Preview: Serving Up Plenty of Winners
May 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Reigning champions will abound at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals.
But a few have opportunities to cement themselves in the MHSAA record book as well.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood can become just the third program to win at least five straight MHSAA LP girls tennis championships – and first since Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett finished a nine-season run in 2002.
Meanwhile, Okemos’ Emily Struble can repeat as No. 1 singles champion in Division 2 – and finish her career with four individual titles, becoming just the fifth player to accomplish that feat. Utica’s Davina Nguyen and Kalamazoo Christian’s Audrey Bouma can join a group of 15 who have won three MHSAA flight championships.
Coverage of all four Finals will be published 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 Greater Midland Tennis Center
Top ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Midland Dow, 3. Grosse Pointe South.
Grosse Pointe South won last season’s Final by six points and is seeking its third title in four seasons. Midland Dow is seeking its first title since 2009 and first top-two finish since 2010. But both are expected to chase Northville – which is seeking its first championship and tied for third a year ago.
Northville: A sweep of doubles certainly would carry Northville far in its title quest, and the Mustangs are seeded first at all four of those flights with Anika Mukherji and Reeshma Kumar at No. 1, Paige Baal and Claudia Ma at No. 2, Jordan Hermiz and Amelia Albanelli at No. 3 and Serena Wang and Molly Bis at No. 4. Hermiz was part of last season’s No. 3 champion. All but one flight is seeded, and No. 3 singles Joanne Gao also earned a top spot heading into the weekend.
Midland Dow: All eight flights are seeded as Dow aspires to ascend from last season’s tie for seventh place. No. 2 singles player and freshman Jessica Brown is the top seed at her flight, and Elaina Parrillo is the second seed at No. 3 after finishing runner-up at No. 4 in 2014. Top singles player McKenna Root missed last season with injuries but has returned and signed to play next season at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Grosse Pointe South – The Blue Devils return one singles player and a doubles pair who won championships last season plus two more previous singles champions. Grosse Pointe South has claimed No. 4 singles the last three seasons with Maggie Sweeney (now No. 1 doubles) in 2012, Madie Flournoy (now No. 3) in 2013 and Maddie Paolucci (second seed at No. 2) winning the flight last spring. Kelly Beardslee and Ginny Hayden are the second seed at No. 2 doubles after winning No. 4 last year, and Morgane Flournoy was part of last season’s No. 2 runner-up and will team with Sweeney at No. 1. Raven Neely is the second seed at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals last season.
Utica’s Davina Nguyen: The senior standout can finish with her third championship at No. 1 singles to go with last season’s and her 2012 title. The future Michigan State University player enters as the second seed, however, after losing her Regional Final match to Ava Thielman (see below).
Utica Eisenhower’s Ava Thielman: Eisenhower’s sophomore defeated Nguyen in three sets two weeks ago and also defeated her in an eight-game set earlier this season. Thielman was unseeded last season and made the quarterfinals; her only loss this season is to Struble of Okemos, according to an Oakland Press report.
Clarkston’s Isabella Spindler: The Wolves’ junior moved up to No. 1 singles after finishing runner-up at No. 2 as a freshman and making the semifinals of that flight last season. She enters as the fourth seed this weekend.
Other returning 2014 flight champions: Port Huron Northern’s Fran Basha (No. 1 doubles in 2014, No. 1 singles this season), Port Huron Northern’s Maggie Bacheller (No. 2 doubles in 2014, No. 1 doubles with Margaret Smith this season).
DIVISION 2 at Kalamazoo College
Top ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
One of these three teams has won Division 2 every season dating to 2003. Forest Hills Northern owns eight of those titles and split last year’s with Seaholm – with Marian finishing third after winning most recently in 2013.
Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies’ strength should continue to shine. Reigning champion Madeline Bissett at No. 2 singles and runner-up Sydney Whitfield at No. 4 return as top seeds at those respective flights, and No. 1 runner-up Claire Aleck is back as a third seed at that flight. Forest Hills Northern also won two doubles flights last season and are top-seeded at two again with Felicia Zhang and Maansi Dalmia at No. 2 and Lizzy Vanharn and Denise Bilbao at No. 4.
Birmingham Seaholm: Five individuals who were part of flight championships last season lead the squad; Claire Markley is unseeded at No. 1 singles but won No. 3 in 2014, and Sophie Dixon is the second seed at No. 2 after pairing with Lisa Johnston (now top-seeded at No. 3 singles) to win No. 4 doubles a year ago. Meaghan Flynn and Emily McDermott won No. 3 doubles last season; Flynn is part of the second seed at No. 2 with McDermott part of the third seed at No. 3.
Bloomfield Hills Marian: The Mustangs should make another push with veterans at the top of the lineup. Breann Lungham is unseeded at No. 1 singles but won No. 3 in 2013 and made the quarterfinals at No. 2 a year ago. Sophia Belardo returns as champion at No. 4, and McKenna Landis (No. 1 doubles) and Marta Colisimo (No. 4) were part of runner-up pairs last season at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively. Landis and Bianca Emde are the top seed at No. 1.
Okemos’ Emily Struble: The reigning champion at No. 1 singles is top-seeded and also won No. 2 as both a freshman and sophomore. She beat Aleck in three sets in last season’s championship match.
