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)
#TBT: Inkala Celebrated as Athlete, Coach
June 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The mid-Michigan and statewide tennis communities are mourning the death last weekend of longtime Okemos girls coach Al Inkala, who led the Chieftains to four MHSAA championships over a 20-season tenure that ended in 2013. He was 66 years old.
From 1994-2004, his Okemos girls tennis teams finished either first or second at their MHSAA Finals all but 1996, and his 1998-2001 teams won four straight Division 2 titles. But those were his only final chapters to a high school career that began as one of the most accomplished athletes of his time from the Upper Peninsula, where he played football, basketball, tennis, baseball and ran track for Wakefield before graduating in 1967.
A 6-foot-5 center, Inkala was a Class C all-state basketball selection as a senior, leading the Cardinals to the MHSAA Class C Semifinals with 33 points in an 85-60 Quarterfinal win over Gaylord. A three-year varsity basketball player, Inkala scored a school-record 540 points as a senior and a school-record 1,160 for his career. He also scored a school-record 42 points against Baraga during the 1966-67 season as Wakefield strung together its first undefeated regular-season finish. Inkala was second in his league in scoring after finishing first as a junior and made the all-U.P. Class C team after both of those seasons.
Inkala also was selected for the top senior basketball award for the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference by the largest margin ever accorded for the award to that point, and based not only on his athletic proficiency but also good sportsmanship.
His prowess extended far beyond the basketball court. In tennis, Inkala was undefeated at singles as a senior until his second match of the U.P. Finals – in those days, there was only one division in the Upper Peninsula, and only one flight for singles and one for doubles at all MHSAA Finals – as he led Wakefield to a fifth-place team finish. He was the singles champion in the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference.
Inkala ran four events – the 220-yard dash, 120-yard high hurdles and half-mile and mile relays – in helping Wakefield to its Regional track &field title in 1967. Wakefield then finished second as a team at the U.P. Class C Final, with Inkala taking fifth in the high hurdles.
As noted above, Inkala also played baseball and football; on the football team, he played both offense and defense and was the punter. Inkala also served as his class president, sung in the school chorus and was part of the conservation club at Wakefield High, about a 20-minute drive from the Wisconsin border.
He went on to play basketball at Northern Michigan University, serving as a team captain as a senior in 1970-71. He led the team in rebounding that winter and sits 30th on NMU’s single-season rebounding list and 12th on the career list, having played in 90 games over his four seasons.
On a personal note, Inkala was a huge help to me covering mid-Michigan girls tennis while at the Lansing State Journal from 1999-2011. He was the best of coaches when it came to being honest about his players’ abilities and making sure those from other schools got deserved recognition as well – especially during a period when his teams’ No. 5 singles and doubles players could’ve played the top flights for nearly every school in the surrounding area and likely beyond.
The stories heard around our office this week focused on how he worked to give Okemos’ opponents the best experiences possible when facing his incredibly-talented teams.
Against those with just enough players to fill a lineup, or teams with most athletes in perhaps only their first few seasons of play, he’d fill his lineup with players who otherwise didn’t see the court when Okemos faced others of the state’s elite. The Chieftains shared their equipment and knowledge with many opponents, providing humble leadership in a tennis community that embodied a coach who gave the same always from the background and with little fanfare despite deserving much.
The Lansing State Journal talked to a number of his area counterparts this week; click here for that report.
Inkala died June 20. A memorial service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Sunday at Okemos Community Church.
PHOTOS: (Top) Al Inkala, far left, accepts with his teammates the Class C District championship trophy during the 1967 season. (Middle) Inkala launches a free throw during the title game against Ontonagon. (Below) Inkala led his Okemos girls tennis teams to six MHSAA championships. (Top photos courtesy of the Ironwood Daily Globe; bottom courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)