Past D2 Champs Share This Season's Title
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
September 29, 2016
KINGSFORD — Prior to 2015, Ishpeming Westwood was enjoying a six-year championship reign in the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Girls Tennis Finals.
Then it was Munising’s turn to celebrate its first championship a year ago.
Both schools were celebrating on a mostly sunny and cool Wednesday as they shared this season’s title with 16 points apiece. Iron River West Iron County placed third with 14.
“The last one is always the best one,” said Westwood coach Chris Jackson. “You never know when you’re going to win it again. We went into this season with what we thought would be a solid lineup, then about 3-4 girls moved out of the district. We needed some younger kids to step in and do some things. We’ve been building all year. Our lineup had to be moved around. We had to ask our depth to step up.”
Munising also had to overcome a few things to maintain a share of the title, as coach Rod Gendron explained.
“We don’t have enough courts to host a meet,” he said. “All the girls had to practice on what we had, although I think that made our team even closer. Our team chemistry has been good. We’re always supporting each other. Westwood is a tough team, no doubt about it. We’re very happy with our performance.”
Munising secured its share in No. 3 singles where Kelsea Ackerman posted a 6-3, 6-3 victory over West Iron’s Isabelle Hoogenboom.
Westwood clinched its share a short time earlier in No. 1 doubles, with seniors Mady Mattson and Averie Kangas gaining a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Munising seniors Marissa Immel and Bailey Downs during a match that endured a half-hour rain delay.
“We really wanted this one,” said Mattson. “We were on top of our game. It felt like we had good energy, then it took a little while for us to get that back (after the delay).”
Immel and Downs, who edged the Westwood duo on a tie-breaker during the regular season, returned to the court with plenty of energy after the showers moved through the area. By then, however, they were trailing 3-1 in the second set and didn’t seem to have an answer for Mattson and Kangas’ lobs over the net.
“We felt if we moved around a lot and communicated, we could find the holes,” said Kangas. “They’re a good team, but I think the rain delay helped us refocus.”
Gendron was impressed with Westwood’s performance at No. 1 doubles.
“Their overhand shots and soft lobs over the net were very effective, and they made very few errors,” he said. “Marissa and Bailey gave us two great years. They won a lot of matches.”
Munising senior Frankie Mattson dispatched West Iron sophomore Katarina Serbentas 6-1, 6-1 for her first title at No. 1 singles.
“I thought my serving was pretty consistent,” Mattson said. “I think I got to her a little mentally. Being a senior, there’s a lot of pressure on you, especially when you’re the No. 1 seed. I was runner-up here last year, which I think motivated me. I’m happy with how things ended. Katarina is a good player. She has two good years of tennis ahead of her.”
Munising junior Marissa Ackerman also was crowned champion for the first time after taking a 6-2, 6-0 decision from Westwood’s Marissa Carello.
Both players appeared to follow a conservative approach in the first set. Ackerman then took charge in the second after gaining the first point on a lob over the net.
“I think that kind of set the tone,” she said. “I always try to hit the ball short when my opponent is on the back line. I started going more for angles and hitting the ball harder in the second set. There’s a lot of pressure, but this is definitely worth it. I think losing in the finals last year had a great impact on today. I was able to learn some things from that. I had a better attitude than I did in last year’s finals.”
Gendron was happy with the performance by the Mustangs’ singles.
“Frankie played lights out in the finals,” he said. “Everybody at No. 1 singles is a good player. Marissa and Kelsea (Ackerman) hadn’t lost a set all year. I’m looking forward to them stepping up to No. 1 and 2 next year.”
Westwood grabbed the top three flights in doubles, including Madelyn Koski-Tessa Leece’s 7-6, 6-3 conquest of Munising’s Talatha Witty-Keira Stamply at No. 3
“The key to our lineup is all six of our seniors played their best tennis all year,” said Jackson. “They wanted to be leaders. They did what they had to do. It all started with the (Mid-Peninsula) conference meet when Negaunee beat us by just one point (39-38). I think that was a confidence builder for our girls.”
West Iron earned a victory at No. 4 doubles as Aly Pangrazzi-Eden Golliher topped Westwood’s Erin Paavo-Aubrie Magnuson 6-3, 6-2.
“We told our girls it would be within 1-2 points (for the title), and we came up a little short today,” said Wykons’ coach Joe Serbentas. “We’re a young team. We had three sophomores in the singles finals. Yet, we were right there. Last year, we weren’t in the mix. We came a long way this year and were 9-2 in dual meets. We had a very nice season. The future looks good.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Munising's Frankie Mattson follows through on a swing during Wednesday's Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals on the way to winning No. 1 singles. (Middle) Ishpeming Westwood's Paige Rivard and Cayla Ostola also were among flight champions, at No. 2 doubles. (Photos by Adam Niemi)
Gazelles Cap Return Season with Familiar Celebration
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2021
PORTAGE — Sisters Marisa and Kayla Nafso were ecstatic after pulling out a tough three-setter for the No. 4 doubles title Friday at Portage Central High School.
The last match off the courts, they had no clue that their team, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, won the team title at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 tennis championship.
They were stunned to learn that their semifinal win actually had been team title clincher.
“Oh, we won?” Marisa, a junior, said, grabbing her sister in a big hug.
“Wait, wait, wait. Our semifinal win? Oh my gosh, we won. That’s great!
“Wow. I really wanted to win individually, but the team makes it 20 times better,” Kayla, a freshman, exclaimed with a huge grin.
Sacred Heart finished with 29 points, six ahead of Traverse City St. Francis.
Just two points separated the next four teams.
