Preview: Favorites Own Impressive Streaks, but Challengers Await
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 1, 2023
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern is playing for a fourth-straight Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals championship this weekend, with Ann Arbor Pioneer seeking a third straight in Division 1, Ann Arbor Greenhills going for the repeat in Division 4 and Detroit Country Day looking to rebound for a sixth Division 3 title over the last seven seasons.
But full brackets of contenders are seeking to stand in the way – including another reigning champion and No. 2-ranked teams either seeking their first Finals title or first in two decades.
All four divisions again will be played Friday and Saturday over multiple locations, with semifinals and finals to be played at the first sites listed below in each division.
Below is a glance at the highest-ranked teams in each division and additional No. 1 singles players expected to be in contention. Click for full brackets and more from MHSAA.com.
LP Division 1 at Hope College and Holland Christian High School
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Troy, 3. Bloomfield Hills.
Ann Arbor Pioneer: The Pioneers have won two straight LPD1 championships, claiming last year’s outright after sharing with Bloomfield Hills in 2021. Those two titles came with sweeps of singles flight titles, and that’s a possibility again with junior Elsie Van Wieren seeded second at No. 1 and junior Bridgette Kelly, senior Juliana Pullen and freshman Sophia Liang seeded first at Nos. 2-4, respectively. Van Wieren won No. 2 the last two seasons, and Kelly won No. 4 the last two years. All four doubles pairs are seeded fourth or higher as well, with top seeds at No. 2 with juniors Eleanor Vogel and Casey Roe and No. 3 with sophomores Elita You and Arella He. Vogel was part of the No. 3 runner-up last season.
Troy: The Colts are seeking their first team championship since 2003 and finished third a year ago with three doubles pairs earning runner-up finishes. This weekend senior Grace Zhu and junior Nika Tanako are seeded first at No. 1, and junior Marin Fox and freshman Nainika Jasti are seeded first at No. 4, with the Nos. 2 and 3 pairs also earning top-three seeds. Zhu was part of last season’s No. 1 runner-up, and Tanako was part of the No. 2 runner-up pair, while 2022 No. 4 runners-up Vienna Thieu and Michelle Baik are playing this time at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with other partners. Two singles flights also are seeded, with senior Stephanie Ochoa fourth at No. 3 after playing doubles last season with Zhu.
Bloomfield Hills: After tying with Pioneer in 2021, Bloomfield Hills missed doing the same last season by one point. Three singles flights and one doubles pair are seeded this weekend, led by second-seeded junior Julia Yousif at No. 3 singles after she was runner-up at No. 4 last spring. Seniors Natalie Raab and Colleen Pettengill are seeded third at No. 1 doubles after Raab was part of the No. 2 champion and Pettengill part of the No. 4 winner a year ago. Freshman Prisha Lingam will debut as the fourth seed at No. 1 singles.
Sari Woo, Ann Arbor Skyline junior: She’s 15-1 this spring, with more than half of her wins by 6-0, 6-0 scores and the only loss a default. Woo finished No. 1 runner-up as a sixth-seeded freshman in 2021.
Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams sophomore: She’s the third seed at No. 1 singles for the second-straight season and after finishing runner-up a year ago.
LP Division 2 at Midland Tennis Center and Midland High School
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies’ championship streak reached three last spring as they edged Seaholm by four points, and they enter this weekend with all eight flights seeded third or higher. Freshman Harriet Ogilvie will play her first Finals as the top seed at No. 4 singles, while juniors Ryan Morey and Paige McKenzie earned the top seed at No. 1 doubles and senior Maria Jacobs and sophomore Morgan McKenzie are top-seeded at No. 3. The team’s other three singles flights all are seeded third after moving up one flight coming off runner-up finishes in 2022 – junior Nathalie Lanne now at No. 1, sophomore Andrea Wang now at No. 2 and senior Miriam Ogilvie now at No. 3 after finishing second at No. 4 a year ago. Morey was part of last year’s No. 2 doubles champion and Paige McKenzie part of the runner-up at No. 4 with Ava Hamilton, who is part of this weekend’s third-seeded pair at No. 2.
Birmingham Seaholm: The runner-up last season and in 2019 is seeking its first title since 2018 with seven seeded flights including top-seeded juniors Katie Slazinski and Jenna Ting at No. 2 doubles and top-seeded junior Stella North and freshman Lucy Jen at No. 4. Slazinski was part of last season’s No. 2 doubles runner-up and Ting was part of the No. 4 champion. Seniors Tatum Hirsch and Ellie Wyzykowski are teaming up for the third seed at No. 1 doubles after Hirsch was part of last year’s No. 3 champion and Wyzykowski partnered with Slazinski at No. 2, and senior Sydney Fong is part of the third seed at No. 3 after teaming with Ting for that No. 4 title in 2022. Senior Madeleine Leo has moved to No. 1 singles after finishing as part of the No. 1 doubles runner-up last season.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The Rangers are expected to jump after finishing seventh last season, and all eight flights are seeded fifth or higher. Leading are junior Lily Ohlman with a second seed at No. 1 singles, sophomore Maggie Moog and freshman Clare Knoester with the second seed at No. 4 doubles, and freshman Chloe Cox as the third seed at No. 4 singles. Ohlman made the No. 2 singles quarterfinals last season.
