Preview: Returning Champions Set to Build on Past Seasons' Successes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 30, 2024
A blend of strong seeds and substantial postseason experience could make catching three of last year’s champions difficult as those teams again pursue repeat titles at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals.
But the race for the Division 1 championship might be one of the most intriguing in some time.
While Birmingham Seaholm in Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 3 and Ann Arbor Greenhills in Division 4 remain the teams to chase in those respective brackets, Clarkston should give Ann Arbor Pioneer a mighty challenge as the latter pursues a fourth-straight Finals title.
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. Play begins between 8:15-8:30 each morning.
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 Midland Tennis Center
Top-ranked: 1. Clarkston, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3. Novi.
Clarkston: The Wolves finished third a year ago and are seeking their second team championship to go with the Division 1 title won in 2011. All eight flights are seeded, including four top seeds – freshman Sydney Geisz at No. 2 singles, freshman Kayla Lemke at No. 3, junior Charlotte Partchenko at No. 4, and senior Katarina Fisher and junior Ava Henkel at No. 2 doubles. A flight champion would be the team’s first since 2014. Partchenko finished No. 4 singles runner-up last season, and Henkel and now-sophomore Lana Sloan reached the semifinals at No. 3 doubles; Sloan and senior Lauren Sielinski are the second seed at that flight this weekend.
Ann Arbor Pioneer: The Pioneers have won the last three Division 1 championships (sharing with Bloomfield Hills in 2021), and the majority of Finals experience returns in doubles or with doubles players from 2023. Senior Noa Gluskin and sophomore Jessica Primus are the fifth seed at No. 2 after winning the No. 4 doubles title a year ago, and senior Casey Roe and junior Natalie Guo are the second seed at No. 1 with Roe having been part of last season’s runner-up at No. 2 and Guo half of a semifinalist at the top flight. Junior Arella He was part of the runner-up at No. 3 doubles in 2023 and this time is seeded third at No. 4 singles, and senior Eleanor Vogel teamed with Roe last year and this weekend is seeded third at No. 3 singles.
Novi: The Wildcats have never won or finished runner-up at the Finals, but did tie for fourth a year ago and enter this weekend with six seeded flights and especially strong points potential in doubles. Seniors Haruka Ishibashi and Arushi Singh are the top seed at No. 3 doubles, and sophomores Samaara George and Kyra Thomas are second-seeded at No. 4. George played No. 1 singles last season, and Ishibashi played No. 3. Singh was part of the runner-up at No. 4 doubles in 2023.
Gabrielle Sadkowski, Utica Eisenhower sophomore: Top seed Sadkowski’s only loss over two years of high school tennis was last season to eventual LPD1 No. 1 singles champion Sari Woo from Ann Arbor Skyline. Sadkowski is 11-0 this spring.
Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams junior: Fu has finished No. 1 singles runner-up the last two seasons, and she’s the second seed this weekend entering at 16-0 this year.
Brooke Nicholson & Alexis Gabriel, Utica Eisenhower senior/sophomore: This pair entered last season’s No. 1 doubles bracket as the fifth seed and reached the quarterfinals. They’re the top seed this time and 28-2 this spring.
Other returning 2023 flight champions: Troy seniors Hannah Lee & Michelle Baik (No. 3 doubles last season, No. 1 doubles this weekend).
