Sacred Heart Finds Title Formula Again
May 30, 2015
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – The Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart girls tennis team utilized a familiar formula as it turned in another title-winning effort at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final in Holland this weekend.
Following the same blueprint it used in winning the title in 2013, Sacred Heart won its third in the past four years. The Gazelles swept all four doubles flights and also won the title at No. 4 singles.
“We stress that every point matters,” Sacred Heart coach Judy Hehs said. “The points at first singles count just as much as the points at four doubles. Two years ago we won it the same way. We won all the doubles matches and also won at No. 4 singles. That has worked out well for us.”
The Gazelles finished with 34 points, followed by second-place Traverse City St. Francis with 27. Ludington took third place with 18 points.
Senior Teresa Walawender won the lone individual title for Sacred Heart. Seeded second at No. 4 singles, she defeated Anne Bandrowski of Traverse City St. Francis 6-4, 6-3, to win the title. It was her first individual title, while the team title was the third during her career.
Walawender also provided the Gazelles with leadership this year as one of the team’s captains.
“I’m a captain this year, and it’s even more special,” Walawender said. “This year I had to provide leadership for the team. We are a real close team, and we all support each other.”
While Academy of the Sacred Heart had won two of the previous three LP Division 4 titles, this year’s was no sure thing as the team suffered heavy graduation losses from a squad that placed sixth last season.
“We have six first-year players in the starting lineup,” Hehs said. “We have four freshmen and two transfer juniors. It took us a while to figure things out. It’s been a journey.”
The journey also had a number of obstacles. One hit the doubles lineup when Meghan Carroll suffered an injury at No. 4 at the end of the regular season. Sacred Heart responded by moving senior Sarah Panone into the lineup at No. 4 doubles with Stella Betrus. The combination clicked as Betrus and Panone won the Division 4 title at No. 4 doubles with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.
“We only started playing together at the end of the season,” Betrus said. “My partner (Carroll) hurt her foot and Sarah stepped in for her. It ended up working out great.”
Panone’s versatility helped the duo quickly jell.
“I think we meshed real well,” Panone said. “I’ve played one doubles and three singles. I play wherever I’m needed. This feels great.”
At No. 3 doubles, the Sacred Heart team of Tate Lehmann and Kathryn Monahan made their No. 1 seed hold up as they defeated Kalamazoo Christian 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
“I thought we played our best tennis at this tournament,” said Lehmann, a junior. “I think we meshed real well as a team. We have the same type of personality, and it worked out well.”
For Monahan, a freshman, it was her first MHSAA Finals experience.
“It was pretty cool,” Monahan said. “Hopefully we can do it again next year.”
Academy of the Sacred Heart made it a clean sweep as it won the title at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. At No. 1 doubles, Selina Fuchs and Abby Hildebrand defeated Ludington in two sets.
At No. 2, Sara Gerard and Kendall Gassman took the title with a three-set win against Ludington.
At No. 1 singles, Traverse City St. Francis junior Amanda Bandrowski broke through after a pair of final four appearances in her first two trips to the Finals. Bandrowski, who came in seeded third, defeated top-seeded Jeanne Nash of Sacred Heart 6-4, 6-4 in the title match at No. 1 singles.
“The past two years I lost in the semifinals,” Bandrowski said. “To win the title this time is great.”
Bandrowski had to be versatile to adapt to changing conditions as she twice had matches start outdoors but move indoors due to rain.
“I think I play better indoors anyway,” Bandrowski said. “I just had to be patient and wait for my opportunities. I stayed patient and made her miss. All of my matches were tough so I just had to stay focused and patient.”
Kalamazoo Christian junior Audrey Bouma was another player who had to stay patient and focused. Bouma needed three sets to hold off Bailey Chouinard of Traverse City St. Francis at No. 2 singles. Bouma was up 4-1 and 5-2 in the second set before Chouinard battled back to force a third.
“I think I started to let up at the end of the second set,” Bouma said. “In the third set I got my focus back. I started to focus on playing myself and hitting the ball and not focus on my opponent. My swing started to get faster and I didn’t let up.”
