Forest Hills Northern Finds Winning Mix
June 1, 2019
By Greg Chrapek
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – One of the biggest challenges a high school coach can face is blending a talented group of freshmen with a successful group of returning players.
Veteran Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern tennis coach Dave Sukup faced that challenge this year.
With a core of tennis players returning from a team that placed fourth at the MHSAA Finals last year, Sukup welcomed a skillful group of freshmen making their high school debut this season. The blending process proved to be a success for Sukup and Northern as the Huskies came together to win the Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship Saturday.
Northern totaled 31 points to claim its first Finals title since sharing the 2014 championship with Birmingham Seaholm. This title was Northern’s first outright since 2011. Seaholm placed second with 29 points, followed by Bloomfield Hills Marian with 26.
“We had some outstanding freshmen come into our school this year, and they really made a difference,” Sukup said. “We had all eight of our flights reach at least the semifinals, and that is something we’ve never done before. That made the difference.”
Northern finished with a pair of individual flight champions. Freshman Isabela Paul won the No. 3 singles title by outlasting Romika Shokoni of Mattawan 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
“It feels pretty amazing,” Paul said. “I just had to keep pushing through. Winning a individual state title and the team state title is real special. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Sophomore Alexis Pena claimed Northern’s other singles title. Pena defeated Greta Albertie of Birmingham Seaholm 6-1, 6-1.
A returning player, Pena put the team first and herself second this year. Pena played No. 1 singles in 2018, but with all the talented freshmen singles players coming into the program, she moved down to No. 4 singles for the good of the team. The move certainly was worth it.
“Last year we finished in fourth place,” Pena said. “It feels really special to go from fourth place last year to first place this year.”
Pena credits the leadership of Northern’s three seniors, who also served as team captains, as being a major key to the team’s success this season.
“Definitely having Meg Millar, Hannah Petersen and Oliva Dicks as captains,” Pena said. “They just made it so fun. Since we have a lot of freshmen on the team; they did such a good job of including everyone. We have a special team this year.”
Forest Hills Northern was not the only team with impressive freshmen in the lineup. Mattawan, which finished fifth as a team, was led by freshman Elizabeth Novak at No. 2 single. The top seed, Novak held form as she claimed a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Alba Delapena in the championship match.
“It’s really exciting,” Novak said. “We have a real close team, and having my teammates here with me made this so special.”
One of Novak’s teammates is her older sister Kate, who reached the quarterfinals at No. 1 singles and cheered her younger sister on in the title match.
“This was the first year we’ve been able to be on the same team,” Novak said. “Being on the same team with my sister is very special.”
While the freshmen were making impressive debuts, East Grand Rapids senior Sloane Teske accomplished an impressive feat as she finished her high school career with three straight No. 1 singles championships. Teske turned back Forest Hills Northern freshman Abigail Siminski 6-3, 6-3 in the final.
“This means everything,” said Teske. “I’m just happy that all my team and my family and fans were able to be here and support me. It meant the world.”
Teske, who will continue her career at the University of Toledo, remained focused and dialed in the entire match and throughout the tournament.
“My attitude and my mind was my main focus,” Teske said. “It pulled me through all my matches. I just went out there and played my game and hoped for the best. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Birmingham Seaholm relied on outstanding play from its doubles teams to secure second place. Seniors Madison Daminato and Emily Hirsch claimed the title at No. 1 as they came from behind to defeat Mia Schwartz and Marlo Hudson of Marian 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.
For Hirsch, it was her second Finals title as she was part of the champion No. 1 doubles team last season.
“This was so special,” Hirsch said. “I won it last year, and this year I won it with a different partner. We had a tough first set, but we picked up our game in the next set.”
For Daminato, the title was special in that she played singles all the way up until this spring, when a back injury forced her to switch to doubles.
“I looked at it as a new challenge,” Daminato said. “I learned a lot this year, and it was fun being able to partner with Emily. The season turned out good.”
