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.)
Preview: Favorites Ready for Return After Year Delay
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 2, 2021
Lower Peninsula girls tennis was among sports forced to miss the entire 2020 season due to COVID-19.
But many of the state’s powers picked right back up this spring where they left off two years ago, including two reigning Finals team champions entering this weekend as favorites again and five No. 1 singles players who have either won that flight or finished runner-up during their careers.
This weekend’s Finals schedule does feature a few changes.
For starters, while Divisions 1-3 will continue with the traditional format playing Friday and Saturday, Division 4 will be played Thursday and Friday in the Kalamazoo area.
All four divisions also will be played over multiple locations. Division 1 will be played at Mason and Okemos high schools, with the finals at Mason. Division 2 will be played at Midland Dow and Midland Tennis Center, with finals at the latter. Division 3 will be played at Holland Christian High and Harbor Lights Middle School, with finals at Holland Christian. And Division 4 will see matches at Portage Central, Portage Northern, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix and West Middle School before finishing up with championship matches at Central.
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 on the MHSAA Website.
LP Division 1 at Mason & Okemos
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Bloomfield Hills, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Ann Arbor Pioneer: The Pioneers are seeking their first championship since 2010 and first top-two Finals finish since 2011, and that effort will start with the top-seeded players in every singles flight – sophomore Reese Miller at No. 1, followed by freshman Elsie Van Wieren, junior Mia Goldstein and freshman Bridgette Kelly, respectively. Three of four doubles flights are seeded as well. Pioneer is 21-0-1 this spring, with its tie against No. 2 Bloomfield Hills on April 26. Miller – whose sister Kari won Division 1 No. 1 singles championships both seasons she played high school tennis – is 25-2 with her only defeats both to Detroit Country Day’s Julia Fliegner, who won No. 1 singles in Division 3 in 2018. Van Wieren is 27-0, Goldstein is 26-1 and Kelly is 23-0.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks are seeking their first championship and came up just short at the 2019 Final, finishing runner-up and two points back of winner Grosse Pointe South. They also are unbeaten at 17-0-2, with those ties against Pioneer and No. 3 Seaholm (which they had defeated two weeks earlier). Doubles will be Bloomfield Hills’ strength; No. 2 (Reagen Tomina/Carly Bernard), No. 3 (Eryn Stern/Natalie Raab) and No. 4 (Grace Bickersteth/Ellie Alberts) are top-seeded, with No. 1 Hannah Tomina and Noa Goldstein second-seeded and Hannah Tomina having been part of the No. 1 champion in 2019. The Black Hawks also have three seeded singles players, and could have an edge with No. 4 Julia Yousif entering as a second seed.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples have been among the Division 2 elite over the last two decades, with four championships (most recent 2018) and five runner-up finishes (most recent 2019) over the last 15 seasons. Seaholm did lose duals to Pioneer and Bloomfield Hills this spring, but are lined up to make a run at the top with six seeded flights including a pair of third seeds (Sofia Gryzenia at No. 2 singles and Courtney Marcum at No. 4). Ashley Buechner is part of the fifth seed at No. 1 doubles and was part of the champ at No. 4 two years ago.
Zoe Angell, Midland Dow: The Chargers senior is the second seed at No. 1 singles and undefeated this season at 23-0. She reached the No. 1 quarterfinals as an unseeded sophomore in 2019.
Alicen Liu, Novi: The Wildcats standout is 19-3 and seeded third at No. 1 singles, with losses to Miller and Angell along the way but the latter in three sets.
Olivia Weiss, Royal Oak: The fourth-seeded No. 1 singles player as a senior, Weiss is 21-0 with 18 wins by 6-0, 6-0 scores. She was the runner-up at No. 1 in Division 2 in 2018.
LP Division 2 at Midland Area
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Bloomfield Hills Marian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies have won 10 championships and finished runner-up six times over the last 19 seasons, and are the reigning champs after edging Seaholm by two points in 2019. All eight flights this time are seeded third or higher, and six flights carry top seeds. Abby Siminski (1), Isabella Paul (2), Alexis Pena (3) and Nathalie Lanne (4) all fill the top lines of the bracket in singles, with Sophie Richards and Rhea Marwaha the top-seeded pair at No. 1 doubles and Mitra Bijoy and Ryan Morey top-seeded at No. 2. Siminski was the runner-up at No. 1 in 2019 while Paul was the champ at No. 3 and Pena the winner at No. 4. Siminski is 16-0, Paul and Pena both 24-0 and Lanne 25-0 this season.
Bloomfield Hills Marian: The Mustangs finished third and only five points off the lead in 2019, and they’re seeking their fourth title over the last 11 seasons and first since 2016. All eight flights are seeded this weekend, with big points expected in doubles. Marcella Zarouk and Meghan Sharkey are the top seed at No. 4, with Jackie Ambrose and Emily Anton the second seed at No. 3 and Gabi Saba and Keely Nykerk the second seed at No. 2.
