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.)
#TBT: Inkala Celebrated as Athlete, Coach
June 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The mid-Michigan and statewide tennis communities are mourning the death last weekend of longtime Okemos girls coach Al Inkala, who led the Chieftains to four MHSAA championships over a 20-season tenure that ended in 2013. He was 66 years old.
From 1994-2004, his Okemos girls tennis teams finished either first or second at their MHSAA Finals all but 1996, and his 1998-2001 teams won four straight Division 2 titles. But those were his only final chapters to a high school career that began as one of the most accomplished athletes of his time from the Upper Peninsula, where he played football, basketball, tennis, baseball and ran track for Wakefield before graduating in 1967.
A 6-foot-5 center, Inkala was a Class C all-state basketball selection as a senior, leading the Cardinals to the MHSAA Class C Semifinals with 33 points in an 85-60 Quarterfinal win over Gaylord. A three-year varsity basketball player, Inkala scored a school-record 540 points as a senior and a school-record 1,160 for his career. He also scored a school-record 42 points against Baraga during the 1966-67 season as Wakefield strung together its first undefeated regular-season finish. Inkala was second in his league in scoring after finishing first as a junior and made the all-U.P. Class C team after both of those seasons.
Inkala also was selected for the top senior basketball award for the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference by the largest margin ever accorded for the award to that point, and based not only on his athletic proficiency but also good sportsmanship.
His prowess extended far beyond the basketball court. In tennis, Inkala was undefeated at singles as a senior until his second match of the U.P. Finals – in those days, there was only one division in the Upper Peninsula, and only one flight for singles and one for doubles at all MHSAA Finals – as he led Wakefield to a fifth-place team finish. He was the singles champion in the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference.
Inkala ran four events – the 220-yard dash, 120-yard high hurdles and half-mile and mile relays – in helping Wakefield to its Regional track &field title in 1967. Wakefield then finished second as a team at the U.P. Class C Final, with Inkala taking fifth in the high hurdles.
As noted above, Inkala also played baseball and football; on the football team, he played both offense and defense and was the punter. Inkala also served as his class president, sung in the school chorus and was part of the conservation club at Wakefield High, about a 20-minute drive from the Wisconsin border.
He went on to play basketball at Northern Michigan University, serving as a team captain as a senior in 1970-71. He led the team in rebounding that winter and sits 30th on NMU’s single-season rebounding list and 12th on the career list, having played in 90 games over his four seasons.
On a personal note, Inkala was a huge help to me covering mid-Michigan girls tennis while at the Lansing State Journal from 1999-2011. He was the best of coaches when it came to being honest about his players’ abilities and making sure those from other schools got deserved recognition as well – especially during a period when his teams’ No. 5 singles and doubles players could’ve played the top flights for nearly every school in the surrounding area and likely beyond.
The stories heard around our office this week focused on how he worked to give Okemos’ opponents the best experiences possible when facing his incredibly-talented teams.
Against those with just enough players to fill a lineup, or teams with most athletes in perhaps only their first few seasons of play, he’d fill his lineup with players who otherwise didn’t see the court when Okemos faced others of the state’s elite. The Chieftains shared their equipment and knowledge with many opponents, providing humble leadership in a tennis community that embodied a coach who gave the same always from the background and with little fanfare despite deserving much.
The Lansing State Journal talked to a number of his area counterparts this week; click here for that report.
Inkala died June 20. A memorial service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Sunday at Okemos Community Church.
PHOTOS: (Top) Al Inkala, far left, accepts with his teammates the Class C District championship trophy during the 1967 season. (Middle) Inkala launches a free throw during the title game against Ontonagon. (Below) Inkala led his Okemos girls tennis teams to six MHSAA championships. (Top photos courtesy of the Ironwood Daily Globe; bottom courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)