Seniors Brooke Forte and Lilly Trinch teamed up to win their second straight title at No. 2 doubles, over Abigail Zhang and Lilia Henkel of Forest Hills Northern 7-6 (5), 6-3.
“This was very special,” Forte said. “We’ve played together for three years, and this was our last time playing together.”
The Seaholm duo stayed together and battled through the tight first set to set the stage for the win.
“We are all such good friends,” Trinch said. “We get together in the winter to play, and that really helps us.”
At No. 3 doubles, Seaholm’s Charlie Kuchman and Sofia Manzo defeated Marian’s Ragad Almsaddi and Gigi Kalabat 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. At No. 4 doubles, the Seaholm team of Ashley Buechner and Remi Maynard held off Marian’s Sara Kuredijian and Elizabeth Meathe 6-2, 6-4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern celebrates its latest MHSAA Finals championship. (Middle) East Grand Rapids’ Sloane Teske sends back a volley. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Pioneer Emerges as LPD1 Winner by Single Point as 2021 Co-Champs Match Up Again
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2022
KALAMAZOO — For the second year in a row, the top two teams battled for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division I girls tennis championship. But this time, Ann Arbor Pioneer did not have to share the title.
Pioneer, which led by a point after Thursday’s matches through the quarterfinals, held on for the win with 33 points at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium on Friday.
Bloomfield Hills finished second with 32, Troy was third with 22, Midland Dow fourth with 15 and Novi fifth with 14.
In a match of flights, Pioneer swept the singles and Bloomfield Hills swept the doubles.
“To sweep the doubles, I don’t know the last time it’s been done in Division 1 – but it’s an incredible task,” Black Hawks coach Chris Dobson said.
“We came here hoping to win the tournament outright, and it just didn’t happen. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier the way the girls played.”
Top seeds won seven of the eight flights, but Pioneer coach Tom Pullen said the unsung hero of the day was senior Aditi Ganesan.
She and sophomore Ella Vogel lost to Bloomfield Hills seniors Eryn Stern and Grace Bickersteth, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 3 doubles.
“Aditi Ganesan is the story of the tournament for me,” Pullen said.
Ganesan explained: “I just got over being sick and I hadn’t touched a tennis ball in over a week. We were afraid I was going to pass out in the first round (Thursday).”
Pullen said he hoped she would get at least through the first round for the two points, but “she got all the way to the finals.
“If she hadn’t, then we lose. That was really a gutsy performance.”
Vogel said three days before the tournament, she was waiting to see which alternate would be her partner.
“Then two days ago, they said Aditi can play, so I was really happy,” Vogel noted. “She’s done so well, and I’m so proud of her.”
Stern and Bickersteth started the season with different partners but jelled once they were paired.
“I’m good at the baseline and she’s amazing at the net, so that works really well,” Stern said. “We’re seniors, so it’s a great way to go out.”
Bickersteth said after losing in the Finals last year, “It felt good to come out and play my game and prove myself this year. We were undefeated this whole season.”
Pullen said these nail-biting tournaments are not necessarily his favorite.
“This is my 62nd time to the state (boys and girls) so I’ve been through a lot of stress and a lot of exciting situations, and this one was so rewarding,” he said.
“I’m proud of these girls.”
After sweeping the singles flights last year, Pioneer returned with the same top seeds this season, beginning with junior Reese Miller, who defeated freshman Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 singles
“My first two matches (Thursday) I was pretty nervous for both of them,” said Miller, who has already committed to play tennis at University of Michigan, where her sister Karina just finished her sophomore season. “I had a lot of expectations for myself, definitely more than last year.”
Rochester Adams did not qualify as a team, but Fu’s teammates showed up in full force to cheer her on.
“They made a bunch of posters, so it was really welcoming and fun,” she said.
Playing in her first MHSAA Tournament, Fu said, “When I first came here, I just hoped I would play well.
“I think high school tennis is nice to have a coach with you and you have a team with you. It’s a lot of fun.”
Pioneer sophomore Elsie Van Wieren defeated senior Laura Leiti, Midland Dow, 6-0, 6-3, to repeat at No. 2 singles.
