Ishpeming Repeats by Repeat 1-Point Advantage Over West Iron County
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
KINGSFORD — Ishpeming’s doubles dominance continued at Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Girls Tennis Finals.
That was the driving force last year behind the Hematites’ first U.P. Finals title, and this year, with an entirely new group of doubles players, they did it again. Ishpeming edged West Iron County 13-12 for the Division 2 championship after outpacing the Wykons by the thinnest of margins last year as well.
“It’s really exciting,” Ishpeming’s Janelle Seelen said after winning the No. 3 doubles title match with her twin sister Lydia. “And especially since last year’s seniors, it feels special because they won last year and we could follow that tradition.”
Even their coach, Josh Kitto, is new. He said it was special to win a U.P. title in his first year with the team.
“We’ve got hard workers; they’re coachable,” he said. “They work hard. That’s a big thing is their work ethic is great.”
Ishpeming won Nos. 1, 2 and 3 doubles. Neither the 1 or 2 doubles teams lost a set all day Wednesday. The No. 3 doubles team was the only one seeded No. 1.
The team of Brynn Way-Lanala and Ava LaPin, seeded third, defeated West Iron County’s top-seeded Destiny Lemery and Olivia LaMay 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
LaPin said they never got down on themselves or each other.
“It’s crazy. I didn’t think we’d be here honestly,” Way-Lanala added. “It was a rough start to the season.”
Lilly Ryan and Stella Nerlfi defeated Munising’s Tessa Salo and Tamryn Nolan 6-3, 7-5 in the No. 2 final.
“Me and Stella from the start always worked well together, and I think today we really pulled that through,” Ryan said. “We pulled through our best games today, and I think that meant a lot.”
Janelle and Lydia Seelen downed Norway’s Emily Carlson and Myah Gilroy 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles final. They got there by getting past Munising’s Kinley Hall and Keira Albright 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinal.
“With the wind, it was really hard on the one side. We had to adjust and hit harder on the one side and hit shorter on the other side,” Lydia Seelen said.
Munising took home the No. 4 doubles title with Lauren Nelson and Maddy Knuttila defeating West Iron County’s Vivian Holm and Jenna Sunn 7-6 (6-4), 6-1.
Nelson said she and Knuttila talked to each other and cheered each other on while working through their little mistakes.
“I think she had some very good crushes, and I think I had some good shots towards the back that would get behind them to their feet,” she said.
West Iron County won two of the four singles titles.
The Wykons’ Kaitlyn Smith prevailed 6-2, 6-0 over Gwinn’s Miaha Schiefel. Smith had won the No. 3 title last year and Schiefel was runner-up in No. 1 singles last year as well.
“In the beginning, I was a little bit slower, but then I took it to her,” Smith said. “I was good on my forehands, backhands. I came up to the net when I needed to.”
Teammate Kaycee Ingram defeated Ishpeming’s Sophia Nerlfi 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to take the No. 3 singles crown.
Gwinn’s Brook Chaput took No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-1 over Iron Mountain’s Alysia Wood. Chaput bowed out in the semifinals last year.
“I just felt like I had to do it since I was a senior, and I’m just so happy it finally happened,” Chaput said. “I hit a lot of lobs good today. My serves were actually better than usual. And I just didn’t stay in my head the whole time, which I usually do, and that helped me get through.”
Norway’s Jessa Rossler won the final title of the day, at No. 4 singles. She defeated Munising’s Jolie Ake 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
“It’s pretty crazy. It’s hard to believe because this is my first year playing tennis, so I’m pretty excited,” Rossler said. “My uncle actually joined when he was in high school, and he won a U.P. championship too. It’s just kind of something that I always wanted to try, but I’m really glad I did.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming celebrates its repeat Division 2 championship Wednesday at Kingsford. (Middle) West Iron County’s Kaitlyn Smith returns a volley during a No. 1 singles match. (Photos by Jason Juno.)
Negaunee Extends Title Streak to 3
September 30, 2016
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
NEGAUNEE — There’s a budding dynasty in Negaunee.
The girls tennis team was the two-time reigning champion at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals, and on Thursday, the Miners added another title.
Negaunee won four of the eight championship matches to take the overall victory with 16 points. Miners Lexi Peterson and Maci Aho won at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively, while Negaunee took the No. 3 and No. 4 doubles title matches as well.
