Cranes Clinch 4th Straight Tennis Title
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2014
KALAMAZOO — On a hot, sunny Saturday afternoon, coach Jeffrey Etterbeek was unexpectedly doused with an ice-water bath by a group of cheering, laughing, enthusiastic girls on the Stowe Stadium tennis courts at Kalamazoo College.
The girls and their coach were celebrating Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s fourth consecutive MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 title.
“Four-peat is pretty extraordinary, pretty special,” Etterbeek said. “Not many athletic teams can do that, so they can boast they did that.
“Other teams and other players are good out here, and you’re going to take some bumps along the way. I think winning is contagious. You get ahold of a little bit of it and you want to do some more. It’s fun to win.”
Cranbrook-Kingswood led by six points after Friday’s action which ended with the quarterfinals, and clinched the title during Saturday’s semifinal rounds. The Cranes totaled 35 points, followed by Detroit Country Day with 24, Grand Rapids Christian with 20, Allegan with 18 and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep with 15.
This is the third time Cranbrook-Kingswood has won four straight MHSAA team titles, and only the 13th time a streak that long has been achieved by a Lower Peninsula girls tennis team.
The title was bittersweet for senior Alex Najarian, who owns three individual MHSAA titles, all at No. 1 singles, and did not lose a match in four years heading into Saturday’s final.
Najarian, the top seed, was upset 6-2, 6-1, by sophomore Sara Daavettila, the second seed from Williamston.
Daavettila, who ran down everything Najarian threw at her, was playing her first season of high school tennis after being home-schooled last year.
“I knew Alex was playing, and it would be a good year for some good competition to play her before she goes off to (University of) Michigan,” Daavettila said of choosing high school this year. “I thought it would be fun.
“I’ve known her ever since I was little. I grew up playing with her in USTA events. We’re good friends. I just focused on the ball and not who she was, and it worked out. In the first few games, I was on a roll and playing well and hitting well. I was positive and saying I can beat this.”
Najarian said she felt a lot of pressure going into the final.
“I didn’t play my best, but she’s a very good player and I’ve played her before,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of close matches with her before and beat her twice. I knew coming in it was going to be tough, and it made me more nervous.
“There’s a lot of pressure because you’re the senior and you’ve never lost a match.”
Etterbeek said Najarian has been a key to Cranbrook-Kingswood’s success.
“She just ran into a buzz saw today,” the coach said. “The girl played as good as she possibly could have played. Alex should not hang her head. She’s meant everything to this program. She’s brought incredible leadership.
“That’s the only match she’s lost. That one match doesn’t diminish what she did by any means. We’re very proud of her accomplishments at the school.”
Williamston coach Steve Stanley said on a scale of 0-100, “I have helped (Daavettila’s) tennis game ‘zero.’ She’s had great coaches. She’s not only a great tennis player, but she’s very positive and incredibly enthusiastic for the team.
“She hits with her mom (Breita Daavettila), who was a competitive tennis player, and they have a court at their home. It’s mostly her mom and Tom Walker (coach at Court One in Okemos).”
The No. 2 singles final was one of the first on the court and, two and one-half hours later, the last one off.
Anna Short, the top seed from Cranbrook-Kingswood, defeated Country Day’s Haley Mullins, the second seed, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) for her second consecutive title at No. 2 singles. Both are sophomores.
“It was much more challenging this year,” Short said. “Haley just gets everything back. Plus the weather. It was just so hard. She played great.”
After losing the first set, “I kinda was just excited and hitting way too flat and hard. In the second set, my coach Steve Herdoisa told me to back off the pace and spin high and deep and then come in, and that helped a lot.”
Mullins said Short changed her game after losing the first set.
“She got a little bit more aggressive,” Mullins said. “She changed it up a bit and (hit) more lobs inside. She kept the point in play longer.
“It was a great match and she hit some wonderful shots at the end and I think that’s what made the difference, the last couple shots when it really came down to it.”
Many of the players also compete in USTA tournaments, but there’s a big difference, Short said.
“You have so much support being a team,” she said. “There’s the parents, obviously the players and when you’re on a court next to a teammate and they’re cheering you on when you’re down 3-6 in the first set, it’s pretty nice. In the USTA, you’re alone and you’re the only one cheering yourself on.”
Country Day started Saturday with 18 points, tied with Allegan and just one point ahead of Grand Rapids Christian. Although Cranbrook-Kingswood led by just six points after the first day, the Cranes had players in all eight semifinals flights.
