Country Day Reign Continues with 3-Peat
June 2, 2018
By Jeff Febus
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – The Detroit Country Day dominance continues in MHSAA girls tennis.
The Yellowjackets captured their third consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship Saturday afternoon at Hope College, posting a final team score of 38 points. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – an eight-time Division 3 girls tennis title winner – was second with 22 points followed by Ada Forest Hills Eastern with 21.
A year after claiming 39 out of a possible 40 points at the Finals, Country Day reverted to near-perfect form as it claimed all four singles flights and three of the four doubles flights.
Country Day entered the day owning only one of the top seeds in the four doubles flights, but pulled upsets at No. 1 and No. 4. Seeded second, Heather Zimmerman and Nina Khaghany pulled off the upset win at No. 1 doubles, defeating the top-seeded tandem of Kate Cao and Amelia Smith of Cranbrook Kingswood 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
At No. 4 doubles, the second-seeded duo of Anushri Radhakrishnan and Maria Sicilia from Country Day topped Cranbrook Kingswood’s top- seeded team of Simrin Nagaraju and Mia Inakage 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Country Day also won at No. 3 doubles as its team of Maya Nassif and Ruhi Nayak downed Allegan’s team of Delaney Heckman and Maddy Layton 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
“I thought our doubles teams really rose to the occasion today,” said Country Day head coach Jessica Stencel. “We had a couple of two seeds and a four seed, and the two seeds came up with the upsets.”
Stencel noted that the upset at No. 1 doubles was filled with emotion. “We had lost to them two times in straight sets during the regular season, so it was a really emotional match for (our No. 1 doubles),” said Stencel. “They knew they had to play really well to win. They rose to the occasion and didn’t look back. We’re really proud of them because it was the best tennis they played all year.”
In singles action, the Yellow Jackets came in with the top seed in all four flights and held serve. “In singles we had a few obstacles today, but our singles players fought like they have all year,” Stencel said. They’re really talented girls, so it wasn’t a surprise that we came out on top there.”
Leading the charge was freshman Julia Fleigner, who did not drop a set during the weekend and cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over third-seeded Claire Danko of Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the championship final. “She’s a great leader and a top-20 player individually in the country,” said Stencel. “She’s such a great girl, and we’re really lucky to have her.”
According to Fleigner, playing in front of teammates made a difference. “It was great. It’s amazing to work with this team and be state champions together,” she said. “It’s the best feeling. There were definitely some nerves today. There’s a little bit of pressure being here on the big stage, but it’s better to be out here with the team and feeling the support.”
Fleigner’s championship at No. 1 singles came a year after current teammate Monique Karoub won the No. 1 singles crown. The emergence of Fleigner provided Country Day greater firepower but also bumped the reigning No. 1 singles champion down a flight. A junior, Karoub won the No. 2 singles title with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Deena Haddad of Flint Powers Catholic.
“She’s a competitor. No one is going to be happy from going from No. 1 to No. 2 when they’re that much of a competitor,” said Stencel of her junior captain. “Monique also has a lot of respect for Julia. They know each other well off the court. When Julia took that number one spot, she was happy for her but she knew that she still had a big position on the team. No. 1 singles doesn’t get more points than No. 2 singles. She’s a very good sport about things. She’s a team captain. She’s well respected by her teammates. I can’t speak enough positive things about her.”
Despite playing at the No 1 singles spot before, Karoub felt nerves of her own Saturday. “I was really nervous,” said Karoub. “I get nervous coming out here every year. There was a lot more pressure knowing that since I won (No. 1 singles) last year I should be able to win it at a lower spot, but I was able to use that pressure to help me. I just used what my coaches were telling me. We’re a close-knit team, and the support of my teammates really helps.
Also claiming singles titles for Country Day were Elle Hartje and Alexis Nardicchio. Hartje was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Claire VerBrugge of Forest Hills Eastern at No. 3 singles, while Nardicchio was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Avneet Deol of Forest Hills Eastern at No. 4.
Cranbrook Kingswood was the lone school to break through the Country Day brigade, winning the title at No. 2 doubles. The Cranbrook Kingswood team of Sophia Moustakas and Abby Foltyn won a spirited 7-6 (4), 6-4 match over Allegan’s tandem of Emma Phillippus and Nicole Galloway. The victory allowed Cranbrook Kingswood to seal second place in the final team standings.
