Country Day Ends Cranes' Title Streak
June 4, 2016
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – Detroit County Day freshman Elle Hartje could’ve avoided the question; instead, she wanted to know what the situation was when she took the court with her teammate, senior Haley Mullins, in the championship match at No. 1 doubles at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Girls Tennis Finals in Holland.
Detroit Country Day, five-time defending champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood and last year’s Division 3 runner-up Grand Rapids Christian were locked in a battle royal for this year’s title. In the second-to-the-last flight title match of the day, Hartje and Mullins took the court to play the Grand Rapids Christian team of Hannah Slenk and McKenzie Moorhead.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Hartje said. “I asked Coach if we had a chance to win the title, and she said if we win our match we would win it. It didn’t make me nervous at all.”
Hartje and Mullins may have felt the nerves early when Christian jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Instead, the pair stayed strong and controlled the match the rest of the way. Hartje and Mullins went on to defeat the Eagles’ team 7-5, 6-2 to give the Yellowjackets the final point it needed to secure the championship.
Detroit Country Day finished with 32 points to edge second-place Grand Rapids Christian by one and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood by two points.
“We just slowed it down and became more consistent,” Mullins said. “Our team has never won state while I’ve been at Country Day, and we really wanted it. It’s super special because it’s my final match for Country Day, and we definitely wanted to win it.”
Country Day’s title snapped the five-year winning streak of rival Cranbrook-Kingswood, a team the Yellowjackets defeated the week before at the Regional tournament.
“I can’t remember the last time we won state,” said Country Day coach Jessica Young. “It’s been too long. Cranbrook has won five in a row, and it’s awesome to beat them.”
Country Day is actually the last team to have won the Division 3 title other than Cranbrook-Kingswood, as the Yellowjackets claimed it in 2010.
“We couldn’t have done this without a total team effort,” Young said. “We were upset at a couple of spots, so we needed some big efforts at some of our other flights. Our number two doubles team (Tara Rahmani and Chloe Ward) came up big and reached the quarterfinals. We also got a big lift from Sasha (Hartje) at one singles. It was like a 50/50 match between her and Allison Motea, and Sasha really came up big.”
After dropping the first set 5-7, Hartje, the second seed, came back to win the next two sets (6-1, 6-1) to earn her second win of the season against Cranbrook Kingswood’s top player.
“This just feels unbelievable,” Hartje said. “I’ve been trying my whole high school career to win this title. I was runner-up last year and the year before that I made it to the semifinals. To help my team win the state title is the best part.”
Hartje and Motea are no strangers as they have played each other numerous times over the years.
“We both play competitive tennis outside of high school and have played each other several times a year,” Hartje said. “We also play each other three times a year during the high school season.”
Saturday’s was the deciding match this season as Motea won the first of the year before Hartje won at the Regional meet and then Saturday.
Country Day also claimed individual titles at No. 2 and No. 3 singles.
At No. 2 singles, freshman Monique Karoub defeated Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Emily Harvey 6-2, 6-2.
“It feels really great,” said Karoub, who came in as the number one seed. “I was really nervous, but my teammates really helped me. I have some really great teammates, and they came together for me and helped me out.”
At No. 3 singles, Country Day junior Sadina Fadel captured her second consecutive title. Fadel defeated Grand Rapids Christian’s Emma Greydanus 6-0, 6-0 to claim the crown.
“It was a lot easier this year,” Fadel said. “Last year I would get nervous, but this year I learned how to control my nerves. I just wanted to win this year as a team. It is a lot better when we can win as a team.”
At No. 4 singles, Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Maria Poortenga claimed the MHSAA title. Poortenga, who reached the semifinals last year as a freshman, faced a number of hurdles on her way to winning this season. Earlier, Poortenga broke a finger that resulted in her missing a few weeks, and just before the MHSAA tournament she was battling a foot injury. Poortenga actually wore a boot on her foot the week before the tournament and was unable to practice, although her doctor gave her the green light to compete in the tournament.
Poortenga made the most of her opportunity as she defeated Allyson Zwiep of Holland Christian 6-0, 6-2.
“This was real, real nice,” Poortenga said. “I was not expected to do this well. My foot was in a boot all week and I was not able to practice. I’ve had a rough season, but we have seven seniors on the team and it’s been real fun.”
Poortenga was seeded third at No. 4 singles but defeated second-seed Jenna Lee of Country Day 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals before defeating Zwiep, the fourth seed, in the final.
“I just became a lot better player since last year,” Poortenga said. “I had a lot of matches that gave me some good experience, and that really helped.”