LP Division 2 at Byron Center West Sports Complex & Grand Rapids South Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3. Farmington Hills Mercy.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples jumped past Forest Hills Northern into the top spot in the final coaches poll of the regular season, and the reigning LPD2 champion has finished first or second at this tournament nine times beginning in 2011. All eight flights are seeded this time, but the greatest scoring potential is in doubles with junior Jordyn Lusky and sophomore Lucy Jen seeded first at No. 3 and sophomore Anna Olekszyk and freshman Katie Joyce top-seeded at No. 4. Lusky and Jen were part of championship pairs at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, last season, and seniors Katie Slazinski and Jenna Ting were champions at No. 2 and are the second seed this weekend at No. 1. Senior Stella North won with Jen a year ago and is seeded fifth this time at No. 2 doubles with freshman Sophia Arndt. Senior Courtney Marcum is seeded fourth at No. 1 singles after winning No. 2 a year ago, and sophomore Jada Josifovski is seeded third at No. 2 coming off a No. 3 runner-up finish as a freshman.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: Although only five flights are seeded, three are top-seeded as FHN looks to bump up from last year’s tie for second place and claim a third championship over the last four seasons. Seniors Ryan Morey and Paige McKenzie at No. 1 doubles and junior Lauren Jaklitsch and Morgan McKenzie at No. 2 carry those top seeds, with Morey and Paige McKenzie the reigning champs at the top flight and Jaklitsch part of last year’s runner-up at No. 2. Morey also was part of No. 2 doubles flight championships as both a freshman and a sophomore. Junior Andrea Wang adds another top seed at No. 2 singles, and sophomore Harriet Ogilvie is the fourth seed at No. 3 singles after winning No. 4 in 2023.
Farmington Hills Mercy: The Marlins have been surging with a powerful singles lineup that locked down top seeds at No. 1 with junior Megan Sullivan, No. 3 with sophomore Alexa Dueweke and No. 4 with sophomore Gabby Owens, and a second seed at No. 2 with sophomore Keira Kirkland. Mercy’s only top-two Finals finish was second place in Division 1 in 2013, and the Marlins tied for 11th in Division 1 last season. Two doubles flights also are seeded.
Lily Ohlman, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior: The reigning champion at No. 1 singles is 24-2 and seeded second with her most recent loss coming to Sullivan on May 4 by a score of 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 10-8.
LP Division 3 at Kalamazoo College & Western Michigan University
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes have won the last two Division 3 titles after three straight runner-up finishes (not counting COVID-canceled 2020). There’s loads of championship experience and every flight is seeded, with four top seeds – junior Chiarra Martella at No. 3 singles, senior Olivia Zhang at No. 4, junior Madeline Day and senior Sanvi Upadhyayala at No. 3 doubles and juniors Michelle Chen and Jessica Hall at No. 4. Zhang has won No. 4 singles the last two seasons, and senior Sienna Ilitch has won No. 3 singles the last two seasons and is seeded eighth at No. 1 this weekend; both also were singles runners-up as freshmen. Martella was the runner-up at No. 2 a year ago. Seniors Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala are the second seed at No. 1 doubles after finishing runner-up last year, winning No. 4 in 2022 and finishing No. 3 runner-up in 2021. Junior Sophia Kouza and senior Grace Zhang are fourth-seeded at No. 2 doubles after winning that flight last year. Day and Upadhyayala were runners-up last spring at No. 3, and Chen and Hall were the runners-up at No. 4. Grace Zhang also was part of the No. 3 doubles champion in 2022 and the No. 4 runner-up in 2021.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets fell just two points shy of catching Cranbrook a year ago and return significant members of that lineup as well. Junior Sophia Grzesiak is the top seed at No. 1 singles after reaching the semifinals last season, followed by freshman Quinn Norland seeded first at No. 2 and sophomore Helen Benjamin seeded second at No. 3 after finishing runner-up at No. 4 singles in 2023. Seniors Marin Norlander and Peja Liles are the top seed and reigning champs at No. 1 doubles, and Liles also was part of the winning pair in 2022 and runner-up pair in 2021. Sophomore Jiya Gill and senior Becca Borgia are the third seed at No. 3 doubles with Gill coming off a No. 4 doubles championship last year.
Bloomfield Hills Marian: The Mustangs finished fifth last year and were third in Division 2 just three seasons ago. All eight flights are seeded, led by a pair of second-seeded doubles – sophomore Audrey Agbay and freshman Yana Higgins at No. 3 and senior Lauren Higdon and freshman Stella Glorio at No. 4.
