After Rain, Westwood Reigns Again
October 1, 2014
By Dennis Grall
Special to Second Half
NEGAUNEE - Pflat! Phlop! Ping! Pitter-patter of early rain drops. 30-love! Out!
Those were the sounds of tennis on this chilly, windy fall Wednesday in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at the MHSAA Division 2 Girls Tennis Finals.
Appropriately the sun finally peaked through the overcast skies as Iron Mountain's Katie Brule outlasted Iron River West Iron County's Maddie Waara for her second straight singles title at No. 1. Only a small handful of spectators were still around for the day's only three-set match to feel the little warmth provided by those rays, including the entire Ishpeming Westwood team that was waiting for a championship trophy presentation for a record sixth straight year.
The Patriots amassed 19 points and collected six of the eight flight titles. Westwood has nine U.P. Finals championships since 2004.
Iron Mountain, the 2008 champ, was second with 15 points, followed by West Iron County with 13, Munising with seven, Ironwood and Ishpeming with one apiece, and Gwinn.
Nine seniors helped Westwood retain title honors, with doubles again playing a major role in the success.
"That is how we win most of our matches, with our doubles," said Westwood's Faith LeRoy, who teamed with Olivia Derocha to secure No. 2 and conclude an unbeaten season.
Derocha said, "Our doubles are really important. It is also important to be undefeated. We challenged ourselves to reach that goal."
They beat Kathryn Brown and Hannah Hakamaki of Iron Mountain 7-5, 6-0 in the finale. "It was definitely a challenge to get started. It was cold," said LeRoy. "Our first sets have always been closer."
To which Derocha added, "Once we get going, it is good. We need a little warm-up."
The temperature was barely 50 degrees when the tournament began about an hour late because of rain that slicked the dazzling new courts at Negaunee High School, and the wind from the south made it feel chillier. Even the multi-hued trees above Teal Lake in the background didn't do much to warm up anyone.
Westwood coach Chris Jackson said depth is a key reason for the success in doubles and as a team. "The depth comes from our numbers," he said of a team that fields 30-40 players each fall.
"We feel like we offer a great student-athlete opportunity, the players enjoy themselves, and winning certainly doesn't hurt. Everyone likes to be a part of the program. We offer something for everyone."
While the Patriots dominated, Brule struggled to repeat. She won the final set 6-0, but that followed a 6-2, 5-7 opener against the gritty Waara.
With frustration showing several times after lost points in the second set, Brule said, "I tried to calm down and just tried to remember how I played and to play my game and not get upset. I tried to forget my mistakes."
Waara, who missed last season with an knee ligament injury incurred during basketball season as a sophomore, had trouble with Brule's powerful opening serve but was able to put the second serve in play and gather numerous points in her upset bid.
"You couldn't do a lot with her serve," said Waara, who also runs cross country this fall for the Wykons. "And it probably didn't help to take a year off from tennis."
Brule said relying on her second serve wasn't a problem, but noted "I wanted my first serve to have more power and make it more difficult for her."
Additional flight champions for Westwood including Gabby Hebert at No. 2 singles, Rachel Anderson at No. 3 and Lauren Fairley at No. 4; Lacey Pietro and Jamee Ferris at No. 3 doubles and Emily Carlson and Madysen Mattias at No. 4 also won flight titles. Katie and Emily Bugni combined to win No. 1 doubles for Iron Mountain.
PHOTOS: (Top) Katie Brule of Iron Mountain darts into the corner to return a shot Wednesday at the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals at Negaunee High School. Brule defeat Maddie Waara of West Iron County 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 for her second straight title at No. 1 singles. (Middle) Rachel Anderson of Westwood reaches to retrieve a ball that bounced high during her No. 3 singles final against Iron Mountain's Emily Chang. (Photos by Dennis Grall.)
Every Class Contributes in Cranbrook Kingswood's Latest Title Triumph
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
MIDLAND – Runner-up to Detroit Country Day in 2021, 2019 and 2018, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood finally broke through with a cast of veterans and youngsters Saturday to capture the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls tennis championship at the Midland Tennis Center.
Cranbrook swept singles and scored 37 points, while Chelsea held off East Grand Rapids by one point, 21-20, to finish second.
