GP South, Pioneer's Miller Take Back Titles
June 1, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – After disposing of reigning No. 1 singles champion Tia Mukherjee of Bloomfield Hills in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Greater Midland Tennis Center, 2017 champ Kari Miller of Ann Arbor Pioneer had to refocus her energy to take on Lily Jones of Grosse Pointe South.
Stunned in the first set 5-7, Miller regrouped and wore down Jones, winning the next sets 6-1 and 6-0, to claim her second Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals title at the top flight in three years.
“I knew she had gone through a tough three-set match in the semifinal,’’ said Miller. “In the first set she just ran everything down and hit some great shots. I tried to keep her running in the second set.
“This is just as special as my freshman year. I was glad my teammates stuck around, and some even came down to watch.’’
It’s rare that champions face off, but that was the case when Mukherjee faced Miller in the semifinals. Miller had defeated Mukherjee in the 2017 championship match, and in Saturday’s rematch prevailed again, 6-2, 6-4.
Miller didn’t play high school tennis last year, and Mukherjee assumed the role as the most dominant player in Division 1, winning 6-0, 6-0 in the 2018 final against Northville’s Shanoli Kumar. Miller spent her sophomore year playing in elite tournaments across the country, including in Palm Springs, Calif., Atlanta and Grand Rapids.
She fared well in those three events, finishing in the top five at all three venues.
"I've had some great ones,” said longtime Pioneer girls and boys head coach Tom Pullen. “It's special for her to come back and play high school tennis because she didn't have to do it. She's special.''
Since Miller had already determined that University of Michigan would be her college choice, coming back to play high school tennis at Pioneer became appealing.
“Since she has already committed to Michigan, I think it was a no-brainer that she came back to play for the team this year,’’ said Pioneer assistant coach Dan Goldberg. “This is a totally different dynamic from the national USTA scene. There were some nerves in her first match today. She wasn’t really used to this environment and everybody yelling and screaming. It affected her a little bit. She had to settle in and go about her business like this was any other tournament.’’
The third-seeded Jones may have fell just a set short of closing out the title at No. 1 singles, but her point from a three-set win over Plymouth’s second-seeded Jessica Braun in the semifinal played a significant role in deciding a tight team race.
Jones eventually won the match over Braun, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 to face Miller in the final. South, ranked No. 1 coming into the tournament, won the team title just ahead of Bloomfield Hills, 30-28.
“She’s getting tired now, but that was a big point for us,’’ said coach Mark Sobieralski during her match with Miller.
The championship was South’s first since 2014 and third this decade.
“It’s all about the mental,’’ he said. “We didn’t talk about where we were ranked. We try to keep things in small terms. (Friday) was phase 1. Today was phase 2. We had to take care of business today.’’
Top seed Miriam Gandham of Ann Arbor Huron dominated Savannah Matuszewski of Midland Dow, 6-0, 6-0 to clinch the No. 2 singles title.
Midland Dow’s Laura Leiti, the top seed at No. 3 singles, defeated Jenna Silverman of Bloomfield Hills, 6-2, 6-2 in that final.
“I had played her before so that helped, but states is so hectic,’’ said Leiti. “I just went out there and hit the best I could. I tried to adapt to her game, but it was a matter of me moving my feet and going for shots.’’
At No. 4 singles, top seed Moira Hix kept South in the running for the team title with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over three-seed Claire Earley of Midland Dow.
The No. 1 doubles title went to the Bloomfield Hills duo of Madison Narens and Hannah Tomina with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Northville’s Maya Mulchandani and Sophie Zhuang.
South claimed the No. 2 doubles title as Anna Dietz and Claire Beardslee defeated Northville’s Madison DeYoung and Andrea Nam, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Northville’s No. 3 doubles team of Connie Gao and Michelle Tong defeated South’s Kaitlin Ifkovits and Mairin Heimbuch, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to claim the crown.
At No. 4 doubles Bloomfield Hills’ top seeds Susan Baenen and Emma Gray knocked off Troy’s Lana Rihawi and Julia Macri, 6-0, 6-4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kari Miller lines up to return a volley during Friday’s rounds at Greater Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South’s No. 1 doubles pair of Kate Beardslee and Maddie Hurley earned their team key points by reaching the semifinals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Escanaba, Negaunee 'As Even As It Gets' Again in Sharing UPD1 Title
By
Mitch Vosburg
Special for MHSAA.com
October 5, 2023
MARQUETTE — On Sept. 13, Escanaba and Negaunee collided in a dual meet in Escanaba. The Eskymos and Miners tied 4-4.