“It’s always tough to beat a team with an all-star lineup like Country Day, but I thought we competed extremely well,” said Cranbrook Kingswood head coach Steve Herdoiza. “I am happy with our performance. All in all the weekend was a great success. It gives us confidence for next year. We came together as a group and really peaked at this tournament. I think we played some of our best tennis here. We are a junior-laden team, so I think next year we will be full of confidence.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Julia Fleigner returns a volley during a No. 1 singles match Saturday at Hope College. (Middle) Cranbrook Kingswood’s Kate Cao returns a low shot at No. 1 doubles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Westwood, Munising Star Shine Again
September 28, 2017
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
ISHPEMING – The Westwood girls tennis team has built a dynasty in the Upper Peninsula, and on Wednesday, it added another title to its trophy case.
It wasn’t easy though. After sharing the title with Munising last season, the Patriots had to hold off Iron River West Iron County at the end and edged the Wykons by one point at 17-16 for the Division 2 championship. Westwood has won eight of the last nine U.P. titles in its division.
“This was just a successful year,” Westwood head coach Chris Jackson said. “Heading into this year, we had to replace nine girls and we weren’t sure where we would be. I think most people thought this was going to be a rebuilding year, but we had some girls step up big for us.”
Munising took third at the meet with 10 points followed by Iron Mountain (8) and Ishpeming (5).
Westwood was led by its doubles teams as it won three of the four final matches including a three-set thriller by the tandem of Karlie Kargela and Karlie Patron at No. 1 (7-5, 4-6, 6-4). The Patriots also had two-set wins at both No. 3 with Hailey Mattila and Katelyn Anttila and No. 4 with Ellie Miller and Kaylee Larmour, while West Iron’s Emily Nelson and Avery Bosiek took the No. 2 match.
For West Iron County, it was a disappointing day as the Wykons were in six of the final eight matches but only picked up two victories. West Iron was in a similar situation last season and head coach Joe Serbentas said his team was determined to make up for that this year. However, it just wasn’t meant to be.
“We were disappointed last year, so the girls worked really hard to get back here and they wanted it badly,” Serbentas said. “I thought we really put ourselves in a good spot with seeds today to come out and win.”
On the singles side of the court, it was Munising’s time to shine. The Mustangs won the Nos. 1 and 2 matches thanks to strong performances by the Ackerman sisters, Marissa and Kelsea. Marissa won the No. 1 match over West Iron’s Katarina Serbentas, and Kelsea defeated Iron Mountain’s Jordan Stoner in the No. 2 competition. Marissa hasn’t lost a match in three years.
“Our singles have been the strength of our lineup all year,” Munising head coach Rod Gendron said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough depth today with doubles to win the title, but I’m very proud of how the girls competed. They’ve had some tough matches and on days like this, people are playing their best, so it’s not easy to win.”
Gendron also praised both Ackerman girls and explained how even though they may be related, their styles are completely different on the court.
“They both have a lot of experience and they both have been U.P. champs, so they know what it takes,” he said. “They do not give up no matter what the score is. They keep fighting and they make you earn everything. Marissa is a little more competitive, while Kelsea has nicer strokes. Marissa will do anything to win like throwing lobs or ugly shots while Kelsea is a more classic style player with good strokes and a strong serve. That’s the big difference between the two.”
Westwood and West Iron split the other two matches. West Iron’s Izzy Hoogenboom won the No. 3 match over Munising’s Kennedy Tate, while Westwood’s Tessa Leece took the No. 4 match over West Iron’s Anna Malmquist.
“Tessa hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity this year, and that’s hard as a No. 4 because everyone wants to talk about the No. 1s,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody as composed as Tessa. No matter what the scenario, she maintains her composure, competes at a high level and learns from her mistakes.”
Ishpeming’s lone appearance in the finals was at No. 3 doubles where Audrey Stetson and MaKenzie VanBuren fell to Mattila and Anttila. Even though it wasn’t the day they were hoping for, Hematites head coach Erl Langness saw some positives in his team’s performance.
“We won the spots where we had seeds,” he said. “Madison Pruett had an excellent match against the girl from Munising (Marissa Ackerman) and our No. 1 doubles also had a good day. They lost to West Iron in three sets. It was a pretty good day. We would’ve like to do better, but we did okay. I think we’ve made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year.”
In the end though, the day belonged to Westwood. And even though the outcome came down to the wire, Jackson liked it that things turned out that way.
“Close matches like these make the tournament fun,” he said. “It came down to how the finals went, and that’s how it should be.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Munising's Marissa Ackerman returns a volley during a No. 1 singles match Wednesday at the U.P. Division 2 Finals. (Middle) Westwood's Karlie Kargela returns a shot at No. 1 doubles. (Photos by Rachel Oakley.)