Mason’s Olivia Hanover: The Bulldogs’ sophomore enters as the second seed at No. 1 singles while playing her first Finals – her team didn’t make the tournament last season, when she played No. 2 singles behind 2012 No. 1 singles champion Abby Perkins.
Portage Central’s Lauren Lomax: She took Struble to 7-5, 6-3, in last season’s quarterfinal as a junior and returns as the fourth seed at No. 1 for the second straight season.
Fenton’s Madison Ballard: She took Aleck to three sets in last season’s semifinal at No. 1 and returns as the fifth seed after entering as the third in 2014.
DIVISION 3 at Holly/Fenton/Grand Blanc
Top ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Cranbrook Kingswood is looking to extend its championship streak to five straight. The Cranes cleared Detroit Country Day by 11 points last season, and Country Day also finished runner-up in 2011 after winning in 2010.
Cranbrook Kingswood: All eight flights are again seeded, but unlike last season – when the team had six top seeds – the Cranes have none. Four flights are seeded second, however, and six players were part of flight championships last season. Reigning No. 4 singles champion Jazz Teste is seeded third at No. 3 this weekend. Meg Phyle (No. 1 doubles) and Amanda Simmons (No. 2) won the No. 1 doubles championship last season; Simmons is now teaming with reigning No. 2 doubles champ Amanda Twu at that flight while 2014 No. 4 doubles runner-up Sloan Wysocki has joined Phyle at No. 1. Mackenzie Beckett is back at No. 3 doubles after being part of that champion last year and will pair with Sauma Du, who was the other half of the No. 4 runner-up.
Detroit Country Day: A strong singles lineup should key the Yellowjackets’ contention; No. 2 Haley Mullins, No. 3 Sadina Fadel and No. 4 Sarah Carroll all are top seeds, while No. 1 Sasha Hartje is a second seed. Mullins and Carroll were runners-up at the same flights in 2014, and Sharmila Prabhu was part of the runner-up pair at No. 3 doubles; she and Tara Tang are the fifth seed at that flight this weekend.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles finished only four points behind Country Day last season and carry eight seeds into this weekend with powerful doubles teams. Three pairs are top-seeded: Olivia DeVos and Caroline Heule at No. 2, Natalie DeBoer and Kate Zwiers at No. 3 and Emily Schellenboom and Rachel Koopman at No. 4. DeVos and Heule were runners-up at No. 2 last season, and Koopman was part of the No. 4 champion.
Williamston’s Sara Daavettila: In last season’s No. 1 singles championship match, she dealt Cranbrook Kingswood’s Alexandria Najarian the latter’s only high school loss. Daavettila, a junior, is undefeated over her two-season high school career.
St. Clair’s Ally Winkler and Ally Kennedy: The top seeds at No. 1 carry plenty of experience, making the quarterfinals last season as the fifth seed. Winkler made the semifinals in 2013 with a different partner, when Kennedy and a different partner made the No. 2 doubles semis.
Other returning 2014 flight champions: Grosse Ile’s Kennedy Quinn (No. 4 singles in Division 4 in 2014, No. 3 singles in Division 3 this season), Grosse Ile’s Rose Tucker (No. 4 doubles in Division 4 in 2014, No. 2 doubles with Luna Terauchi in Division 3 this season).
DIVISION 4 at Holland
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Ludington.
Academy of the Sacred Heart is looking to return to the top after winning LP Division 4 in 2012 and 2013 and finishing sixth a year ago. St. Francis was third and Ludington fifth in 2014. Grosse Ile, last season’s champion, moved into Division 3 for this school year.
Academy of the Sacred Heart: Junior Jeannie Nash adds a top seed at No. 1 singles to four top-seeded doubles pairs: Selina Fuchs and Abby Hildebrand at No. 1, Sara Gerard and Kendall Gassman at No. 2, Tate Lehmann and Kathryn Monahan at No. 3 and Stella Betrus and Sarah Panone at No. 4. Gretchen Lemon was part of last season’s champion at No. 1 doubles, and this weekend she’s seeded fourth at No. 2 singles. Lehmann was the No. 4 singles champ in 2013.
Traverse City St. Francis: Four of the team’s five seeds are in singles, where Natalie Burke is the top seed at No. 3 and Anne Bandrowski the favorite at No. 4. Rosemary Wilson has an MHSAA flight championship to her credit, at No. 3 doubles last season; she and Nicole Ehardt are seeded fifth at No. 2.
Ludington: The Orioles also are seeded at five flights, with Julie Maltbie and Claire Flewelling at No. 2 doubles the highest as a second seed. They were runners-up up at No. 3 doubles last season. Brooke Schneider and Olivia Laman were last season’s champions at No. 2 doubles; this weekend, Schneider is playing No. 1 singles while Laman is teaming with Stephanie Kelley as a the sixth seed at No. 1 doubles.
Lansing Catholic’s Calla Ramont: Last season’s No. 1 singles runner-up is only the sixth seed heading into this weekend after entering the 2014 Final as a third seed. She won No. 3 singles in 2012.
Kalamazoo Christian’s Audrey Bouma: After winning No. 3 singles the last two seasons, Bouma is moving up to No. 2 – and is the top seed at that flight.
PHOTO: Okemos’ Emily Struble, here during last season’s No. 1 singles championship match at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final, is among a number of past winners looking to reign again.
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.)