Preview: History-Making Opportunities
May 29, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Every athlete playing in this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals will achieve a notable feat, be it personal or for her school.
But Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Alexandria Najarian could finish Saturday at Kalamazoo College among the most accomplished players in MHSAA history.
Najarian is playing in Division 3 for her fourth No. 1 singles championship. Only two others – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s Dawn Martin from 1985-88 and Detroit Country Day’s Kendra Howard from 1990-93 – have won No. 1 singles titles all four years of high school.
Najarian’s storyline will be one of many to follow this weekend, with coverage of all four Finals publishing on Second Half later Saturday evening. Below is a brief look at top contenders at each tournament, with play beginning Friday morning. Click for more including brackets and seeds for all 32 flights.
DIVISION 1 at Midland Tennis Center
Top ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe South, 2. Clarkston, 3. Northville.
Grosse Pointe South is favored to win its second MHSAA championship in three seasons after tying for third a year ago with Clarkston, which tied for second in 2012 and won the title in 2011. Northville is seeking its first MHSAA girls tennis championship and finished fifth last season.
Grosse Pointe South: All but one flight is seeded fifth or higher, with three doubles pairs seeded among the top two of their respective flights. And the unseeded is No. 2 singles player Madie Flournoy, last season’s champion at No. 4. Brooke Willard, a semifinalist at No. 2 singles last season, is the fourth seed at No. 3 this weekend, and 2013 No. 3 singles runner-up Maggie Sweeney is now part of the fifth-seeded No. 1 doubles pair with Samantha Perry. Raven Neely is a contender at No. 1 singles entering as the third seed.
Clarkston: The Wolves’ strength again is singles, with all four flights entering this weekend seeded first or second. Last season’s No. 1 singles runner-up Lexi Baylis is the top seed at that flight and won No. 2 in both 2011 and 2012. Reigning No. 2 runner-up Isabella Spindler and reigning No. 3 champion Dana Olsen are second seeds at those flights, respectively. Paige Olsen – part of last season’s runner-up at No. 1 doubles and the No. 3 singles champion in 2012 – is the second seed at No. 2 singles. Her partner last season, Alex Whall, is teaming with Katie Hubregsen as the fourth-seeded pair at No. 1 doubles.
Bloomfield Hills: Although ranked No. 4 entering the postseason, Bloomfield Hills looks like a contender and brings tournament experience with Andover taking fourth and Lahser tying for sixth in Division 2 in 2013 (those schools merged last summer). The Black Hawks are seeded at all but one flight, with Mollie Fox – last season’s Division 2 No. 1 singles champ – seeded fifth in the top flight. Kerry Hu – the No. 1 singles runner-up for Andover in Division 2 in 2012 – is the third-seeded player this weekend at No. 2. Meryl Reams was the Division 2 No. 4 champion last season and is seeded fifth in that flight.
Utica’s Davina Nguyen: The 2012 No. 1 singles champion fell in the semifinals last season but is expected to get at least that far again entering this weekend as the second seed.
Port Huron Northern’s Lizzie Brozovich: Despite beating Spindler in straight sets in last season’s No. 2 singles championship match, Brozovich returns as only the sixth seed in the flight this weekend.
Midland Dow’s Caroline Szabo: Dow has the top seeds at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles, with Szabo at No. 2 expected to finish her freshman season as a champion.
Port Huron Northern’s Alexis Wirth and Fran Basha: Northern’s top-seeded pair at No. 1 doubles gave up only one set – and then one game in the championship match – in winning this flight in 2013.
Other returning flight champions: Farmington Hills Mercy’s Mackenzie Zierau (No. 2 doubles in 2013, part of No. 1 doubles with Clara Pilchak this season), Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Alyssa Roopas and Evie Vandewege (No. 3 doubles in 2013 and No. 4 doubles in 2012; No. 1 doubles this season), Northville’s Libby Quinn (No. 4 doubles in 2013, part of third-seeded No. 4 doubles with Chloe Page this season).