Natalie Poortenga, Grand Rapids Christian senior: Last season’s champion at No. 2 singles is the third seed at No. 1 this time, and took Forest Hills Central’s Ohlman to three sets in an April loss.
Lilah Zaskowski, Ada Forest Hills Eastern freshman: She’s 22-3 and the second seed at No. 1 singles heading into her first Finals, with two of her three losses coming over the last two weeks in tune-ups against Ohlman and Forest Hills Northern’s Wang.
Other returning 2023 flight champions: Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Avah Jerke (No. 3 doubles last season, No. 4 singles this weekend).
LP Division 4 at University of Michigan & Ann Arbor Greenhills
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 3. Traverse City St. Francis.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons also are seeking their third-straight Finals team championship, and nearly doubled up the next-highest finisher a year ago. Junior Maddie Morgan is the reigning champion at No. 1 singles and seeded second this weekend, while junior Shangyang Xia is the top seed at No. 3 after winning No. 2 in 2023 and sophomore Danica Rakic-Dennis the top seed at No. 4 after winning at No. 3 a year ago. They moved with freshman Ellie Kim is the top seed at No. 2 singles. Greenhills has all four top seeds in doubles as well – sophomore Lauren Ye and freshman Nina Malani at No. 1, juniors Sophie Chen and Sophia Kleer at No. 2, juniors Meera Tewari and Meera Pandey at No. 3, and senior Parini Rao and freshman Alyssa Hong at No. 4. Chen and Ye were runners-up at No. 1 last season, and Pandey and Tewari were the runners-up at No. 3.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep: The Fighting Irish should provide a nice challenge after finishing fourth in Division 3 last season and with all eight flights seeded fourth or higher. Junior Francheska Daugaru at No. 2 singles and senior Addison Bellows at No. 3 lead with second seeds. Bellows was the Division 3 runner-up at No. 4 singles as a sophomore, and senior Julia Gurne – seeded third at No. 1 singles this weekend – was the Division 3 runner-up at No. 1 as a freshman.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators were fourth a year ago and have finished runner-up four of the last nine years, most recently in 2021. All but one flight is seeded, and five are seeded fourth or higher led by senior Ava Pomaranski with the second seed at No. 4 singles.
Ayva Johnstone, Elk Rapids senior: She reached the quarterfinals at No. 1 singles as the fourth seed last season and returns this weekend as the top seed and 25-0.
Other returning 2023 flight champions: Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart senior Kayla Nafso (No. 1 doubles last season, No. 1 singles this weekend), Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart senior Maggie Pulte (No. 2 doubles last season and this weekend).
PHOTO Birmingham Seaholm's Jordyn Lusky returns a volley during last season's LPD2 Finals championship match at No. 3 doubles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Boven-Built Mattawan Serving Up Success
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
April 23, 2018
MATTAWAN — When Matt Boven first started coaching the Mattawan girls tennis team, he was “an 18-year-old coaching 18-year-olds,” he laughed.
Twenty years, a wife and two daughters later, Boven is still leading the Wildcats and racking up some impressive numbers.
During his tenure, Mattawan has eight top-10 finishes at the MHSAA Finals, including a ninth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last year.
The Wildcats’ best Finals finish was a third-place tie with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Holly and North Farmington in 2004.
The team also has six Regional titles and own eight outright Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference titles and 12 divisional championships. Boven was named Division 2 Coach of the Year for girls tennis in 2011 by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association.
Their record over 20 years is 141-30-23. So far this year, the Mattawan girls are 3-1-1.
“In 20 years, we’ve never had a losing season,” Boven said. “For six years, we didn’t lose a dual match.”
Program building
Boven is relying on upperclassmen to lead the team this season after graduating eight a year ago.
His roster includes five freshmen and three others who played junior varsity last year.
“I think that we’re actually pretty good for all the players we lost,” said sophomore Kate Novak. “We’ve done well in most of our matches.”
Junior Meredith Smola, who plays No. 2 singles, agreed.