“We screwed up a bit (Friday) with a couple of our doubles teams,” Country Day coach Jessica Young said. “We knew we had to be perfect today and (Cranbrook-Kingswood) had to take some early losses, and you can’t rely on someone taking losses. So we put ourselves in that predicament early on.
“We haven’t finished second in a lot of years, and I’m so proud of them. They fought really hard today. We had our 3 doubles (sophomores Sharmila Prabhu and Lydia Wang) make it to the finals, which wasn’t expected. Our 2 singles (Mullins) fought so hard in the heart-breaker. She’s such a fighter, and I’m so proud of her.”
After pulling out a three-set semifinal win, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 3 singles against Cranbrook-Kingswood’s No. 4 seed, sophomore Emily Harvey, top seed Madelyn Karoub defeated unseeded freshman Maddy Winarski of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 6-1, 6-1.
“I know Maddy very well and I know she’s a great player, so I was expecting a tough match, actually,” said Karoub, a Country Day senior who ended her high school career with her third Finals individual title.
“She lives in my area, so we practice together. I just played a good match. We had some really good points; I just finished them out. Of the three titles, this is the most important to me, so I’m happy to pull it out. It’s my last year playing. I’m not playing college tennis, so it’s my last team thing.”
Winarski, who was wearing a knee brace following the match, said she didn’t expect to make it as far as the finals.
“I expected to do well, but not this well,” she said. “I’ve been playing for a while, so I’ve been training for it. USTA helps a lot for the experience, but I wanted the team experience. I’ve never been part of a team.”
Notre Dame Prep coach Peter Riley was beaming after the match.
“This is the best finish we’ve ever had at a state tournament in school history,” he said. “A fifth place tournament, not bad at all with the range of talent here.
“(Winarski) started the season hurt. She had shin splints. When we did our challenge matches, she was losing. She wasn’t really ready to play until after Easter, and she raised her level up to No. 3 singles and I’m not surprised. She’s a fighter, and the nice thing is she’s a freshman.”
Runner-up last year at No. 4 singles, junior Sarah Carroll of Detroit Country Day captured the gold this year. The second seed defeated Cranbrook-Kingswood’s top-seeded junior Jazz Teste, 6-1, 6-3.
“My brother (Nick) was my coach this year and he made a really big difference,” Carroll said. “I didn’t let the nerves get to me, and I was able to stay calm. It was awesome. I was able to stay strong the whole match.
“We played two times before and I lost both times, so this was good.”
Teste said in spite of losing, she was thrilled with the team’s four-peat.
“I didn’t work as hard as I could,” Teste said. “I fell for some of her traps, her slices. This is the first state (tournament) that I have participated in and won. I’m really excited.”
Cranbrook-Kingswood won three of the four doubles flights with juniors Meg Phyle and Amanda Simmons winning at No. 1, senior Holly Meers and sophomore Amanda Twu at No. 2, and senior Lauren Lanzon and freshman Mackenzie Beckett at No. 3.
The Grand Rapids Christian duo of senior Rachel Harkema and junior Rachel Koopman took the No. 4 doubles title.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood's Anna Short prepares to return a shot during a No. 2 singles match Saturday en route to winning her flight. (Middle) Williamston's Sara Daavettila volleys during her run to the No. 1 singles championship. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Serving Up Intriguing Scenarios
June 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s powerhouse girls tennis programs tend to annually contend for MHSAA championships, and this weekend’s four Lower Peninsula Finals should stay true to that pattern.
But a couple of possibilities could bring added intrigue to the mix of often-predictable winners.
One of those powers, Detroit Country Day, has the top seeds at every flight in Division 3 and could make a run at a perfect score. In Division 4, Ann Arbor Greenhills will shoot for its first team title since 2009 to join a recent string won by its boys program, and Jackson Lumen Christi is expected to contend for its first MHSAA Finals team title ever.
Following are all four sites and start times for both Friday and Saturday’s rounds:
- Division 1 – Greater Midland Tennis Center (8:30 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3)
- Division 2 – Hope College/Holland Christian HS (8:45 a.m., all finals at Hope)
- Division 3 – Kalamazoo College (8 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3)
- Division 4 – Holly/Fenton High Schools (8 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3, all finals at Holly)
Below is a brief look at top contenders at each tournament; click for more including brackets and seeds for all 32 flights across the four divisions.
LP Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center
Top-ranked: No. 1 Northville, No. 2 Midland Dow, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills.