The title was the third straight singles title for Bouma, who won the No. 3 singles title as both a freshman and a sophomore.
“My freshman year I won the title in a match that was very similar,” Bouma said. “I won the first set but then lost the second one before coming back to win it in the third set.”
At No. 3 singles, Ann Arbor Greenhills junior Julia Friedman defeated Natalie Burke of Traverse City St Francis 6-0, 7-6 (4).
“It was a real close match and I thought it was going to go to a third set,” Friedman said.
For Friedman, who has been playing tennis for seven years, it was her first trip to the MHSAA Finals.
PHOTOS: (Top) Teresa Walawender of Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart returns a shot during Saturday's LP Division 4 Final at No. 4 singles. (Middle) Traverse City St. Francis' Amanda Bandrowski plays for the championship at No. 1 singles; she won in two sets. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Pioneer Emerges as LPD1 Winner by Single Point as 2021 Co-Champs Match Up Again
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2022
KALAMAZOO — For the second year in a row, the top two teams battled for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division I girls tennis championship. But this time, Ann Arbor Pioneer did not have to share the title.
Pioneer, which led by a point after Thursday’s matches through the quarterfinals, held on for the win with 33 points at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium on Friday.
Bloomfield Hills finished second with 32, Troy was third with 22, Midland Dow fourth with 15 and Novi fifth with 14.
In a match of flights, Pioneer swept the singles and Bloomfield Hills swept the doubles.
“To sweep the doubles, I don’t know the last time it’s been done in Division 1 – but it’s an incredible task,” Black Hawks coach Chris Dobson said.
“We came here hoping to win the tournament outright, and it just didn’t happen. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier the way the girls played.”
Top seeds won seven of the eight flights, but Pioneer coach Tom Pullen said the unsung hero of the day was senior Aditi Ganesan.
She and sophomore Ella Vogel lost to Bloomfield Hills seniors Eryn Stern and Grace Bickersteth, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 3 doubles.
“Aditi Ganesan is the story of the tournament for me,” Pullen said.
Ganesan explained: “I just got over being sick and I hadn’t touched a tennis ball in over a week. We were afraid I was going to pass out in the first round (Thursday).”
Pullen said he hoped she would get at least through the first round for the two points, but “she got all the way to the finals.
“If she hadn’t, then we lose. That was really a gutsy performance.”
Vogel said three days before the tournament, she was waiting to see which alternate would be her partner.
“Then two days ago, they said Aditi can play, so I was really happy,” Vogel noted. “She’s done so well, and I’m so proud of her.”
Stern and Bickersteth started the season with different partners but jelled once they were paired.
“I’m good at the baseline and she’s amazing at the net, so that works really well,” Stern said. “We’re seniors, so it’s a great way to go out.”
Bickersteth said after losing in the Finals last year, “It felt good to come out and play my game and prove myself this year. We were undefeated this whole season.”
Pullen said these nail-biting tournaments are not necessarily his favorite.
“This is my 62nd time to the state (boys and girls) so I’ve been through a lot of stress and a lot of exciting situations, and this one was so rewarding,” he said.
“I’m proud of these girls.”
After sweeping the singles flights last year, Pioneer returned with the same top seeds this season, beginning with junior Reese Miller, who defeated freshman Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 singles
“My first two matches (Thursday) I was pretty nervous for both of them,” said Miller, who has already committed to play tennis at University of Michigan, where her sister Karina just finished her sophomore season. “I had a lot of expectations for myself, definitely more than last year.”
Rochester Adams did not qualify as a team, but Fu’s teammates showed up in full force to cheer her on.
“They made a bunch of posters, so it was really welcoming and fun,” she said.
Playing in her first MHSAA Tournament, Fu said, “When I first came here, I just hoped I would play well.
“I think high school tennis is nice to have a coach with you and you have a team with you. It’s a lot of fun.”
Pioneer sophomore Elsie Van Wieren defeated senior Laura Leiti, Midland Dow, 6-0, 6-3, to repeat at No. 2 singles.
