G.P. South Completes Title Mission
May 31, 2014
By Scott Keyes
Special to Second Half
MIDLAND – From the flustered feeling of not knowing how bad the elements were going to be to start the season, to the snow showers that hit the courts during late April, the Grosse Pointe South girls tennis team prepared for everything as this rugged season began to take shape.
The results showed.
The No. 1-ranked team in Lower Peninsula Division 1 all season proved why as the Devils earned their second MHSAA LP Division 1 championship in three seasons with a convincing victory Saturday afternoon at the Midland Tennis Center.
Grosse Pointe South had 28 points, followed by Clarkston with 22 and Bloomfield Hills and Northville with 19 each. Port Huron Northern was fifth with 16 points.
"We knew what he had coming into this season after last year's third-place finish," Grosse Pointe South coach Mark Sobieralski said. "The girls came into this season on a mission. They kept improving every time they hit the court. It's always nice to win a state title, but this championship is extra special for the entire team. From the newcomers to the veterans, everyone on the team played a key role in making this happen. I couldn't be prouder."
Grosse Pointe South clinched the championship early, having earned multiple points in every flight Friday – and winning all four of their three-set matches that day.
"Last year we may have lost them because of the lack of experience," Sobieralski said. "The kids really grew up this season."
At No. 1 singles, Utica's Davina Nguyen defeated Clarkston’s Lexi Baylis, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match that was worth the price of admission.
A year ago Baylis lost in the final to Saline’s Mary Hanna, while Nguyen was ousted in the semifinal by Baylis.
This time, Baylis (headed to Michigan State University) blitzed Nguyen in the first set, 6-2, but Nguyen rebounded to win, 6-3, 6-4, to claim her second high school singles title.
Nguyen admitted the win was extremely gratifying, defeating someone of Baylis' caliber.
"On that last point I knew I needed to finish it then because I couldn't feel my hand at all during that last point," Nguyen said. "It was crazy. I lost to her last year, and to be able to gain a little redemption is pretty gratifying. My mindset coming in was the same as it was my freshman year when I won the state championship. I knew Lexi was going to give it her all, and to get the win is pretty amazing."
Besides winning the team title, Grosse Pointe South also had two individual flight winners on the day.
Maddie Paolucci defeated Elaina Parrillo (Midland Dow), 6-4, 6-2, at No. 4 singles, while the No. 4 doubles team of Ginny Hayden and Kelly Beardslee defeated Libby Quinn and Chloe Page (Northville), 6-2, 6-4.
Grosse Pointe South also reached the finals in two other flights but finished runners-up. Willard lost to Clarkston's Dana Olsen, 6-2, 6-1, while Sydney Keller and Morgane Flournoy lost to Amy Tseng and Maggie Bacheller (Port Huron Northern) at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-2.
Raven Neely (No. 1 singles) and Angelica Kalogeridis and Jennifer Moy (No. 3 doubles) were semifinalists for Grosse Pointe South.
Parrillo wasn't the only Dow player that made it into the finals. Bloomfield Hills' Kerry Hu defeated Chargers freshman Caroline Szabo at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-3.
Dow coach Garrett Turner was impressed by the efforts of his team during the tournament.
"The future is definitely bright," Turner said. "In the finals Caroline ran out of gas, but she has nothing to hang her head about. We had a great tournament, and the kids will learn from this experience heading into next season."
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Pointe South raises its championship trophy Saturday afternoon at the Midland Tennis center. (Middle) Utica’s Davina Nguyen sends a shot during a No. 1 singles match en route to winning the flight. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
D1 Powers Share Title, Frosh Phenom Rises
June 3, 2017
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – Ann Arbor Pioneer coach Tom Pullen has watched his participation numbers decline for girls tennis, but he knew he had a great player coming this year in freshman Kari Miller.
The 15-year-old comes from great bloodlines, and as the top seed proved she was up to the challenge by capturing the Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 1 singles title at the Midland Tennis Center with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over sophomore Tia Mukherjee of Bloomfield Hills on Saturday.
Her aunt, Annie Miller, played on the pro circuit and at one point reached the top 40. She gave 14-year-old Serena Williams one of her first losses as a professional. Annie Miller’s picture is displayed at the Midland Tennis Center, where she spent years honing her game.
Father David Miller starred at Midland Dow, and they still talk about his loss to a Pioneer player back in 1991 tournament.
“He said that was a crazy match,’’ said Kari.
Now his daughter is the star at Pioneer.
