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.)
Sacred Heart Sends Coach Out as Champ
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2019
KALAMAZOO — By the end of play Friday, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart had already repeated as the Lower Peninsula Division 4 team champion, but don't ask any of the girls how that felt.
The coaches did not mention it until Saturday at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
“We didn’t find out until just now,” No. 1 doubles champ Annie Keating said after her Saturday final. “We assumed, but no one really knew. We just went out and played our best.”
Sacred Heart, with the top seeds in every doubles flight, swept those four. But the match of the tournament was the No. 1 singles final.
Freshman Moorea McNalley, the second seed from Clarkston Everest Collegiate, rallied to defeat top-seeded Melanie Zampardo, a Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).
The barnburner was the last match on the court, with the crowd inside the Markin Racquet Center sending deafening cheers after each point, especially during the third set.
“We played during the regular season, and she beat me both times,” McNalley said. “Today, I just tried to get everything back and not get mad.
“Last time, I was getting upset at myself, so I was trying not to do that this time and just keep playing.”
Playing in her first MHSAA tournament, “I had no clue if it was going to be good or bad,” she said. “It was good, definitely.
“Since it’s my last match of the season, I was giving it my all.”
With the doubles semifinals played on Friday because of the projected rain the next day, Sacred Heart’s four semis points clinched the title. They ended with 31 points, eight more than runner-up Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
“We knew (Friday) we couldn’t catch Sacred Heart but the kids have been motivated all year, so there was no problem getting them motivated to play,” St. Mary coach Wayne Asher said.
“Grosse Ile was right there with us, and there were a couple other schools not too far away also.”
Grosse Ile, which moved from Division 3 this year, finished third with 21 points, North Muskegon (17) was fourth and Everest (16) fifth.
Sacred Heart’s sixth title in eight seasons is bittersweet for coach Judy Hehs, who is leaving the school at the end of the year.
Hehs has coached the girls since the 1996-97 season.
“In their hearts they decided in March they were going to win a state championship,” Hehs said. “We had several kids make sacrifices about where they played, with whom they played, in order to get here.
“They, as a team, made that decision to work to that goal.”
Each doubles team had at least one past Finals champ in the pairing to mentor the younger players, Hehs said.
Keating, a junior, said losing their coach gave she and her teammates motivation.
“She’s the best coach we’ve ever had,” she said. “We really wanted to win this one for her. That was our motivation.”
Keating and sophomore Reagan Beatty defeated North Muskegon seniors Belles Hardman and Lily Montgomery, the second seeds, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.
Beatty won the title at No. 3 singles last year but wanted to play doubles with Keating, her cousin.
“The biggest adjustment was mostly working with a partner and it was nice having my cousin, which was amazing,” Beatty said.
“But I also think it was difficult because you have a little bit of pressure, saying I don’t want to let my partner down. But it also has its upsides because you have a partner if you’re not doing well.”
Playing with her cousin has advantages.
“We can communicate with each other without having to talk,” Beatty said. “We just look at each other, and we know.”
At. No. 2 doubles, senior Nolwenn Crosnier and freshman Marisa Nafso defeated second seeds, senior Katy Zink and freshman Katherine Kemp of Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 6-2, 6-1.
It was the second No. 2 doubles title for Crosnier.
“It feels good, but it’s also nerve-wracking because there are high expectations,” she said. “We really wanted the title.”
Nafso was happy for the mentoring.
“I have a lot of nerves so she calms me down a lot,” Nafso said of her partner. “When we’re on the court, we really like to laugh and smile and be friends with our opponents.
“We’ve been spending every single day together trying to prepare for states.”
The friendliness extended to the final.
“I was surprised at No. 2 doubles,” Hehs said. “They spent more time at the net at the end of the match, where we wanted to congratulate them.
“They were enjoying the company of their opponents, discovering where they were going to college and stuff like that.”
Junior Kate Myers and senior Serena Seneker won the title at No. 3 doubles, and senior Catherine Blumberg and junior Hannah Kakos won at No. 4.
At No. 2 singles, Grosse Ile junior Jessica Schutt, the top seed, defeated Shrine’s unseeded senior, Ann Gladstone, 6-1, 6-1.
Gladstone stunned No. 2 seed, Sarah Schmidt of Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 6-4, 6-3, then dispatched No. 6-seeded Claire McCall of North Muskegon, 6-3, 7-6(6)
“I played (Gladstone) at Regional, and then hearing about her big upset I was like she must have improved a lot in the last couple weeks,” Schutt said. “I was really nervous.
“I was just hitting it deep, keeping at it, not letting her in.”
Gladstone said she ended her senior season “just playing my heart out.
“It’s my last year, and I just wanted to give it my all and just battle. My coach said, ‘Imagine, believe, achieve’ and I just used that.”
The senior said she had a mental adjustment after Regionals.
“I was a very timid player and I would just try to get the ball back, and now I was more on the offensive and just hit my shots,” she said.
At No. 3 singles, St. Mary senior Taylor Kennedy, the top seed, defeated second seed Madelyn Vitu, a junior from Everest Collegiate, 6-1, 6-3.
After losing in the final at No. 3 last year, “I learned to stay steady and always be consistent and don’t try to hit a hard shot and always just stay steady because that’s how you win points,” Kennedy said.
“I learned not to get in my own head. Last year, I would always get mad at myself and get down, but this year I learned just to get the ball in and do my thing and play my game.”
At No. 4 singles, second seed Jenna Sheets, a Grosse Ile senior, defeated St. Mary junior Hannah Hodgson, the top seed, 7-5, 6-1.
Despite being tucked back on Court 4 at the Markin Center, the farthest from the bleachers, Sheets said she had no problem hearing the crowd.
“I think I have a pretty good mental game, but (the crowd) just helps you think about what the reward is if you get through it,” she said.
It was especially rewarding for the senior Saturday.
“In past years, I never made it past the quarterfinals,” she said.
“My mental game has improved. I’m a very relaxed player and never get mad at myself, so I think that’s definitely my strongest thing.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart’s Isabelle Burg lines up to return a volley during a Friday match at No. 2 singles. (Middle) Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Moorea McNalley prepares to serve on the way to winning the No. 1 singles title this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)