East Grand Rapids: Most recently the champion in 2017, EGR is another frequent contender coming back from a fourth-place finish in 2019. Five flights are seeded, with No. 2 doubles pair Jennifer and Julia Ernst set up to advance the farthest among the group.
Sullivan Patel, Birmingham Groves: The third seed at No. 1 singles is 21-2 with those defeats to Siminski and a Division 1 contender. She was the sixth seed at No. 1 as a sophomore in 2019 and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Siminski in three sets.
Helaina Pietrowsky, Grosse Pointe North: The Norsemen sophomore is the fourth seed at No. 1 singles for her first Finals, and carries a 16-4 record with all four defeats against players in the Division 1 bracket this weekend.
Romika Shokohi, Mattawan: After finishing runner-up at No. 3 singles as a freshman, Shokohi will wrap up her junior season entering the weekend as the second seed at No. 1 and with a 24-2 record. Her most recent loss was to Siminski.
LP Division 3 at Holland Area
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Chelsea.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes are favored to take the next step after finishing runner-up to Country Day in 2018 and 2019. Cranbrook enters the weekend with six top seeds and a second – and the lone unseeded player, junior Nina Govila, returns to No. 1 singles after finishing runner-up at that flight in 2019. Junior Charlotte Brown – the No. 4 singles champ two years ago – is the top seed at No. 2, followed by freshmen Sienna Ilitch on the top line at No. 3 and Olivia Zhang as the favorite at No. 4. Morgan Dresner-Hagman and Mia Frickey are top-seeded at No. 1 doubles, with Abby Foltyn and Gaby Levine tops at No. 2 and Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala on the top line at No. 3. Brown and Ilitch both have only one loss this season, both to Division 1 contenders.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets have won four straight Division 3 championships and enter the weekend seeded at all four singles flights and three doubles flights. Senior Julia Fliegner was the No. 1 singles champ as a freshman in 2018; she’s undefeated this spring and the top seed at her flight. Junior Lana Haddad is the third seed at No. 2 singles and was part of the No. 2 doubles championship pair in 2019.
Chelsea: The Bulldogs are seeking their first top-two finish and could make a big move after tying for eighth two years ago. Top-seeded Megan Boughton and Meghan Bareis at No. 4 doubles highlight six seeded flights overall, also including second seeds Mia Loveland and Adrienne Delong at No. 1 doubles and Anne-Marie Begola at No. 4 singles.
Aly Aldrich, Otsego: The freshman fourth seed at No. 1 singles is 20-2 with both losses to Allegan’s Regan Fales (see below) before she won their most recent match.
Regan Fales, Allegan: The Tigers junior is the third seed at No. 1 singles, and made the semifinals at No. 1 as a freshman when she also was the third seed.
Julie Gurne, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep: The Fighting Irish freshman is the second seed at No. 1 singles, with all of her losses either to Fliegner or contenders in Divisions 1 or 2.
LP Division 4 at Kalamazoo/Portage Areas
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. North Muskegon.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart: The Gazelles jumped from No. 4 to the top spot in the final coaches poll as they pursue a third-straight championship and fifth in six seasons. They are seeded at all eight flights with the top seeds at the first three doubles flights led by Marisa Nafso and Kayla Nafso at No. 1, Lulu George and Maggie Pulte at No. 2 and Noor Simon and Angelina Kakos at No. 3. Marisa Nafso was part of the No. 2 champion in 2019. Reagan Beatty is the third seed at No. 1 singles having previously won titles at No. 3 as a freshman and No. 1 doubles as a sophomore. Junior Isabelle Burg should provide another boost as the second seed at No. 2 singles.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators have finished runners-up three of the last five seasons and were sixth in 2019. A strong singles lineup leads six seeded flights. Alexi Lewis at No. 2 and Jillian Sodini at No. 3 are top-seeded, while Mary Chittle at No. 4 and Lilly Bobrowski at No. 1 are second seeds. Lewis and Sodini are undefeated this spring.
North Muskegon: The Norse have seven times been Finals runners-up and like St. Francis are seeking a first championship. Six flights are seeded, led by a pair of second-seeded doubles pairs: Marilyn Gaston and Greta Goszkowicz at No. 4 and Gabby Gaston and Sarah Muzzy at No. 1. Senior Alicia Hall is 22-3 and seeded fourth at No. 1 singles.
Ines Latorre, Elk Rapids: The sophomore standout is the sixth seed at No. 1 singles but with her only losses (three) all to Bobrowski.
Moorea McNalley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate: The Mountaineers’ junior is 28-0 and the top seed at No. 1 singles after also winning the flight as a freshman in 2019.
Igne Savickas, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard: Four of her six losses this spring as a senior have come to McNalley, Beatty or Notre Dame Prep’s Gurne, part of a resume that earned her the fifth seed at No. 1.
PHOTO: Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Moorea McNalley returns a volley during her No. 1 singles championship run in 2019. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)