DIVISION 2 at Holland
Top ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Bloomfield Hills Marian, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
One of these three has won Division 2 each of the last 11 seasons, with Marian the returning champ, Seaholm the winner in 2012 and Forest Hills Northern finishing first in 2011. Seaholm was last season’s runner-up, with Forest Hills Northern finishing third.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples enter the weekend with five top seeds, including at three singles flights. All four singles players are back from last season – Labina Petrovska is the top seed at No. 1, Lauren Frazier is seeded second at No. 2, reigning runner-up Claire Markley is the top seed at No. 3 and Rachel Fenberg is the top seed at No. 4. The two doubles pairs that aren’t top seeds have championship experience – Jackie Meier is back at No. 1, this time with Laine Boitos, after Meier helped win No. 1 last season and Boitos was part of the runner-up at No. 2. Sam Lareau is playing No. 2 doubles with Caity Buechner after helping win the No. 4 doubles title in 2013.
Bloomfield Hills Marian: The Mustangs are seeded at all but No. 1 singles, and that unseeded player, Lauren Dietz, was the No. 2 singles runner-up a year ago. Reigning No. 3 champ Breann Lunghamer moved up to No. 2 and is the fourth seed, and reigning No. 4 runner-up Catherine Yaldoo moved up to No. 3 and is seeded third at that flight. All four doubles flights are seeded third or higher, with Tatyanna Dadabbo moving up to No. 1 to pair with Biance Emde after Dadabbo helped win the No. 2 doubles title a year ago and Emde was part of the pair that made the semis at No. 3.
Forest Hills Northern: All flights are seeded, with three in the top spot and another second. Victoria Minzlaff helped finish runner-up at No. 1 doubles last season and is part of the top-seeded pair this time with last season’s No. 2 singles player, Jessica Stevens. (Minzlaff was part of champions at No. 1 in 2012 and No. 4 in 2011.) Stephanie Nguyen, part of last season’s No. 3 doubles champion, is part of the top-seeded No. 2 pair with Hailey Jones. Madeline Bissett is the top seed at No. 2 singles after winning No. 3 in Division 3 as a freshman at Forest Hills Eastern two years ago (and finishing runner-up at No. 2 in Division 3 last season), and Claire Aleck is back at No. 1 singles and seeded second in that flight.
Fenton’s Madison Ballard: This season’s third seed at No. 1 singles won two matches at last season’s Final after entering unseeded.
Okemos’ Emily Struble: The champion at No. 2 singles the last two seasons is playing No. 1 this weekend and enters seeded fifth.
East Grand Rapids’ Jeanie Weinrich and Bridget Barrett: The Pioneers’ third-seeded No. 1 doubles pair is made up of half of last season’s pair (Weinrich) and last season’s No. 1 singles player (Barrett).
DIVISION 3 at Kalamazoo College
Top ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Allegan
Cranbrook-Kingswood is looking to extend a three-season winning streak and finish among the top two for the seventh straight year. The Cranes scored 39 points a year ago, with Allegan second at 23 and Country Day third at 19. Country Day, in 2010, was the last team to win before this run.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood: The Cranes have top seeds at six flights and the fourth seeds at the remaining two. Najarian’s history-making opportunity is detailed above, and No. 2 singles Anna Short also is a reigning champion. Briana Latica and Holly Meers were the No. 3 doubles champions last season and are playing this weekend at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, and Lauren Lanzon and Emily Harvey won the No. 4 doubles title a year ago; Harvey is playing No. 3 singles and Lanzon No. 3 doubles. Meg Phyle was part of last season’s No. 1 doubles runner-up and is top-seeded at that flight with Amanda Simmons.
Detroit Country Day: Seven flights are seeded, led by a strong singles lineup. Madelyn Karoub is looking to finish her career with a third MHSAA singles title and is the top seed at No. 3. Haley Mullins was runner-up at No. 3 last season and is seeded second at No. 2, and Sarah Carroll was runner-up at No. 4 last season and is seeded second at that flight.
Allegan: The Tigers also are seeded at seven flights, with all four singles players fourth seeds or higher and a pair of strong doubles teams leading the way. Emmarie Gorby and Blake Day are the fourth seed at No. 1 doubles after finishing runner-up at No. 2 a year ago. Carlie Vanklompenberg and Taylor Orr are the top seed at No. 2 doubles after finishing runner-up at No. 3 a year ago.
Holland Christian’s Lisa Busscher and Anna Bosgraaf: Last season’s No. 4 doubles runners-up are seeded third at No. 2 this weekend.
Williamston’s Sara Daavettila: Playing high school tennis for the first time, Daavettila is the second seed at No. 1 singles and could give Najarian an interesting run if both make the championship match.
