Perseverance Pays for East Grand Rapids
June 3, 2017
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – Refuse to lose would be the perfect theme for this year’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals as time after time players came from behind to claim victory.
East Grand Rapids players were involved in many of the comeback wins, and that proved critical in the Pioneers winning their first Finals championship since claiming the Division 3 title in 2009.
East Grand Rapids finished with 31 points to edge second place Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern by three, with Bloomfield Hills Marian placing third with 21 points.
East Grand Rapids knew it would take a total team effort to defeat its longtime local rival, as Northern has won nine MHSAA championships since 2002.
“We know that Northern is always good,” said East Grand Rapids coach Mickey Mikesell. “We’ve known them for a long time. I know their coach and kids very well.
“This title feels real good for my girls. Since we’ve moved up to Division 2 we’ve had some tough luck with injuries and other things, so to get one feels great.”
Strong play in singles fueled East’s drive to the title. East Grand Rapids singles players won three of the four flights including with a pair of come-from-behind wins.
At No. 1 singles, sophomore Sloane Teske battled back from dropping the first set to defeat Mason senior Olivia Hanover 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Teske knew the road to victory would be a difficult one, as she lost to Hanover in last year’s semifinals.
“I just shrugged off losing that first set and moved on,” Teske said. “(Hanover) played a great match, and she made me work real hard to beat here. I just stayed confident and wanted it more.”
Teske’s win also helped the Pioneers clinch the overall team title.
“I’m so proud of our team and what we’ve done this year,” Teske said. “Everyone worked real hard for this.”
At No. 2 singles, top-seeded East Grand Rapids junior Hannah Stuursma played to form with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Kaitlyn Fox of Forest Hills Central. For Stuursma, her comeback involved battling back from injury. Stuursma battled back from a pair of foot surgeries during her sophomore season to win her first title this spring
“Coming off a foot injury, I was not very confident last year,” Stuursma said. “I was scared of hurting my foot again. This year my confidence level was so much higher. I’m really excited and real proud of how I played. I was pretty nervous, but I kept my confidence up.”
Stuursma’s title was the first of the day for the Pioneers.
“I’m so proud of our team this year,” Stuursma said. “Everyone really stepped up. We won so many big matches here, and I’m so proud of our team.”
Coming from behind was also the story for East Grand Rapids junior Audrey Olson at No. 3 singles. After dropping the first set 2-6 to Sema Colak of Okemos, Olson won the second set 6-2. In the third, Olson found herself trailing four games to one before rallying one more time to claim a 6-4 win and the title.
“This feels real great,” Olson said. “I started out down 2-6, and then I was down 1-4 in the third set. I had great support from my coaches and my teammates, and that made the difference. They told me to dig down deep, and I did.”
At No. 4 singles, Forest Hills Northern senior Felicia Zhang turned in a solid performance to win her second consecutive Finals flight title. Zhang turned back Gigi Kalabat of Bloomfield Hills Marian 6-0, 6-2.
“It’s a real great feeling,” Zhang said. “I wanted to win it most for the team. To win another title my senior year is indescribable.”
Zhang was not the only member of her family to win a championship, as her younger sister, freshman Abby Zhang, was part of Northern’s No. 2 doubles team that claimed a title. Abby Zhang teamed with senior Salonee Marwaha to hold off the East Grand Rapids duo of Annie Meye and Alivia Vencelj 7-5, 6-3.
Being able to win with her younger sister made Felicia Zhang’s title even sweeter.
“She is a freshman, and this was our only chance to play with each other,” Felicia Zhang said. “It feels great.”
That feeling was shared by the younger Zhang.
“It feels great to win a state title my first time here,” Abby Zhang said. “It was also great to help send Salonee out with a state title in her last high school match.”
The doubles title was the second straight for Marwaha, who was part of Northern’s winning No. 3 doubles team last year. Like last season, Marwaha was paired up with a freshman.