North Muskegon and Portland tied for third with 18 points each, Grand Rapids West Catholic was fifth with 17 and Jackson Lumen Christi sixth with 16.
Marisa Nafso won a state title at No. 2 doubles in 2019, and her sister was thrilled to be her partner this year.
“I was really lucky because she won states when she was a freshman,” Kayla Nafso said.
“Because of her experience, I was more comfortable. It was great that I got to win as a freshman.”
The sisters said the final was the match that scared them the most.
The top seeds at their flight, they defeated Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian’s Delanie Minnema and Caroline Rudolph, the third seeds, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1.
“We were watching them play at the other site,” Nafso said. “Creds to the team we played for playing two three-set matches back to back.”
The team win was the Gazelles’ third Finals title in a row, but the first under coach Chris Shaya.
Neither the coach nor the players knew for sure they clinched the title until all matches were finished.
“I figured we won but I was going to wait for the team so we all could find out together,” Shaya said.
“None of us looked. I knew Traverse City was very strong in singles, and I knew we were strong in doubles. In singles, they competed extremely well. It was tough for us to overcome, and they deserve those wins.”
As a coach, Shaya said, “First of all, you want their experience to be fun. You want to teach them some life lessons about hard work and how that pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t pay off.”
At No. 1 singles, top-seeded Moorea McNalley finished the season undefeated after entering the tournament with a 28-0 record.
She lost just seven games over her four tournament matches.
The Clarkston Everest Collegiate junior defeated the second seed, Lilly Bobrowski of St. Francis, 6-0, 6-0.
McNalley also won the No. 1 singles title two years ago. (The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19).
As the top seed, she said she felt a bit of pressure coming into the tournament, “especially the further matches. They are all very good players.”
Bobrowski, a senior who plans to play tennis at Ave Maria University in Florida, said the two played earlier in the regular season.
“We went into a third set tiebreak then,” she said. “(Friday, McNalley) was definitely on her game and I made a few unforced errors, but it was a lot of fun.”
Senior Alexi Lewis, one of two St. Francis singles winners, defeated Sacred Heart’s Isabelle Burg, the second seed, 6-2, 6-3, for the No. 2 flight championship.
“My goal was to win but I got kind of nervous looking at the draw because I had never played the No. 2 seed,” the top seed said.
“All the other seeds I had played and had good scores against them, so I was really confident going in. I was preparing myself for playing the No. 2 seed — a lot.”
Lewis, who plans to play tennis at Hope College, said the afternoon wind was a factor in the match.
“That threw me off a little bit,” she said. “So much of it was just mental toughness. (Burg) was a really, really good player and could get the ball back with a lot of pace.
“It was just working against that and trying to find that little spot where I could move her around. The wind complicated all that.”
Lewis was also undefeated entering the tournament.
The other St. Francis singles champ was Jillian Sodini, the top seed at No. 3, who defeated Portland’s Adriana Krieger, 6-2, 6-1.
“I knew I had to keep my eye on the prize and stay calm with it and play my game,” said Sodini, who ended her senior season undefeated.
“(Second place as a team) is awesome. We have six underclassmen this year and six seniors. You’ve just got to bring it at states. We’ve been pretty rowdy all day.”
“Rowdy” is the perfect word for one of the loudest and most supportive teams at the tournament.
First-year coach Dane Fosgard thought for sure this would be the year St. Francis won the team title after finishing runner-up three of the last five seasons.
“Just when you have a team you think is good enough to win States, it’s not good enough,” he said.
“We have good players coming up. This year’s going to be tough to beat.”
He gave a nod to his three senior singles players, all co-captains, for being leaders on the team.
“Six seniors and three of them went out as finalists and two state champs,” he said. “Those three seniors, Lilly, Alexi and Jillian, have worked so hard all four years of their high school careers, both on the court and off the court.
“Having those three on the same team is something special. They’re all No. 1 singles-caliber players.”
Seeded third at No. 4 singles, Olivia Eaker of Jackson Lumen Christi was the lowest seed to win a title.
She upset top-seeded Erika Graham, of Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, 6-0, 6-4, in the final after defeating St. Francis’ No. 2 seed, Mary Chittle, 5-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the semifinal.
Graham also won her semi in three sets, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4, over fourth seed Eve Jackson of Sacred Heart.
Both Eaker and Graham were exhausted after their match, the next to last off the courts.
Just a freshman, “I don’t even know,” Eaker said, catching her breath, about winning the final. “I’m honored and very grateful for this.
“I feel amazing, excited. It was definitely tough. We both worked really hard for it. We gave it all we had.”
Other doubles winners included second seeds Reagan Nauta and Shannon Russell, from Grand Rapids West Catholic, 7-5, 6-2, over top seeds Lulu George and Maggie Pulte of Sacred Heart.
Top seeds Noor Simon and Angelina Kakos, also of Sacred Heart, defeated third seeds Hannah Nelson and Brooke Tietz from West Catholic, 7-6(5), 6-4, at No. 3 doubles.
At No. 4, second seeds Marilyn Gaston and Greta Goszkowicz, from North Muskegon, defeated West Catholic top seeds Olivia Vallone and Karlie Kurlenda, 6-3, 6-5.
Goszkowicz, a senior, was one of the most exuberant winners, commenting, “My goal was to make it to the second day.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Sacred Heart’s Marisa Nafso returns a volley during her and sister Kayla’s championship match win at No. 1 doubles Friday. (Middle) Clarkston Everest Collegiate's Moorea McNalley follows through on a return during her No. 1 singles championship match. (Below) Lilly Bobrowski scored big for Traverse City St. Francis also advancing to the No. 1 singles final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)