Northville and Dow have swapped spots the last two seasons, Northville winning and Dow coming in second in 2015 and the reverse last spring. Northville edged Dow by two points to win the Ann Arbor Invitational at the end of April. If Bloomfield Hills can rise after finishing eighth last season, it would be the program’s first title – including for the two former schools, Lahser and Andover, that combined to form the current one.
Northville: The Mustangs finished only three points back of Dow a year ago and will look to make them up with seven flights seeded either first or second. Neha Chava and Sophie Zhuang won No. 3 doubles last season; Zhuang is playing this season with Serena Wang as the top-seeded pair at No. 1, while Chava and Maya Mulchandani make up the top-seeded pair at No. 2 – Wang and Mulchandani were the runners-up at No. 1 doubles in 2016. Shanoli Kumar is unseeded at No. 1 singles but finished runner-up at No. 2 last spring, and Joanne Gao is second-seeded at No. 2 after finishing runner-up at No. 3 a year ago – both were champions at their former flights in 2015. Also holding down top seeds are Renee Torres at No. 3 singles and Tori Mady at No. 4. Alexandria Petix was part of the No. 4 doubles champion last season and is seeded second at that flight with Madison DeYoung, while Connie Gao and Andrea Nam are second-seeded at No. 3 doubles.
Midland Dow: The reigning champion is seeded at seven flights as well and third or higher at six flights. Sarah Ismail, the No. 3 singles champion last season, is seeded third at No. 2; reigning No. 2 singles champion Caroline Szabo is paired with Christina Vanerkelen as the top seed at No. 3 doubles, while Meghan Killmaster and Kelly Livingston were champions at No. 2 doubles last season and are second-seeded this time at No. 1. Similarly, Tatum Matthews and Mina Fabiano moved up to the second seed at No. 2 doubles after finishing runner-up at No. 3 in 2016, and Maggie Schaller is back at No. 4 doubles this time with Reema Patel and seeded third after Schaller was part of the runner-up last spring. Jessica Brown is unseeded at No. 1 singles but was No. 2 runner-up in 2015 (and seeded sixth at No. 1 last spring), and Hadley Camp is third-seeded at No. 3 and was runner-up at No. 4 in 2015. Freshman Victoria Leiti is seeded fifth at No. 4 singles.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks are seeded at six flights as they pursue their first title, with four top-four seeds. Lauren Ruby and Kaela Bernard are the top-seeded pair at No. 4 doubles, and Tia Mukherjee is the second seed at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals at that flight last season as a freshman.
Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kari Miller: A freshman is the favorite to win No. 1 singles for the second straight season; this time it’s Miller entering the weekend as the top seed at the top flight.
Utica Eisenhower’s Ava Thielman: The No. 1 singles runner-up as a sophomore in 2015, Thielman also made the semifinals last season.
LP Division 2 at Hope College
Top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
The Pioneers were a distant second last season as Bloomfield Hills Marian dominated with 32 points, but are favorites to win their first MHSAA title since 2009 and first ever in Division 2 after more than a decade as a Division 3 power. Seaholm was fourth and Forest Hills Northern third in 2016, but they are used to being in contention as well; they shared the 2014 title and Seaholm won its third straight in 2015, when Forest Hills Northern was runner-up.
East Grand Rapids: No. 1 singles Sloane Teske, No. 2 Hannah Stuursma and No. 4 Halley Elliott are all top seeds, and No. 3 Audrey Olson is a second seed as that group leads the charge. All four doubles are seeded as well, two pairs as third seeds. The No. 4 pair of Audrey Devries and Kate Mackeigan is seeded third after finishing runner-up at that flight last season. Teske and Stuursma made the semifinals at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, respectively, in 2016.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples’ power is at doubles, with all four flights seeded fifth or higher. Caity Buechner is seeded second at No. 2 with Emma Latessa, and Lilly Trinch and Brooke Forte also earned a second seed, at No. 3 doubles. Three singles players are seeded fifth at their flights.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: Six flights are seeded, including three first or second. Felicia Zhang is the second seed at No. 4 singles after winning No. 3 a year ago, and FHN’s other flight champion from last season also is back but split over two flights. Claire Tatman and Salonee Marwaha are the reigning winners at No. 3 doubles, and this time Marwaha is part of the third seed at No. 2 with Abby Zhang, while Tatman is seeded second at No. 1 with Maansi Dalmia.
Mason’s Olivia Hanover: Last season’s runner-up at No. 1 singles beat Teske in the semifinals but is seeded just below Teske this time as the second in their flight.
Okemos’ Monika Francsics: She’s unseeded at No. 1 singles, but gets a mention for a few reasons; she won No. 2 last season and was No. 3 runner-up in 2015, and the Chiefs have had the No. 1 singles champion three seasons in a row.