Helaina Pietrowsky, Grosse Pointe North senior: She’s the top seed at No. 1 singles in her third season playing that flight, and she’s 14-3 with two losses to Division 1 players and the third by default. She made the quarterfinals last season as a sixth seed.
Allison Wootton, Portage Northern senior: She’s also in her third season at the top flight and the No. 4 seed this time, entering this weekend 24-2.
LP Division 3 at University of Michigan and Dexter High School
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Country Day, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets moved up to the top spot in the rankings this week after tying Cranbrook for the Regional title. They finished fifth at the Final a year ago coming off five straight LPD3 championships, and will be back in the hunt with all four singles flights second-seeded and three top seeds and a third seed at doubles. Juniors Peja Liles and Marin Norlander are the top seed at No. 1 doubles – Liles was part of the champion at that flight last year and Norlander part of the runner-up at No. 2 – while senior Alyssa Rahmani and freshman Noor Mahmoud are the top seed at No. 3 and senior Josie Pachla and freshman Jiya Gill are the top seed at No. 4. Norlander’s partner last year, senior Aryasai Radhakrishnan, is part of the third seed at No. 2 and she and Norlander won No. 2 in 2021, while Rahmani was part of the champion at No. 3 in 2021. Sophomore Sophia Grzesiak is the second seed at No. 1 singles after also playing that flight as a freshman.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The reigning champion won last season with 37 points – 16 more than the field – and will try to withstand challenges this time with eight seeded flights including three tops seeds and two flights seeded second. Junior Sienna Ilitch is the top seed at No. 3 singles after winning that flight last season and finishing runner-up as a freshman, and junior Olivia Zhang is the top seed at No. 4 also as the reigning champion and runner-up in 2021. Junior Grace Zhang and sophomore Sophia Kouza are top-seeded at No. 2 doubles, Zhang coming off last season’s championship at No. 3 with sophomore Ava Clogg, the fifth seed this time at No. 1 singles. Juniors Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala – who teamed for the No. 4 doubles title last year – are seeded second this time at No. 1
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles are seeking their first championship and also looking to break back into the top two for the first time since a third-straight runner-up finish in 2017. They’ve been bolstered substantially by freshman Brynn Uchman, who enters as the top seed at No. 1 singles and 26-0 without reaching a third set this spring. Junior Natalie Poortenga is the top seed at No. 2 for the second-straight season and reached the semifinals a year ago. Five other flights are seeded as well.
Julia Gurne, Portland Notre Dame Prep junior: The third seed at No. 1 singles made the quarterfinals as the third seed last season and was the No. 1 runner-up as a freshman.
Aly Aldrich, Otsego junior: She’s up to the fourth seed at No. 1 singles this weekend after finishing runner-up a year ago as the sixth seed.
LP Division 4 at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons were champions for the first time since 2017 last season, distancing themselves from the field by nine points, and are in position to repeat with all eight flights seeded first or second and most experienced at the Finals level. Sophomore Maddie Morgan made the semifinals at No. 1 singles last season as a third seed and moves to the top line this weekend, while sophomore Shangyang Xia is the top seed at No. 2 after winning that flight a year ago. Freshman Danica Rakic-Dennis is the top seed at No. 3, and senior Manassa Golapalli is the second seed at No. 4 after finishing runner-up at that flight in 2022. Reigning No. 3 singles champion Sophie Chen has moved to No. 1 doubles as a sophomore and is paired with freshman Lauren Ye as the top seed. Sophomore Sophia Kleer and junior Parini Rao are second-seeded at No. 2 doubles after both were part of runner-up pairs a year ago at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Second-seeded No. 3 pair Meera Tewari and Meera Pandey, both sophomores, are a combo of a reigning No. 4 doubles champ and Rio’s partner at No. 3 last season, respectively, and freshmen Arya Prabhakar and Aoife Tang are debuting at the Finals as the second seed at No. 4.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators tied for 11th last season but have finished runner-up four times over the last eight years. They’ll make their run this time with four seeded flights including senior Audrey Lee on the top line at No. 4 singles. Only three of 12 starters are seniors, so St. Francis should remain in the hunt moving forward as well.
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard: The Irish went from unranked to No. 3 in the final poll, and should jump after tying for 13th last season. FGR has only one senior among its starters, but all four singles players are seeded including three in second slots – freshman Jenny Florea at No. 1, senior Vivian Heegan at No. 2 and freshman Kenna Trost at No. 3. Heegan made the quarterfinals last season at No. 1 while unseeded.
Maggie Page, Jackson Lumen Christi senior: She’s returning as the third seed at No. 1 singles after winning a match at that flight last season while unseeded and going 21-1 this season with her only loss to Florea.
Ayva Johnstone, Elk Rapids junior: She’s also back at the top singles flight, this time as the fourth seed after entering as the fifth seed a year ago.
Jadyn Koenes, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian senior: She’s the fifth seed at No. 1 singles after reaching the quarterfinals last season as a sixth seed.
PHOTO Otsego’s Aly Aldrich returns a volley during a match day this spring. (Photo by Gary Shook.)
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.)