“There were some question marks coming into this year,” Negaunee coach Kyle Saari said. “We lost two good singles players with the Ring sisters. So we knew we had to replace a No. 1 and No. 2 and get some depth throughout the lineup.
“The thing about all these girls is that they all listen. Anything I tell them, they take it to heart. They attack it with 100 percent effort. They really bought it all year long that they were going to do their best on the last day, and it’s nice that they were rewarded for it.
“The success on both our girls and boys team is that you need solid athletes,” he added. “That’s the key. We are able to get good athletes and good kids as a whole.
“You let them do the work and guide them where you can in certain spots, and it becomes contagious. You get a group of leaders that can help develop the next group, and that’s something that we’ve been fortunate to have the last few years.”
In girls tennis, before this string of three straight titles, Negaunee had shared the title with Kingsford in 2012. Before that, the Miners hadn’t won a U.P. team championship since 1987 in Class C-D.
This fall, Peterson finished her season undefeated, while Aho got some revenge in the finale by defeating Escanaba’s Megan Marenger.
“This feels so great,” Peterson said. “I went undefeated, and to go from JV doubles to varsity and win is awesome. I’m really happy with my year, and I can’t wait to play again.”
“It’s my first year on varsity and I think I did well all around,” Aho said. “The girl I just played (Marenger) beat me during the season, and it was nice to pull it together and get her today and beat her.”
While Saari gave credit to his team for the Miners’ success, Peterson and Aho gave it to their coach.
“If Coach tells us we can fly, we’d be able to fly,” Peterson said. “We practice hard and have fun. We like being close together and make each other better.”
Kingsford and Menominee tied for second place with 10 points each. Katy Hicks won the Flivvers’ only title, taking the No. 1 singles championship, and coach Meagan Harrington was proud of how her cousin played.
“Katy did a great job today,” she said. “She is a really strong player, and she just came out and played her game. She just did great. I’m super proud of her as a senior for her winning GNC (Great Northern Conference) and U.P. this year. It’s great for her to go out that way.”
For Hicks, a U.P. title was a great way to wrap up her career with the Flivvers as she hopes to continue her career at the next level.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “My serves were really good today. It’s really exciting to end it this way. I came in hopeful, and it feels good to win in front of my family.”
The Maroons’ two titles came at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles with both finals victories coming over Kingsford. That wasn’t a surprise as Menominee coach Nickie Mathieu said that was her team’s strength all season.
“All three of them had a chance to win, and they are all very strong,” she said. “We were peaking at the right time. We started out slow, but I told the girls that it is time to peak at the end. They did what I asked.”
Escanaba and Gladstone tied for fourth with six points apiece. Escanaba’s lone win came at No. 2 singles as Taylor Gauthier defeated Marquette’s Elysa Olivier in two sets in the final.
“Taylor has had a good year,” Escanaba coach Denny Lueneburg said. “She has only lost twice this year, and she finished strong. She struggled a little bit earlier in the year, but she got through it and I think that helps. She was a lot calmer in the finals.”
“I thought I had a good chance to win today because I played Marquette before,” Gauthier said. “I get to a lot of balls that are hit short, so I think that helped me out a lot today.”
Gladstone’s best performance came from Andie Balenger, who lost in the No. 3 final to Peterson.
“Andie did well,” Braves coach Halley Reichel said. “She’s a freshman, so we’re happy that she made it that far. I think today she had some nerves she didn’t normally display, and it might’ve just been because she was in the championship. I’m excited to see her continue to get better, though.”
Marquette finished sixth with five points, and despite the lower team finish, coach Derek Sandstrom was content with how his team played.
“Elysa made it to the final today and that was the only girl that she lost to all year,” he said. “She’s had a really nice season in terms of consistency. She’s battled some freshman jitters, but most of the time, she’s been really consistent.
“I thought that Bethany (Wright) at No. 3 singles did well, and she made it to the semis. She had a tough draw last year, so I was happy to see her have some success today. No. 1 (Hannah Swajanen) and No. 4 (Lexi Anderson) singles also got a win for us, so that was nice as well.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain won two singles championships on the way to a third straight team title. (Middle) Kingsford’s Katy Hicks capped her high school career with a title at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Elizabeth Bailey.)