Traverse City Central’s Yana Beeker and Kristin McLintock: The Trojans’ No. 1 doubles pair is seeded first after Beeker made the semifinals at that flight in Division 1 last season and McLintock made the second round as part of a No. 2 pair.
LP Division 3 at Kalamazoo College
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Country Day, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Holland Christian.
Country Day broke Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s hold on Division 3 last season after the Cranes had won five straight titles. But just barely. Country Day scored 32 points, with Grand Rapids Christian at 31 and Cranbrook at 30. The Yellowjackets are favorites again after winning all eight flights at their Regional.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets are loaded with championship experience. All four singles players are top seeds – Monique Karoub at No. 1, Sadina Fadel at No. 2, Nina Khaghany at No. 3 and Alexis Nardicchio at No. 4 – after Karoub was the No. 2 champion and Fadel won No. 3 last season. The 2016 winner at No. 1 singles, Sasha Hartje, is playing No. 1 doubles with sister Elle Hartje, part of last season’s champion at that flight. Of course they are seeded first, as are Heather Zimmerman and Tara Rahmani at No. 2, Chloe Ward and Ruhi Nayak at No. 3 and Jenna Lee and Maya Nassif at No. 4. Nassif was runner-up at No. 4 with a different partner last spring.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles are seeded at six flights with an impressive singles lineup leading the way. All four singles players are top-three seeds: Leah Newhof is a third seed at No. 1, while No. 2 McKenzie Moorhead, No. 3 Maria Poortenga and No. 4 Emily Schellenboom are all second seeds. Poortenga was the champion last season at No. 4 singles and Moorhead was part of the runner-up at No. 1 doubles.
Holland Christian: The Maroons came in fourth last season and enter with four seeded flights, three of them in doubles. Allyson Zwiep is unseeded at No. 1 singles, but was the runner-up last season at No. 4 as the team finished only five points behind the mix at the top.
Imlay City’s Grace Whitney: Imlay City has never had a flight champion at an MHSAA Girls Tennis Finals, but Whitney made the semifinals last season and enters this weekend the second seed at No. 1 singles.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Amelia Smith and Kate Cao: Last season’s No. 2 doubles champion enters this weekend seeded second at No. 1.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Frances Dube and Ava Harb: This pair also won last season and moved up, claiming the title at No. 4 and coming in now the second seed at No. 3.
Division 4 at Holly
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart has won the last two Division 4 Finals and three of the last four. But the teams to beat at least going in are Greenhills – seeking its first title since 2009 – and Lumen Christi, playing for its first team championship. Lumen Christi was fourth and Greenhills fifth last season.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: All eight flights are third seeds or higher, with four flights earning top seeds. Vidhya Rajaprabhakaran is the top seed at No. 3 singles, and Phoebe Sotiroff is the top seed at No. 4 after making the semifinals at that flight last season. In doubles, Baani Jain and Giselle Farjo are top-seeded at No. 2, and Jamie Todd and Ryan Perry are top-seeded at No. 3. Kate Shaffer also was a semifinalist last season in singles, at No. 1, and returns at that flight two seeds higher as a three this weekend.
Jackson Lumen Christi: All eight flights are seeded and six are seeded either first or second, giving the Titans plenty of opportunity to pursue that first title. Taylor Smith (No. 1), Nina Dunigan (No. 3) and Shae Wright (No. 4) are all second-seeded in singles, and third-seeded Sela Clifford at No. 2 was part of the No. 1 doubles champion last season. Geraldine Berkemeier and Jocee McEldowney are the top seed this time at No. 1 doubles, while Macie Richmond and Cat Carroll earned the top seed at No. 4.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart: Six flights are seeded, and the power is at doubles with all four seeded second or third at their respective flights. Sara Gerard and Annie Keating are the second seed at No. 1; Gerard with another partner made the quarterfinals at that flight last season. Margaret Mayer and Kathryn Monahan make up the third seed at No. 2 doubles after Monahan was part of last season’s champion at No. 3.
Kalamazoo Hackett’s Natalie Moyer: Last season’s champion at No. 2 singles is the top seed at No. 1 as she attempts to follow a graduated teammate by winning that flight.
Kalamazoo Hackett’s Maggie Ketels: She slides into the top seed at No. 2 right behind Moyer after making the No. 3 semifinals last season.
PHOTO: Kalamazoo Hackett’s Natalie Moyer returns a volley last season during her run to the No. 2 singles title at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)