“We didn’t know at the beginning of the season that we would be paired together,” Marwaha said. “At the beginning of the season we started a little sluggish, but we meshed so well together that it didn’t take long for us to get going. Abby did a great job. As a senior, I just told her to keep calm and be patient. She did a great job of that.”
Northern won three of the four doubles flights, and no pair of players displayed a determination to win as strong as Northern’s No. 1 team of Maansi Dalmia and Claire Tatman. Just getting to the finals was an exercise in determination as Dalmia and Tatman outlasted Birmingham Seaholm’s Layla Bellissimo and Emily Hirsch in a semifinals match that lasted more than three hours. In a match that saw two tiebreakers, Dalmia and Tatman came away with a 6-7 (7), 7-5, 7-3 (3) victory.
The semifinal win sent Dalmia and Tatman into the finals, where they went up against top-seeded Yana Beeker and Kristin McLintock of Traverse City Central. The Northern duo had more than enough energy remaining, as they claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Tatman said.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Dalmia added.
The title was a repeat for Tatman who teamed up with Marwaha to win No. 3 doubles last season.
“The semifinal match was super close,” Dalmia said. “It was over three hours and had two tie breakers. We knew we had to dig deep down to pull it off. We just took it one point at a time. I don’t feel that tired now, but I know later I will feel it.”
Refusing to lose was key to the semifinal and final wins for the duo.
“You just have to power through it,” Tatman said. “We practiced hard all season, and we knew in the end that we could do it if we kept powering through.”
Coming from behind was also the theme of the No. 3 doubles match. Nele Geiger and Sydney McLean of Forest Hills Northern rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win against Lily Trinch and Brooke Forte of Birmingham Seaholm.
The No. 4 doubles title also went three sets. East Grand Rapids’ Audrey DeVries and Kate Mackeigan outlasted the Bloomfield Hills Marian team of Ariano Kotsakis and Catherine Chinonis 6-0, 2-6, 6-4. DeVries and Mackeigan were runners-up at that flight last season.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids tennis players hoist their MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Forest Hills Northern No. 1 doubles players Claire Tatman and Maansi Dalmia pursue a volley Saturday. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Greenhills Finds 'June Magic' Again to Extend Division 4 Streak to 3-Peat
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
ANN ARBOR — The Ann Arbor Greenhills High School girls tennis team has a motto:
“All joy, no fear, can’t lose.”
On Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals, the Gryphons felt plenty of joy, feared no one and just could not lose.
Led by junior Maddie Morgan’s three-set thriller at No. 1 singles, Greenhills collected its third straight Finals team trophy and its fifth overall by claiming all but one flight championship at the University of Michigan’s William Clay Ford Outdoor Courts.
“We’re very thrilled at the outcome. They worked very hard, the parents have been incredibly supportive, the school has been supportive, and when you have all of that going for you, it’s hard not to put in a good effort,” said coach Mark Randolph, who in addition to coaching the past three Finals champions also coached the team to titles in 2017 and 2009.
“We feel very privileged, and we want to use our privilege the right way. We want to be grateful and play the game the right way.”
Greenhills nearly swept the tournament, scoring 38 of a possible 40 points to outdistance Division 4 newcomer Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s 27 points. Traverse City St. Francis was third with 19, followed by Elk Rapids with 17 and Wixom St. Catherine and Grand Rapids West Catholic tied with 16.
Greenhills and Notre Dame Prep entered Saturday’s matches tied at 24 after each advanced all eight entries to the semifinals Friday. Greenhills then put seven singles and doubles teams into the finals, including all four singles entries, while Notre Dame Prep advanced one singles player and one doubles team to the championship matches.
Morgan, the second seed at No. 1 singles, faced top seed and undefeated senior Ayva Johnstone of Elk Rapids in a rematch from a meeting earlier this year, won by Johnstone in three sets.
“Ayva had beaten Maddie earlier in the year, and when she walked off the court, I said to her, ‘June,’” Randolph said. “The magic happens in June.”