Williamston’s Caitlyn Chick and Delaney Nikolai: Although unseeded at No. 1 doubles, this pair was the runner-up at No. 1 in Division 4 last season.
DIVISION 4 at Grand Blanc/Holly
Top ranked: 1. Grosse Ile, 2. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 3. Traverse City St. Francis
Grosse Ile, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Traverse City St. Francis all are seeking their first MHSAA girls tennis championships. Grosse Ile finished just three points back of champion Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart last season, with St. Francis third and Gabriel Richard tied for fourth. Academy of the Sacred Heart, champion the last two seasons, is ranked No. 4.
Grosse Ile: The Red Devils are seeded at every flight with three top seeds and No. 4 doubles runners-up Rose Tucker and Casey Guthrie returning among favorites. Reigning No. 2 singles champion Brianne Riley is the sixth seed at No. 1, and reigning No. 3 runner-up Julia Formentin is the second seed at No. 2. Katherine Kuzmiak was part of the No. 2 doubles runner-up last season and is teaming with Luna Terauchi on the top-seeded pair at No. 3 this weekend.
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard: The Fighting Irish are seeded at only four flights, but have the favorites at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, with top seeds Colleen O’Brien and Maddy Szuba. O’Brien was the No. 1 runner-up last season and the No. 2 champion in 2012 (playing for Greenhills), while Szuba made the semis at No. 3 last season.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart: The Gazelles appear in a slightly better position to earn points than Traverse City St. Francis with six seeds to St. Francis’ five and three among the top four seeds in their respective flights. Tate Lehmann is the third seed at No. 3 singles after winning No. 4 a year ago, while the team’s second-seeded pair at No. 1 doubles is a mix of Sarah Spangler from last season’s No. 2 champion and Gretchen Lemon from last season’s winner at No. 4. Kendall Lehmann is part of the fifth-seeded pair at No. 2 doubles, with Stella Betrus, after helping win the title at No. 3 in 2013.
Berrien Springs’ Arien Kissinger: The senior has won four matches at No. 1 singles as an unseeded player the last three seasons, but enters her last Finals as the second seed at this flight.
Kalamazoo Christian’s Audrey Bouma and Jessica Bouma: Last season’s champion at No.3 singles, Audrey, is the top seed in that flight, while Jessica is the third seed at No. 2 singles and won No. 3 in 2011.
Lansing Catholic’s Calla Ramont: The No. 3 singles champion in 2012 won a match at No. 1 last season and comes into this weekend as the third seed at the top flight.
Ludington’s Gabrielle and Stephanie Kelly: The sisters have teamed up at No. 1 doubles the last two seasons, winning a match at the 2013 Final and entering this one as the top seed.
PHOTO: Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Alexandria Najarian, here playing in the No. 1 singles championship match at the 2012 LP Division 3 Final, will play for her fourth No. 1 singles title. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Senior-Powered Ishpeming Follows Doubles Dominance to 1st Finals Win
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 5, 2023
KINGSFORD – Ishpeming coach Kaitlin Rich said she had a call to make after Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals.
The school never needed a girls tennis banner before, but they do now.
The Hematites won their first U.P. title Wednesday at Kingsford, edging West Iron County 19-18 on a warm, windy day in Dickinson County.
It’s been their goal since finishing runner-up to Iron Mountain last year. Rich was reminded of that earlier this week in her Facebook memories – her team of mostly seniors were juniors then, and their goal was, “U.P. ’23.”
“They set that goal, and they crushed it,” Rich said. “They showed up every day. They worked hard.”
Munising was third with seven points. Gwinn, Iron Mountain, Ironwood and Norway all had three.
After the longest event of the day finally wrapped up, the Ishpeming players went to the scoring area and confirmed their victory. They celebrated with their trophy and looked forward to their fire truck escort into Ishpeming later that evening.
Ten of the 12 Ishpeming players were seniors. One of the two sophomores is Rich’s sister.
“I have been connected to these seniors since I taught them in third grade, and as a coach, there’s not a greater moment that I think I’ve had or will ever have than this moment right now,” Rich said. “These girls work so hard every day. Most of them dual sport. They are the definition of athlete: They have commitment to each other, they have true grit and there’s nothing that will top this day for me as a coach – going forward, in the past, nothing.”
West Iron County, which won all four singles flights, came up just short of a first U.P. title since 2020.