A pair of Poortenga’s teammates also claimed a title. At No. 3 doubles, Grand Rapids Christian’s Kate Zwiers and Natalie DeBoer needed three sets to hold off Sauma Du and Alexandra Bowers of Cranbrook-Kingswood, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Cranbrook-Kingswood claimed a pair of doubles titles. In the longest match of the finals, the Cranes’ No. 4 doubles team of Ava Harb and Frances Dube outlasted Detroit Country Day’s Maya Nassif and Sharmila Prabhu 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
At No. 2 doubles, Amelia Smith and Kate Cao of Cranbrook-Kingswood defeated Caroline Heule and Olivia DeVos of Grand Rapids Christian 6-2, 6-4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day hoists its championship trophy Saturday at Holland. (Middle) Detroit Country Day’s Elle Hartje returns a shot at No. 1 doubles with teammate Haley Mullins backing her up. (Below) Grand Rapids Christian’s Maria Poortenga won the No. 4 singles title after coming back from a recent foot injury. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Westwood Adds Division 1 Title to Long Championship History
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
September 30, 2021
KINGSFORD — Ishpeming Westwood enjoyed a big day at the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals on Wednesday, earning their first Division 1 title with 20 points.
They were followed by 2020 champion Negaunee with 15, Escanaba 12, Gladstone four, Marquette and Menominee two apiece and Kingsford.
This marked the 13th title in 18 years for the Patriots, who competed in Division 2 until last year.
“This was a fantastic finish for us,” said Westwood coach Sarah Massie. “We felt we had a chance, but we knew there would be a lot of battling. Playing against the bigger schools is more challenging and unpredictable.
“We preached to the girls when you get to the U.P. Finals, you’re playing for your team. We had a lot of seniors and freshmen this year. We had a nice mix. We had a lot of freshmen come out this year, which was nice to see.”
Westwood seniors Natalie Prophet and Natalie Blanck defeated Escanaba’s Abby Hill and Gracie Wickham 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.
“Keeping a level head and knowing that we knew how to play tennis were the keys for us today,” said Prophet, who won at No. 4 doubles as a sophomore in 2019. “Tennis is such a mental game. In the first set, we were confident in our shots. We hit good shots and didn’t make many errors. They weren’t hitting their shots in the first set, then they settled down and started to find their groove.
“It feels great to win as a team, especially after all the work we put in which got us to this point.”
Blanck had similar thoughts on the championship match.
“Coach told us to be patient,” she said. “In the first set, we were pretty confident. Although, we never lost our confidence when they started to come back.”
Freshman Lexi Olson and Alyssa Prophet came through for the Patriots in No. 2 doubles as they rallied past Escanaba senior Erica Moore and junior Delaney McIntrye 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) for their title.
Moore and McIntyre led 5-2 in the third set after Moore’s overhand shot landed just inches in front of the back line.
“We knew it was going to be hard,” Prophet said. “We also knew we had to keep fighting. We beat them in the first set and knew we could beat them again. Coach told us it wasn’t over and not to give up until it was over. It’s going to feel great to return as defending champions.”
The Patriots surged ahead 6-5 before Moore-McIntyre got the next point to force a tie-breaker.
“Coach told us to get our heads back in the match,” said Olson. “Once we got within 5-4, we felt we had the momentum. We were a little nervous going into the tie-breaker but came through. That was very special.”
Senior Hannah Mattila and freshman Hannah Niemi added a first for Westwood at No. 3 doubles in a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 comeback against Negaunee’s Madison Frustaglio and Olivia Luseth.
Westwood’s Alyssa Couveau won at No. 4 singles, topping Negaunee’s Jordan Enright 6-1, 6-2.
Negaunee senior Lillian Nelson defeated Westwood senior Jillian Koski 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
“My groundstrokes worked well today,” said Nelson. “My main goal was to stay consistent. I knew I had to stay strong mentally. The hardest thing about this sport is to keep from getting into your own head. This is the first time I won singles. I really had to work hard to get here.”
Negaunee’s Daylen Drew defeated Westwood’s Lindsay Williams 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles and freshmen Audry Johnson and Kellen Schultz posted a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Westwood senior Lexi Moffat and freshman Izzie Marta in No. 4 doubles.
Senior Lizzy Sliva provided Escanaba with its lone title at No. 3 singles in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Westwood’s Mallory Leece.
“I stayed focused on what I was doing,” said Sliva. “The second set got close, but I pulled through.
“It feels great to end on a high note. Everybody worked real hard. We have a lot of good girls playing. They gave it their all.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Westwood's Natalie Williams winds up to return a volley during the No. 2 singles championship match Wednesday. (Middle) Negaunee's Lilly Nelson prepares to return a shot during the No. 1 singles finale. (Photos by Matthew McCarthy.)