“Last year was the highlight of the year, being a state champ, so I knew that feeling,” Van Wieren said, adding this year was even sweeter. “Coming out this year, there’s more pressure but it’s such a great atmosphere.”
Leiti, who lost in the semifinals last year, complimented Van Wieren.
“She’s a great player,” Leiti said. “She hits hard. She got all the shots. Her footwork is phenomenal.
This year, “I like to think that keeping my cool helps. I try not to let the fluctuating emotions get to me too much. I tried to keep my feet moving.”
Midland coach Garrett Turner said although Leiti lost, by making it to the finals she earned that one special point that put Midland Dow all by itself in fourth place after tying for fourth last year.
“It’s fun to be able to have someone here through the long haul and have the team stay the whole time to cheer for her and see what it’s like to play in the finals,” Turner said.
“This is a pretty special year because we came in as the eighth-ranked team. We outperformed significantly from where we were slated to be.”
At No. 3 singles, senior Mia Goldstein defeated senior Grace Shaya, from Bloomfield Hills, 6-4, 6-1.
In spite of going just two sets, the match lasted two hours.
“Every game was pretty close,” Goldstein said. “With her game style, she doesn’t miss a lot and she hits the ball with a lot of spin, not a lot of pace, so I had to generate all the power myself. I think I was exerting a lot of energy.”
Shaya said since it was her last competitive match ever, “I said to myself I was just going to play every point like my life depended on it. I wanted to give it every single thing I had.”
A pair of sophomores toughed out a grueling match at No. 4 singles, with Bridgette Kelly defeating Julia Yousif, also of Bloomfield Hills, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Kelly’s win clinched the title for Pioneer.
“It’s really great,” Kelly said. “I was pretty confident going into the third set. I knew what I had to do: make balls and play my tennis.”
Yousif said she just kept believing in herself and fought to the end.
“I just tried to pump myself up and keep the energy,” she said. “She was playing better (in the third set) so more credit to her.”
At No. 1 doubles, Bloomfield Hills senior Danielle Herb said losing was not an option for her and fellow senior Carly Bernard.
The pair defeated Troy juniors Stephanie Ochoa and Grace Zhu, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, in the last match on court.
Their key to winning is “our communication,” Herb said. “I was a singles player (last year) going on to dubs. It was a big transition. We stayed positive and we fought.”
The exuberant Bernard added, “We turned it on at the right time. My feet feel better now.
”We just love each other. And I’m crazy in the head and she knows how to calm me down.”
Black Hawks senior Noa Goldstein and junior Natalie Raab had won doubles championships last season with different partners. They prevailed this time together at No. 2 over Troy senior Sophie Chong and sophomore Nika Tanako, 6-1, 6-2.
“Winning twice in a row is pretty awesome,” Goldstein said. “It’s really great winning as a senior. I really wanted this this year.”
Raab said her specialty is at the net.
“I love playing net,” she said. “I love to crush the ball. I’m the person who likes to attack people — not personally,” she quickly added, laughing.
“Noa has an amazing ground-stroke game, and her serves set me up, We always have fun and have good energy.”
No. 4 doubles featured the only mini-upset of the tournament with second seeds Colleen Pettengill, a junior, and senior Ellie Alberts defeating Troy’s top seeds, junior Vienna Thieu and sophomore Michelle Baik, 6-0, 7-5.
For Pettengill, celebrating her first individual title, “It was definitely overwhelming, but it’s so nice to be here with the rest of the team.”
Alberts said the partnership works well.
“She’s the ground-stroker, and I’m the volleyer,” she said. “She always hits her targets, and I hit mine. It just works perfectly.
“We’re so pumped up the whole time. Last year, I lost in finals. And this is my senior year, so it’s huge for me.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Bridgette Kelly sends back a shot at No. 3 singles Friday at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills' Colleen Pettengill returns a volley during a No. 4 doubles match. (Below) Troy's Sophie Chong keeps a volley going during her No. 2 doubles match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)