“We have a lot of incoming freshmen who are actually good,” she said. “We will do well if we stay focused and work hard.”
One reason for the Wildcats’ success over the last two decades has been the summer program Boven started.
“Last summer we had 240 participants,” he said. “Forty-five kids are also in the middle school program.”
The summer program runs from the end of June to the beginning of August, with former Wildcats players helping out.
“I think a part of the story is about the program that (Boven) is creating,” Mattawan High School principal Tim Eastman said. “He is working tirelessly at all levels.
“His camps are full each summer. His JV team is huge, and kids genuinely like him.”
Liking and respecting the coach is a key to the team’s success.
“He is so much fun,” Smola said. “He’s a combination of working and bringing fun to the team.
“When I’m playing matches and losing, he’ll come to the fence to help me. If it’s a long match, he brings fruit and granola.”
Novak said Boven is good at getting the team pumped for matches.
“He’s really fun and does a really good job of getting everybody excited for the matches,” she said. “He’ll give us a pep talk before matches and tell us we can win. No matter what, if we work hard, he’ll still be proud of us.”
Boven held a variety of jobs before settling in as an English and digital media teacher at Mattawan.
A multi-sport athlete at Mattawan High School, he played varsity tennis all four years but did not really focus on tennis until he was 17 years old.
He played two years of tennis for coach Darrell Davies at Kalamazoo Valley Community College before transferring to Western Michigan University, where he focused on academics instead of sports.
He also has coached the Kalamazoo College women’s tennis team and Hackett Catholic boys team, leading the Irish to a share of the LPD4 title in 2005, and was a teaching pro at the Portage Y and Battle Creek’s Mingus Creek.
All the while, he continued as Mattawan’s girls coach.
“I’ve always loved Mattawan, the school, the community, the people,” he said.
Stowe in sights
Qualifying for the Division 2 tournament to be played June 1-2 would be even sweeter this year.
Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium is just down the road from Mattawan.
Novak, who has been playing tennis since age 3, made it to the No. 1 singles semifinals last year as a freshman and knows what to expect.
“That was really exciting,” she said. “I learned that no matter how old you are or how good you think you are, you can beat anybody or lose to anybody any day.”
Smola also learned an important lesson.
“It was really, really hot and I learned you have to bring lots of water and stay hydrated,” she said. “I had to default my second-round match because of heat stroke.”
Tennis is in her genes. “I started tennis at 7 or 8 years old,” Smola said. “My four older brothers played, so do my aunts, uncles, grandparents, mother. It runs in family.”
It is the same for Novak, whose father played at University of Iowa on a tennis scholarship. He is also an assistant coach for the Mattawan girls team along with Davies and Steven Norton, the school’s junior varsity boys team coach.
Boven said one advantage he enjoys while coaching girls is “they seem to really listen and seem to be much kinder. They have the ability to appreciate the moment and people around them. They realize that it’s more about relationships than winning.”
Two girls he is not coaching yet are he and his wife Valerie’s daughters, Olive, 4, and Penny, 1.
“I would love them to play tennis so I could hang out with them more, but right now Olive is more interested in princesses and Penny is more into Play-Doh,” he said.
Two freshmen round out the singles flights, with Camryn Baney at No. 3 and Lily Ross No. 4.
In doubles, senior Eleri Irish and freshman Juliette Langlinais compete at No. 1, while junior Grace Bonnema and freshman Olivia Eubank are at No. 2.
Senior Aubrey Hayward and junior Lilia Farrugia partner at No. 3 doubles.
Junior Payton Brinks and freshman Natalie Muresan round out the lineup, with juniors Alison Weems and Allison Thorpe available to sub.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Mattawan's Kate Novak attempts to return a volley during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. (Middle) From top, Mattawan coach Matt Boven, sophomore Novak and senior Aubrey Hayward. (Below) Meredith Smola follows through on a swing. (Top action photo by HighSchoolSportsScene.com; head shots by Pam Shebest; bottom action photo courtesy of Mattawan athletic department.)