Negaunee, Olivier Cap 4-Year Title Runs
May 30, 2019
By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half
KINGSFORD - Negaunee won its fourth straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals trophy Wednesday, but Marquette's Alec Olivier also left quite a legacy.
Olivier finished his high school tennis career with an unblemished 63-0 record and capped it with his fourth UP title at No. 1 singles.
While going undefeated through high school wasn't a goal when Olivier started out as a freshman, he said, the quest to maintain a perfect record brought more pressure as he played over the seasons.
"I'm happy it's over. Very stressful trying to go undefeated my whole career," Olivier said. "Really glad I was able to stay undefeated. I think my first year I was the only person to make it in the finals. Now we've got five people in the finals. Really looking forward to what comes of Marquette tennis."
Negaunee took the team win with 21 points. The Miners won all but two flights. Olivier and teammate Benjamin Sternschuss were the only ones to thwart the Miners in the finals.
Kingsford's Tyler Beauchamp and Reece Fortner nearly thwarted Negaunee at No. 1 doubles.
Down by two points in the second set, the Miners duo of Jakson Sager and Drew Lindberg rallied back to win 6-2, 7-5. The comeback underscored Negaunee's ability to overcome adversity to win its fourth consecutive UP title and eighth of the last 10.
"It's a belief. I think the biggest time that's evident is when you end up in a pressure situation," Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari said of the team's resilience. "If it's 5-4 or if you end up getting into a third set, you see people do it before or if you've done it before yourself, you don't feel the pressure – you can apply the pressure."
Saari said the team's winning culture has centered on a team-first approach – a win in any flight is embraced by each player in every flight.
"We understand that most seasons we come in there's a pretty sizable target on our back," Saari said. "These kids, they kind of embrace that challenge and understand the tradition they've built to pass the game on to the next group that comes in. Back from the first day of practice, this is always one of the goals that we set. They work hard day in and day out and support each other. They definitely do it as a team sport. That's always the unique side of it is they embrace each other’s success, and that's what's most neat to be a part of."
Kingsford head coach Sarah Massie said she anticipated a strong bout at No. 1 doubles.
"Coming in we were the underdog because we had lost to them two times earlier this season," she said. "Winning (the Great Northern Conference tournament) last week, I was hoping we could pull it off. Negaunee has such a solid one doubles team, I knew it was going to be tough no matter which way it went. Last time we played them it went to three sets. We were right there with them."
Asked what's different about his tennis game in his senior year compared to his freshman year, Olivier ran his fingers through his beard.
"I've got a lot longer beard," he said with a smile. "I'm definitely a lot more mature. I've got a much better understanding of tennis. Playing a lot of matches you get a good understanding of how the game works and how your points play."
Marquette head coach Charlie Drury said Olivier's performance Wednesday typified his career. He ended with a straight-set win over Negaunee’s No. 1.
"Playing at No. 1 you're always facing the best players," Drury said. "To be able to do it for four years is just a remarkable feat. I don't think anyone has done that, at least not in the last 50 years that I'm aware. Alec's been solid. He's had a lot of pressure to keep that record going. He's done just a tremendous job and (I) couldn't be more proud of him."
Drury said he also liked his team's heady performance against Negaunee's depth.
"Couldn't be more pleased with the guys," Drury said. "I felt as though we were gaining ground going into this tournament. I really think that our guys learned something today to compete with a good team like Negaunee. You've gotta work hard, and today they really did. Negaunee edged us out, but they deserve the win."
Click for full finals flight results.
PHOTOS: (Top) A Negaunee player returns a volley during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Marquette’s Alec Olivier gets set to send back a shot during his run to the No. 1 singles championship. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)
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.)