunswick and Jackson Secord.
The only doubles flight not won by Ishpeming still proved important to its team title as the Hematites’ Hayden Hares and Hunter Smith picked up two points for reaching the finals as they lost in another close match to Munising’s Carson Kienitz and Kane Nebel, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-3.
“Hayden Hares had a little accident (last) weekend,” Rich said. “He had a gash (over the whole) bottom of his foot … but he played it out.”
And also just as important to the Hematites’ success was No. 4 singles player Tramon Gauthier winning his first-round match 6-0, 6-0.
That win gave Ishpeming its one final point to push it over the top.
“We knew the numbers coming in (to the finals) were going to be really tight between us, Iron Mountain, Munising, West Iron,” Rich said. “I told my singles players we need one point somewhere, we need one point and Tramon Gauthier stepped it up and he won his first-round match.
“That sealed it for us, and I couldn’t be prouder of him specifically, too.”
Gauthier advanced to face eventual No. 4 singles champion Zander Birmingham of West Iron in the semifinals, where Birmingham prevailed 6-3, 6-2 before going on to defeat Iron Mountain’s Colin Schneider in the final, 6-4, 6-4, to give the Wykons their lone flight championship of the day.
Iron Mountain picked up its flight title at No. 2 singles, where Kaden Sheldon pulled off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback against Menominee’s Danny Birch in the final.
“It just wasn’t enough team-wise for us to come away (with the team title), but I’m really happy for Kaden, he was our one first-place finish for the whole day,” Mountaineers coach Marcus Celello said. “Overall, we finished second and I’m really proud of the guys for that.
“We only won one dual match during the (regular) season, but we had a lot of tough opponents and we split with Ishpeming. We knew that we were going to be right there with them at the end of the day, and it came right down literally to the final match.
“We’ve come a long way. Our singles have been pretty strong all season, but our doubles teams really were a work in progress, and today they showed up and obviously we finished ... a little short, but all the guys improved so much from the beginning of the season.
“We lost to a really good Ishpeming team, and I’m really happy for them.”
Iron Mountain added a pair of runner-up finishes, and just as importantly, got through the first round at four other flights to ring up its 11 points.
Munising’s two titlists came at No. 1 doubles, with Kienitz and Nebel winning, and at No. 3 singles, where Ashton Wymer could make a case for the best championship match of the day when he defeated West Iron’s Drew Alexa 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3.
“I’m happy with how our guys competed, and I think the program’s in good standing going forward,” said Mustangs head coach Noah Ackerman, himself a Munising tennis star not quite a full decade ago. “That was my goal, taking over, was hopefully we can get (our) foot in the door, get back into competing for U.P.s.”
West Iron’s champion was Birmingham as the Wykons had a pair of runner-up finishes and Munising had one as well.
For Menominee, No. 1 singles player Brock Murphy picked up the Maroons’ flight championship with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Iron Mountain’s Reece Kangas. In fact, Murphy never lost a game all day, as after receiving a bye in the first round, he also posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Munising’s Danny Goss in the semifinals.
Menominee also had a pair of runner-up finishes.
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Hayden Hares returns a volley at No. 1 doubles during Tuesday’s UP Division 2 Finals at Westwood. (Middle) Munising’s Carson Kienitz returns a shot during a No. 1 doubles match. (Below) Menominee’s Danny Birch chases down a shot at No. 2 singles. (Photos by Alexandria Bournonville.)