West Iron Caps Undefeated Spring Surge
May 31, 2018
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
ISHPEMING – It had been a while since the Iron River West Iron County boys tennis team stood at the top of the Upper Peninsula.
But Wednesday afternoon, the Wykons finished the climb again.
After ending runner-up to Ishpeming Westwood the past two seasons, West Iron edged the Patriots 20-18 to take the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 title, its first since 2013.
“We looked good today,” WIC head coach Joe Serbentas said. “Sometimes when you have multiple teams, some teams can play a role in what is going on and it just happened that it was us and Westwood in the finals. They were in all eight and we were in seven of the eight. These guys have a lot of confidence, and we have a lot of seniors on the team and they’ve been looking forward to today. We’re coming off a Great Northern Conference championship, so there’s a lot of confidence in the guys.”
Even though his team had won the last four Division 2 titles, Patriots head coach Chris Jackson knew going into the meet that it was going to be hard to win a fifth straight against a WIC squad that hadn’t lost all season.
“The day kind of went as it was set up,” he said. “I think West Iron had six of the eight number one seeds. I think we had seven of the eight two seeds. We got everyone to the finals, which was important. The kids performed really well today. It was just a little short.”
The Wykons won three of the four doubles championship matches to help lift them over the Patriots. It wasn’t easy though as Brandon Henschel and Kevin Ballinger dropped the first set to Westwood’s Dylan Willey and Jared LeRoy at No. 1 doubles, but came back to take the next two. On the other end of the court at No. 3 doubles, Steven Nelson and Caden Pellizzer took the first set from the Patriots’ Connor Traver and Hudson Uren but had to fight off the Westwood tandem in the third to win the match.
Jackson was impressed with how Willey and LeRoy performed, battling Henschel and Ballinger to a hard-fought third set.
“They were a three seed so they had to play the extra match,” he said. “Munising beat them earlier in the year, and they came out and played really well. Now they played against one of the best No. 1 doubles teams in the U.P. and they took them to the third set. It’s fitting that they’re a group of seniors too.”
Westwood’s lone doubles win came at No. 4 where Nathan Ostlund and Jack Mattias topped WIC’s Nolan Anderson and Drew Hebert.
Over on the singles side, the Wykons’ Holden Ross and Neil Tomasoski easily took their matches at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and Serbentas praised Ross for the strong effort he put in against Westwood’s Adam Hyttinen.
“Holden was hitting well early in the season, but then he got into a little funk where he was guiding a little too much and being a little too patient and not attacking some of the balls that he could’ve attacked like he did earlier in the year,” Serbentas said. “Today, he just let it go. He wasn’t holding any punches. He gave him everything he had. Adam is a good player, so you’re going to have to move him around and hit it hard by him. Holden did a lot of good things today to get himself in good positions against a quality player.”
Westwood’s Matt Paavo won the No. 4 final, and Munising earned its only title of the day at No. 3 singles when Mitchell Coyne earned a two-set victory.
“Mitch is having a good year,” Mustangs head coach Rod Gendron said. “He’s coming off the GNC Championship in straight sets, and coming here on (the Patriots') home courts he played a nice first set. He’s got good control, he thinks about things while he plays now and uses some good tactics to mix it up.”
The Mustangs finished third overall followed by Ishpeming, Iron Mountain and Gwinn. Gendron said that that his team needed to have a lot go its way to win the meet and even though it didn’t happen, he was happy with the result.
“We finished third, where we should have this year,” he said. “Coming in, we had to have some major upsets and we came close in a few matches. I was happy though. They played their best today, and that’s what we always hope to do. Just play to the last point, and don’t give up. That’s all you need to do.”
That’s what the Wykons did as well and with that strong effort, they're now bringing a championship home to Iron River.