“Overall a very good day for the team,” WIC coach Jen Schive said. “They are a team of seniors, so we were coming out and we were ready to compete against them. I think the girls overall did pretty well this year. I’m excited for next year because I have a good group of incoming juniors.”
Ishpeming won on the strength of its doubles teams, all four of which won Wednesday.
Addison Morton and Payton Manninen defeated West Iron County’s Destiny Lemery and Olivia LaMay 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 1 doubles final.
The No. 1 seeds started slow in their semifinal win over Ironwood after a first-round bye. They had to wait again to play the final, and they overcame a slow start once again.
“But we were able to bring the energy and play how we know we can play,” Morton said. “It was really good to be able to take the championship.”
She said the team title was “really important for us,” with all the seniors they had this season.
Rich said it’d be hard to find a more athletic doubles team than her No. 1 pair.
“They are just so athletic,” she said. “And I’ll tell you, those two have a fire in them that you can’t coach and they are just mentally tough.”
Ishpeming’s No. 2 doubles team of Jenna Maki and Emma LaFave defeated West Iron’s Aubrey Richardson and Kaycee Ingram 6-2, 6-0.
“I think this is the best me and Emma have ever played together,” Maki said. “We were pretty nervous going into it. Last time we played, we played about two weeks ago in Ishpeming, and it was tiebreaker each set, so we thought it was going to be a lot more of a challenge. But we played really great and swept them.”
They complement each other well, Rich said.
“Jenna Maki is just a beast at the net and Emma has just beautiful placement. She can get the other team running. She sees the gaps and hits them all the time,” Rich said.
The No. 3 duo of Ciara Schaffer and Kadie Kaukola downed Munising’s Tessa Salo and Emmy Crisp 6-1, 6-4.
“It feels really good to finally see our work pay off, all the practice we’ve put in, and also being our senior year, getting the title,” Kaukola said.
They work well together also, Rich said.
“The growth they’ve shown from the beginning of the season to now is just amazing,” she said. “And I’ll tell you, Katie Kaukola is just an athlete and she can get to any ball on that court. Ciara is a competitor, and she loves the game more than anybody.”
Rich’s sister, Ava Jo Hares, and Kaitlyn VanDeuren defeated Munising’s Tamryn Nolan and Lauren Nelson 6-2, 6-0, for the No. 4 doubles win. Hares said they did well battling the strong wind.
They’d lost only to Negaunee in what was a dominant season.
“They again are very well-balanced,” Rich said. “Kaitlyn is phenomenal at the net. She’s very intimidating up there. She’s very tall, and she gets a lot of the balls down. And then Ava hustles and she has very good placement and she also has a really good serve, especially for a sophomore.”
West Iron County swept the singles championships.
The Wykons’ Aubrey Bice defeated Gwinn’s Miaha Schiefel 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in No. 1 singles.
“It shows me that all my hard work finally paid off and at least I can go out with a bang in my last year,” Bice said.
Coach Schive said Bice is a phenomenal player.
“She’s a very focused player; she is a true No. 1,” Schive said. “I am glad that she won today, she fully deserves it. She’s been fighting all season and working every little bit, everything that she knows that she needs to win.”
Seanna Stine swept Ishpeming’s Emily DeMarois 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
“I stayed confident, and I hit well,” Stine said.
Schive said Stine showed her senior athleticism all season.
“She hits the ball well, and she strives to really work on her placement as a strategy,” she said.
Kaitlyn Smith took No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-1, over Ishpeming’s Lilly Swanson.
“What a competitor,” Schive said. “All year long, she strives to do well, she works and puts a lot of time in. You can see it paid off today.”
Erin Kolbas defeated Ishpeming’s Lilly Ryan 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4 singles. It was the final match of the day and all of the remaining players were able to watch.
“At first it was just me and the other team, and my team wasn’t over there. I was a little bit worried, I was scared. But then my team came over and they were cheering me on, so I felt a lot better,” Kolbas said. “I genuinely didn’t expect to get this far because this is my first year.”
Schieve said the sophomore has improved “leaps and bounds” this year.
“She has put her time in,” Schive said.
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Emily DeMarois finished second at No. 2 singles at Wednesday's UP Division 2 Finals in Kingsford. (Middle) West Iron County's Aubrey Bice won No. 1 singles. (Below) Gwinn's Miaha Schiefel finished runner-up at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Jason Juno.)