Negaunee Conquers Wind, Dominates Doubles in 3rd-Straight Finals Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
ESCANABA – The Negaunee girls tennis team is once again the Upper Peninsula Division 1 tennis champion.
The Miners made that possible Wednesday by edging Ishpeming Westwood 20-16.
Escanaba, which shared the title with Negaunee a year ago, placed third this time with 10 points.
Nicole Kerkela and Paitlyn Brunette helped the Miners earn their third consecutive title by outlasting Westwood’s Niila Nurmi and Emersyn Nelson in an emotional 6-3, 6-7 (6-7), 6-3 victory in the No. 3 doubles final.
“We’re incredibly proud of this group,” Negaunee coach Kyle Saari said. “Today was a rollercoaster day. We had several girls step up along the way. You never know what’s going to happen in the U.P. Finals. The girls showed a lot of grit and determination. Our No. 1 doubles was outstanding today, and our No. 3 doubles played their best match of the year in the finals. Our players communicated and trusted in each other.
“Our girls team was solid this year, but they were tested often.”
Seniors Kellen Schultz and Madalynn Peters rallied past Westwood’s Izzie Marta and Nolia Dawson 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 for the No. 1 doubles crown on a sunny, seasonably cool and windy afternoon on the Abrahamson Courts at Escanaba High School.
“We played together in No. 3 doubles two years ago,” Peters said. “We communicated and had good chemistry. The wind made it hard to keep the ball in play. We had plenty of episodes in which the ball didn’t go where you wanted. We had a rough road getting here. We wanted it so bad.”
A stiff south breeze, with gusts up to 30 mph, made it challenging for all players.
“I think we communicated well,” Schultz said. “I had a lot of good shots in front, and Madalynn had plenty of good shots from the back. This is definitely the highlight of the season. Westwood had a good team this year.”
Players were presented with special medals commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“This makes it all the more memorable,” Schultz added. “This feels awesome. It’s pretty cool and very special.”
Negaunee made a clean sweep of the doubles with Autumn Ring and Alyssa Borlace taking a 6-2, 6-4 decision from Marquette’s Aubree Blackburn and Eva Kentala at No. 2, and Emma Wils and Halle Palomaki defeating Westwood’s Kaya Etelamaki and Taylor Jackovich 7-5, 6-0 in No. 4.
In No. 2 singles, Negaunee junior Liliana Saunders topped Escanaba senior Samantha Korpi 6-3, 6-1. Saunders, who won No. 4 singles two years ago, was runner-up in No. 2 last season.
“That was a pretty big step up,” she said. “Although, I think I had a lot more experience this year.
“The wind made it hard. You didn’t know where the ball was going. I thought I was in the right position and the ball would just move on me. You definitely had to stick with groundstrokes. If you tried to lob the ball, it would go out of bounds.”
Negaunee’s Rheana Nelson added a victory in No. 3 singles in a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Westwood’s Hannah Niemi.
Westwood senior Lexi Olson claimed the No. 1 singles title in a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Escanaba senior Maggie Martin.
“The wind was awful,” Olson said. “It affected my serving. You had to be strong mentally and able to adapt. You got to hit the ball hard into the wind.
“It was fun playing with Maggie. She’s a very good player and opponent. I knew it would be cold, although everybody has to play in the same thing.”
The Patriots also got a first in No. 4 singles from Morgan Schneider in a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Negaunee’s Addie Chapman.
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee’s Aubrey Johnson returns a volley during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Escanaba. (Middle) Escanaba’s Maggie Martin prepares to connect during a No. 1 singles match. (Photos by Adam Hinch.)
Despite Rival's Return, Forest Hills Northern Completes Repeat Run
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
HOLLAND – Last year was a breeze for the Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern girls tennis team as it won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship by 14 points.
This year, with rival Birmingham Seaholm back from playing in Division 1, the Huskies knew they were in for another battle – which is why all of them took out a black Sharpie and wrote one word of motivation on their left forearm.
“We write FIGHT on our arms for a reason, because we never give up,” explained FHN senior Rhea Marwaha, who teamed with fellow senior Sophie Richards to knock off both of the top seeds to win the No. 1 doubles title.