“This could be probably one of our finest seasons,” Serbentas said. “We’re undefeated, we were GNC champs and a U.P. championship. I don’t know how you could have a better season than that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Munising’s Mason Schnieding keeps his eye on the ball during a No. 1 singles match against Westwood’s Adam Hyttinen at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Wednesday at Westwood High School. (Middle) Hyttinen returns the ball against Schnieding (Photos by Rachel Oakley.)
Negaunee Caps Near-Perfect Season by Taking Back Top Spot in UPD1
By
Jerry DeRoche
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2023
KINGSFORD – The Negaunee Miners are no strangers to lifting Upper Peninsula Division 1 tennis title hardware.
Coach Kyle Saari’s program has been a powerhouse over the past 14 years, winning eight championships and finishing runner-up three times.
Still, the Miners entered the 2023 event having finished second behind Escanaba the last two seasons. But this Negaunee squad was dripping with confidence, having gone through the regular campaign unbeaten and barely losing a set along the way.
With that in mind, the Miners' championship Wednesday at Kingsford High School was rather expected. But take nothing away from the 12 Negaunee players who shined nearly as brightly as the blazing sun overhead with seven flight championships and one second-place finish to recapture the trophy in emphatic fashion.
The Miners finished the day with 23 points, well in front of 2022 champion Escanaba, which recorded 11 points. Kingsford took third with eight, Marquette placed fourth with six, Westwood wound up fifth with five and Gladstone did not post a win and finished sixth.
“From day one, they wanted to bring a U.P. title back home,” Saari said of his squad. “So for us to take seven out of eight finals, it’s a great feeling. You have to play your best on the final day, and today they were able to do that. They answered the bell.”
Frankly, the Miners have done that all season, to a remarkable degree. Negaunee not only beat every opponent they faced along the way, the Miners' players won a staggering 155 of 160 matches they played combined.
And to cap it all off, Negaunee lost just two of 32 sets on the final day of the season.
“This year has been kind of unprecedented,” Saari said. “I don’t think you can ever see (155-5) coming. Our 2012 team was 162-7, and this team beat that as far as winning percentage.
“The unique thing was they were able to answer the challenge every single day. They’re a humble group, they do it the right way and they handle it the right way, too.”
The Miners swept the four doubles flights. At No. 1 doubles, Jace Turri and James Thomson knocked off Kingsford’s Ben Trevillian and Gabe Lafraniere 6-1, 7-5, while Gavin Jacobson and Gavin Downey defeated Gabe Tossava and Reid Frustaglio of Westwood 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.
In the No. 3 doubles flight, Philip Nelson and Zack Brundage posted a 7-5, 6-2 win over Nick Chaillier and Vincent Guindon of Escanaba, and at No. 4 doubles, Ethan Harris and Brandon Borlace upended Brett Berglund and Isaac Lebouef of Kingsford 6-3, 6-3.
The only flight that didn’t end with a Negaunee win was No. 1 singles, where Escanaba senior Dawson Williams defeated Negaunee senior Luke Syrjala in two tough sets, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Williams was overwhelmed with emotion after putting his name in the U.P. boys tennis record book.
“I’m lost for words right now,” Williams said, fighting off tears. “I never thought when I was a freshman walking into tennis, I’d be winning a U.P. title at one singles.”
Williams said the matchup with Syrjala, their fifth duel of the season, came with the added difficulty of playing a left-hander.
“It is always tough to deal with a lefty, and he’s a very competitive player,” said Williams, who won four of the five matches with Negaunee’s top singles player along the way.
But in the overall competition, Negaunee’s depth was too much for all the other competitors.
“We feel that from one singles to four singles, on any day, they could have each other’s (flight) numbers, so all four of them were able to push each other during the course of the year to make us better,” Saari said. “And I think that’s true within our doubles lineup, too.”
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee’s James Thomson returns a volley during a No. 1 doubles match, with partner Jace Turri. (Middle) The Miners are presented with the championship trophy Wednesday. (Below) Escanaba’s Dawson Williams sends a backhand during the championship match at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Dennis Mansfield.)