Morgan finished on top this time with a back-and-forth 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 victory. Johnstone had a 4-1 lead in the first set before Morgan roared back, and Morgan led 3-1 in the second set before Johnstone responded. The third set was all Morgan as she repeated as No. 1 singles champion after falling in the semifinals as a freshman.
“Of course it was going to be a close match,” Morgan said. “It was essential to focus at the beginning of that third set and kind of get her off her feet a little bit. After that, it felt like I was in the zone.”
Freshman Ellie Kim won the No. 2 singles championship 6-0, 6-1 over Elk Rapids junior Anneka Croftchik to polish off a 25-0 campaign. The top seed, Kim lost just three games over four matches during the weekend.
“It’s really nice. I’ve been preparing the whole season, so it feels really nice to have it pay off,” Kim said.
Junior Shangyang Xia won at No. 3 singles to collect her third-straight singles and team championships. Xia, who defeated Notre Dame Prep senior Addison Bellows 6-2, 6-0, was the No. 2 singles champion the past two seasons and provided a massive spark for the team.
“Maddie has been a real cornerstone, but you look at what Shangyang Xia has done,” Randolph said. “She’s now won three individual state titles and three state team titles. No one in the history of our school has ever done that. She’s another essential part. As I go through the team, everybody is essential to our team concept.”
Sophomore Danica Rakic-Dennis was the No. 4 singles champion with a 6-0, 7-6 victory over St. Francis senior Ava Pomaranski.
In doubles, Greenhills sophomore Lauren Ye and freshman Nina Malani teamed up to claim the No. 1 championship with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 thriller over West Catholic junior Alivia Mott and senior Brooke Tietz.
Juniors Sophie Chen and Sophia Kleer defeated St. Catherine senior Sarah Palushaj and junior Lily Wolocko 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, while senior Parini Rao and freshman Alyssa Hong took the No. 4 doubles title with a 6-1, 0-6, 6-2 victory over West Catholic seniors Carly Wright and Emily Dorato.
Rao played No. 1 doubles as a freshman for Randolph, before Greenhills began its tear through Division 4, and was the only senior on the team.
“She was a ninth-grader when people used to clown us,” Randolph said. “We were trying to build. The next year Maddie, Shangyang, Sophia, Sophie, Meera (Tewari), Meera (Pandey), all joined our team, and they stayed with it. I credit my wife (Becky Randolph) with creating a team atmosphere and getting these kids to appreciate staying at Greenhills. They’ve helped Parini become a three-time state champion.”
The only flight that alluded the Gryphons was No. 3 doubles, where the Notre Dame Prep duo of junior Erin Delaney and senior Megan Fitzpatrick defeated Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian freshmen Laura Brandt and Leah Ulstad 6-3, 6-1.
The fourth seed, Delaney and Fitzpatrick earned a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 victory in the semifinals over top-seeded Tewari and Pandey to claim the Fighting Irish’s lone flight championship.
A year after a fourth-place finish in Division 3, third-year coach Brandon Clayton was thrilled with his team’s showing.
“This core group of girls has really raised the standards for the program,” Clayton said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Division 4 or Division 3. We came into this with expectations, and they lived up to every one of them.
“About four years ago, they weren’t a team that anybody had any thought about, let alone fear about. Now we’re at the top of the state. It’s a little Cinderella story for them, so that makes it pretty special despite it not being first place.”
Randolph, who was hired as an assistant coach for the girls team at Greenhills 27 years ago, said he began to contemplate this year’s Finals on the drive back from Kalamazoo after the Gryphons won last year’s championship. While he’s already doing the same for next year, he said he plans to savor this one if not just for a bit.
“We’re at the mountaintop right now, but it took 27 years to climb the mountain,” he said. “I’d just like a minute to enjoy the view.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Shangyang Xia smashes a forehand during a No. 3 singles match Saturday. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Megan Fitzpatrick sends back a backhand at No. 3 doubles. (Click for more at High School Sports Scene.)