Cranbrook previously had captured the team title from 2011 to 2015 before Country Day took over and won the following five championships in LPD3.
The Cranes' lineup featured one senior, two juniors, and nine freshmen and sophomores.
Freshman sensation Yenna Park, the top seed at No. 1 singles, didn’t disappoint as she defeated Otsego sophomore Aly Aldrich, 6-0, 6-2, in that flight’s championship match.
“This was very exciting,’’ Park said. “I knew a lot of people expected me to win and there’s some pressure with that, but I just wanted to go out and play my game. When warming up, I try to look at my opponent and see what their weak areas are. If it’s the back-hand, I’ll hit to the back hand. I was comfortable.
“When I play USTA I play to get better. Here it’s about winning the championship. We lost by one point to Country Day last year, so it was good to finally break through.’’
Aldrich entered the championship match coming off a semifinal with Bloomfield Hills Marian’s second-seeded Gaby Gryzenia that lasted nearly three hours. Aldrich previously had reached the No. 1 semifinals as a freshman and entered this weekend as the sixth seed.
Cranbrook senior Charlotte Brown, last season’s No. 2 singles champion, retained her crown and was the tournament’s first champ of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Chelsea sophomore Anne-Marie Begola. Brown was the top seed in the bracket, while Begola was unseeded but defeated the third, sixth and second-seeded players to reach the finale.
“I just decided to keep my head in the game and disregard anything about the lineup,’’ said Brown. “I just play my game. We’ve seen so much success this season. We had a lot of freshmen that came in this year and helped our team. Our No. 1 singles (Park) is a freshman, and she just beat everybody.
“I’m thankful for the way we played. Going back-to-back (at No. 2) is definitely a great feeling, but I’m more excited about the fact we were able to win the team title.’’
Top-seeded sophomore Sienna Ilitch gave Cranbrook another flight championship at No. 3 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over freshman Josie Arbanas of Stevensville Lakeshore, who also entered the tournament unseeded but defeated the second and third seeds to advance.
“I had a three-set match in the semis, which I did last year,’’ said Ilitch. “I got to the finals and said this is my second chance where I can get redemption. I locked in. I hit my targets. I played confident. I played wanting to win, knowing my team was relying on me. Even though our team was doing well overall, for me personally I wanted to be a state champion in my flight. Last year I lost in the final. Even though we were up, it mattered to me.’’
Top-seeded sophomore Olivia Zhang made sure Cranbrook swept singles, defeating Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s third-seeded Addison Bellows 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
“I got off to a slow start,’’ said Zhang. “I was afraid to play her.’’
Top-seeded freshman Ava Clogg and sophomore Grace Zhang claimed No. 3 doubles for Cranbrook with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 win over Chelsea senior Kendall Spink and junior Izzy Barkey, who entered as the sixth seeds. At No. 4 doubles, Cranbrook’s top-seeded Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala defeated East Grand Rapids’ second-seeded Kelly Couvrier and Kate Simon 6-1, 6-2 for the flight championship.
Upstart Chelsea’s runner-up team finish was its highest at a Girls Tennis Finals.
“One of the advantages we have is we have a middle school program, and we have a little kids’ program,’’ Chelsea coach Rahn Rosentreter said. “We really don’t have a lot of clubs. Most of our work is done during the summer. We’ve been lucky. We have a lot of parental support, and the school supports us. We have a community that puts a lot behind their boys and girls tennis.’’
After EGR, Bloomfield Hills Marian was fourth and Country Day fifth in the team standings.
Country Day’s second-seeded Peja Liles and Lana Haddad claimed No. 1 doubles with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over top seed Chloe Qin and Gaby Levine of Cranbrook.
At No. 2 doubles East Grand Rapids’ top-seeded Meg Simon and Ella Webb held off Country Day’s third-seeded Aryasai Radhakrishnan and Marin Norlander 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) in the final.
PHOTOS (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood's Yenna Park prepares to return a volley during her No. 1 singles championship match Saturday. (Middle) Otsego's Aly Aldrich sends a shot back to Park during that title decider. (Below) Chelsea's Kendall Spink and Izzy Barkey and Cranbrook's Ava Clogg and Grace Zhang greet each other at the net during their No. 3 doubles match at Midland Tennis Center. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)