“We knew this was our last hurrah, so we just decided to keep fighting and keep smiling.”
There were certainly plenty of smiling Huskies on Saturday at Hope College, after they outlasted Seaholm for their 11th Finals championship over the past 20 years.
Forest Hills Northern won with 34 points, with Seaholm right behind with 30 points – a full 12 ahead of the rest of the field, giving the end of the two-day tournament the feel of a dual match.
FHN and Seaholm squared off in all four of the doubles finals, with the Huskies winning first and second doubles and the Maples taking third and fourth. Ironically, neither school won a singles flight, but Northern was runner-up in all four, while Seaholm had no singles players reach the finals.
Mattawan placed third with 18 points as seniors Lizzie Novak and Romika Shokohi won the top two singles flights. Portage Central and Birmingham Groves tied for fourth with 17 points.
Seaholm, which was tied at the top with FHN after the first day with 24 points, needed to sweep the four doubles finals to have a chance. But Forest Hills Northern had other ideas.
Marwaha and Richards, seeded third at No. 1 doubles but the reigning champions at that flight, rode the momentum after downing second-seeded Portage Central in the semifinals to win an intense three-set match over top-seeded Madeleine Leo and Nina Graham of Seaholm in the final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
“We lost to Seaholm earlier this year, but we knew exactly what we did wrong and we fixed it up,” explained Richards. “We wanted to win today for the team, and we really wanted to beat Seaholm.”
FHN also won No. 2 doubles with the duo of senior Isabella Paul and sophomore Ryan Morey.
While Marwaha and Richards were the “giant killers” for the Huskies in doubles, it was junior Miriam Ogilvie who played that role in singles.
Ogilvie, a junior who was seeded fifth at No. 4, made it all the way to the finals – stunning the top seed in three sets in the semifinals before losing in another three-setter in the final to second-seeded freshman Paula Martinez of Battle Creek Lakeview in the last match of the day.
“I had some really tough battles, and I proved to myself that I could stay intense the whole time,” said Ogilvie. “It feels great to know that I came through for my team.”
Ogilvie was one of four singles runners-up for FHN, and it was those extra points which proved to be the difference against Seaholm. Also placing second for the Huskies were seniors Abby Siminski (No. 1 singles), sophomore Nathalie Lanne (No. 2) and junior Anna Dinsmore (No. 3).
The Huskies reached the finals in all eight of the flights, an incredible showing of depth, which put a smile on the face of veteran coach David Sukup.
“It doesn’t get old, because the kids keep me young,” said Sukup, who has led the Huskies to three second-place Finals finishes over the past 20 years, to go along with the 11 titles. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this, but at this point, I’m on a one-year contract every year.”
Seaholm, which now has four Finals titles and four second-places over the past 10 years, pulled out a couple of big upsets in doubles over FHN to keep its title hopes alive.
Jane Wineman and Tatum Hirsch upset top-seeded FHN at No. 3 doubles, while the duo of Sydney Fong and Jenna Ting went three sets to do the same at No. 4 doubles – but, ultimately, the lack of presence in the singles finals proved costly for the Maples.
The top two singles flights belonged to the Mattawan, as Novak dispatched Siminski (6-1, 6-3) and Shokohi defeated Lanne (6-1, 6-0). Novak will play college tennis next year at the University of Richmond (Virg.), joining her older sister Kate (Bucknell) in the college ranks.
“Oh, we aren’t competitive at all,” Novak said with a laugh, when asked about playing against her sister. “We have good matches, but I think I can beat her.”
Portage Central junior Anna Dinsmore, the third seed at No. 3 singles, upset second-seeded Courtney Marcum of Seaholm in the semifinals, then knocked off top-seeded Andrea Wang of FHN in the final.
At No. 4 singles, Battle Creek Lakeview freshman Paula Martinez became a Finals flight champion by downing Ogilvie in the day’s final match, 7-6, 0-6, 6-2.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern doubles teammates show their "FIGHT" during a match Saturday. (Middle) Mattawan's Lizzie Novak returns a volley during her No. 1 singles title match. (Below) FHN serves during another doubles match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)