“Last year was the highlight of the year, being a state champ, so I knew that feeling,” Van Wieren said, adding this year was even sweeter. “Coming out this year, there’s more pressure but it’s such a great atmosphere.”
Leiti, who lost in the semifinals last year, complimented Van Wieren.
“She’s a great player,” Leiti said. “She hits hard. She got all the shots. Her footwork is phenomenal.
This year, “I like to think that keeping my cool helps. I try not to let the fluctuating emotions get to me too much. I tried to keep my feet moving.”
Midland coach Garrett Turner said although Leiti lost, by making it to the finals she earned that one special point that put Midland Dow all by itself in fourth place after tying for fourth last year.
“It’s fun to be able to have someone here through the long haul and have the team stay the whole time to cheer for her and see what it’s like to play in the finals,” Turner said.
“This is a pretty special year because we came in as the eighth-ranked team. We outperformed significantly from where we were slated to be.”
At No. 3 singles, senior Mia Goldstein defeated senior Grace Shaya, from Bloomfield Hills, 6-4, 6-1.
In spite of going just two sets, the match lasted two hours.
“Every game was pretty close,” Goldstein said. “With her game style, she doesn’t miss a lot and she hits the ball with a lot of spin, not a lot of pace, so I had to generate all the power myself. I think I was exerting a lot of energy.”
Shaya said since it was her last competitive match ever, “I said to myself I was just going to play every point like my life depended on it. I wanted to give it every single thing I had.”
A pair of sophomores toughed out a grueling match at No. 4 singles, with Bridgette Kelly defeating Julia Yousif, also of Bloomfield Hills, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Kelly’s win clinched the title for Pioneer.
“It’s really great,” Kelly said. “I was pretty confident going into the third set. I knew what I had to do: make balls and play my tennis.”
Yousif said she just kept believing in herself and fought to the end.
“I just tried to pump myself up and keep the energy,” she said. “She was playing better (in the third set) so more credit to her.”
At No. 1 doubles, Bloomfield Hills senior Danielle Herb said losing was not an option for her and fellow senior Carly Bernard.
The pair defeated Troy juniors Stephanie Ochoa and Grace Zhu, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, in the last match on court.
Their key to winning is “our communication,” Herb said. “I was a singles player (last year) going on to dubs. It was a big transition. We stayed positive and we fought.”
The exuberant Bernard added, “We turned it on at the right time. My feet feel better now.
”We just love each other. And I’m crazy in the head and she knows how to calm me down.”
Black Hawks senior Noa Goldstein and junior Natalie Raab had won doubles championships last season with different partners. They prevailed this time together at No. 2 over Troy senior Sophie Chong and sophomore Nika Tanako, 6-1, 6-2.
“Winning twice in a row is pretty awesome,” Goldstein said. “It’s really great winning as a senior. I really wanted this this year.”
Raab said her specialty is at the net.
“I love playing net,” she said. “I love to crush the ball. I’m the person who likes to attack people — not personally,” she quickly added, laughing.
“Noa has an amazing ground-stroke game, and her serves set me up, We always have fun and have good energy.”
No. 4 doubles featured the only mini-upset of the tournament with second seeds Colleen Pettengill, a junior, and senior Ellie Alberts defeating Troy’s top seeds, junior Vienna Thieu and sophomore Michelle Baik, 6-0, 7-5.
For Pettengill, celebrating her first individual title, “It was definitely overwhelming, but it’s so nice to be here with the rest of the team.”
Alberts said the partnership works well.
“She’s the ground-stroker, and I’m the volleyer,” she said. “She always hits her targets, and I hit mine. It just works perfectly.
“We’re so pumped up the whole time. Last year, I lost in finals. And this is my senior year, so it’s huge for me.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Bridgette Kelly sends back a shot at No. 3 singles Friday at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills' Colleen Pettengill returns a volley during a No. 4 doubles match. (Below) Troy's Sophie Chong keeps a volley going during her No. 2 doubles match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)