Flash forward 21 days and both squads once again found themselves neck and neck on the court. With a Finals title on the line, the Eskymos and Miners, similar to their first meeting, finished tied for the Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship Wednesday at Marquette High School.
The squads were crowned co-champions after each accumulating 16 points.
Ishpeming Westwood finished in third place with 14 points, Marquette finished fourth with four points, Gladstone and Kingsford tied for fifth with two apiece and Menominee finished seventh with one point.
For Escanaba, Wednesday was its first share of a team Finals championship since 2011.
“It’s a great ending,” Escanaba coach Chris Ogren said. “We had two really good teams this year. When we played head-to-head we were as even as it gets. On the last day of the year with everybody here, we were as even as it gets. It’s perfectly fitting. It feels great.”
For the Miners, it was their sixth claim of a Finals title since 2015.
“This is probably one of our most rewarding titles that we've had in any particular year,” Miners coach Kyle Saari said. “These girls battled through an awful lot of adversity this season. Some had injuries, and just a variety of different things kind of popped up. Coming into today we knew we needed a lot of things to go right to have a chance. Every single thing we needed … they answered the bell and it happened.”
In No. 1 singles action, the Eskymos claimed three critical points behind the efforts of Sophie Derkos. The senior knocked off the reigning No. 2 singles champion, Gladstone’s Tia Schone, 6-0, 6-1 in semifinal action. In the final, Derkos collided with Negaunee’s Aubrey Johnson, who was runner-up to Schone in No. 2 singles action in 2022. The Esky senior earned a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win to finish undefeated at 18-0 and claim her second-straight individual Finals title in the process.
The Miners earned two individual titles Wednesday. Rheana Nelson claimed hers at No. 3 singles, besting Gladstone’s Alexis Burch in quarterfinal action 6-0, 6-0, Westwood’s Emersyn Nelson 6-1, 6-3, in the semi and earning a 6-2, 7-5 win over Escanaba’s Sam Korpi to clinch. Nelson finished the season with a record of 18-1.
Madalynn Peters, the top-seeded competitor at No. 4 singles, toppled Westwood’s Morgan Schnieder 6-1, 6-3, in semifinal action and earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Escanaba’s Maggie Martin in the final.
Escanaba made up ground on Negaunee with a pair of championship victories in doubles play.
In No. 1 doubles action, the tandem of Natalie Williams and Sam Manninen first defeated Kingsford’s Audrey Veale and Libby Vross 6-2, 6-4. In the final, Williams and Manninen vanquished Westwood’s Isabelle Marta and Alyssa Couveau 6-4, 6-3 to finish their senior seasons with a perfect record of 15-0.
Williams and Manninen weren’t the only Eskymos pairing to find success Wednesday and in 2023. Escanaba’s No. 4 doubles pairing of juniors Danni Hughes and Carly Bowden bested Marquette’s Eva Sjoholm and Mylee Muscoe 6-0, 6-2, before toppling Westwood’s Taylor Jackovich and Kaya Etelmaki 6-4, 6-1 in the championship match to finish their season at 19-0.
Negaunee claimed the No. 3 doubles title. The tandem of Autumn Ring and Alyssa Borlace – the latter subbing in at the last minute Wednesday – ran the table by defeating Kingsford’s Addisyn Kreigl and Eden Janousek 6-1, 6-1, in quarterfinal action, top-seeded Laura Barsch and Aubree Blackburn (Marquette) 7-5, 6-0, and Escanaba’s Sophie Wagner and Val Royer 2-6, 6-0, 6-1, in the final.
Westwood’s Samantha Ruby earned the crown in No. 2 singles by defeating Kingsford’s Allette Shanks 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinal, knocking off Gladstone’s Addie Thombley 7-6, 6-3, in their semifinal and besting top-seeded Lilliana Saunders from Negaunee 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, to clinch.
The Patriots also claimed a title in No. 2 doubles action. The pairing of Nolia Dawson and Kaylin Doney knocked off Menominee’s Isabelle Bentley and Isabelle Busher 6-3, 6-0 in a quarterfinal, defeated Escanaba’s Sonya Maki and Molly Smale 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals and vanquished Negaunee’s Olivia Lunseth and Sage Juntti in a thrilling 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5) championship match.
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba senior Sophie Derkos returns a volley during her semifinal match with Gladstone’s Tia Schone on Wednesday. (Middle) Negaunee junior Aubrey Johnson tracks a shot during her semifinal against Westwood’s Lexi Olson. (Photos by Mitch Vosburg.)