“The expectation was to win, and I thought I could win,’’ said Miller. “I played Tia before in USTA, and that helped. I felt good for the most part. There were a few games where my backhand wasn’t its best, but I was able to fix it. I felt good the whole match.’’
Miller broke Mukherjee in the fourth game to go up 3-1 and cruised to the victory.
“She has it all,’’ said Pullen of Miller. “She has the heart and the brains. She has all four things you need; she has the length, the strokes, the brains and the heart. I just put her out there and say go get ‘em.’’
Miller breezed through the season and with reigning No. 1 singles champion Anika Yarlagadda of West Bloomfield deciding not to play high school tennis, the battle for the top spot came down to Miller, Maja Pietrowicz of Sterling Heights Stevenson, Mukherjee and Ava Thielman of Utica Eisenhower. Thielman lost to Mukherjee in the semifinal.
“I really like my team; it’s really fun,’’ said Miller. “It’s a team, and I like it because kids from my school start to know that I’m good at it and I like that.’’
Her teammates started laughing behind her.
“Playing (USTA) tournaments is not like being in school, so only my closet friends know about what I do.’’
Miller rose as high as sixth in the nation at 14-and-under on the United States Tennis Association tour and now plays 16- and 18-under.
She wasn’t the only freshman to win a singles title. Northville freshman Tori Mady beat Alayna Bowman of Rockford, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1, at No. 4.
And that ended up a significant win for an additional reason. The battle for the team title came down to 2016 runner-up Northville and reigning champion Midland Dow. Both finished with 30 points to share the championship.
“The key is no cell phones at practice and no sweets during the season,’’ said Northville Coach Linda Jones. “We were playing in a quad and a mother brought chocolate chip cookies. I said, ‘Are those sugar free?’ And she said no and walked away.’’
Renee Torres clinched the tie with Northville, rebounding from a 1-6 loss in the first set to win the last two 6-1, 6-3 over Dow’s Hadley Camp at No. 3 singles.
“I knew she had played three sets in the semifinal, and I could sense she was getting tired,’’ said Torres. “I felt the match changed in the second set.
“Getting a tie for the team title is great. We’ll take it.’’
Dow’s Sarah Ismail, the reigning No. 3 singles champ, won the title at No. 2 singles over top-seed Laurel Sullivan of Grosse Pointe South, 6-2, 6-4.
“I played her earlier this season, and I actually lost,’’ said Ismail. “It’s good to come back. I was just more confident. I was making more shots and following through more. This year I had a lot more competition at states. Last year I only had the final, really. I lost to Northville twice this year, so it was really good to come back and beat them when it mattered.’’
Trying to repeat, Ismail said they felt the heat.
“It’s a lot of pressure when you’ve already won,’’ she said. “People are gunning for you the whole season. We just have a really big rivalry with Northville. We’re head-to-head all the time. I think the momentum from Friday carried over. Everyone was just confident in themselves. We all have nerves, but we all came in and we were playing really well.”
Part of Dow’s incredible story was senior Caroline Szabo.
She won No. 2 singles a year ago, but suffered a right shoulder injury and had to have surgery, which threatened to end her season before she started.
“I started practicing here (left-handed) with the little kids,’’ said Szabo. “The joint was too loose and they had to surgically tighten it. As the season went on I could hit it pretty well, but I wasn’t in the lineup. When I was cleared by my doctor I asked Mr. (Garrett) Turner, ‘Do you think this is an option?’’’
The coach said OK, and she played her first match in March, left-handed, against rival Midland at No. 3 doubles with partner Christina Vanerkelen.
“I was terrified,’’ Szabo said. “I went to serve and said this is really happening. Christina played great all year, and she really carried me.’’
Szabo will go back to playing right-handed at Michigan State.
The duo beat Connie Gao and Andrea Nam of Northville 6-3, 3-3 when Northville had to retire, ironically, because of a shoulder injury.
Although they didn’t play together much of the year, Dow’s No. 4 doubles team of Maggie Schaller and Reema Patel defeated top-seed Lauren Ruby and Kaela Bernard of Bloomfield Hills, 6-4, 7-6.
“We interchange the lineup to see who plays the best together,’’ said Patel. “We played Bloomfield Hills before and lost to them in a tie-break. We knew how to prepare for the match. We know every point is important if we want to win the state championship.’’
PHOTOS: (Top) A doubles pair celebrates during the LP Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Ann Arbor Pioneer freshman Kari Miller returns a shot on the way to winning No. 1 singles. (Below) Midland Dow, top, and Northville shared the team title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)