Seaholm tennis title a true team effort
June 8, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Birmingham Seaholm’s MHSAA Division 2 championship Saturday was the “terminus in the odyssey of our souls,” as coach Scott Ransome described it at the team’s banquet earlier this week.
In other words, it was quite a trip – punctuated by the team’s first title since 2004. And put in those words, it was a classic.
Seaholm placed seven flights into semifinals, and despite only one individual champion scored 27 points – two more than runner-up Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, which had won or shared the last six Division 2 titles. Seaholm finished second to FHN in 2011.
“I don't think, player for player, we were as strong as we were three years ago (when the Maples finished fourth). I thought three years ago we had the make-up, the players with the skill set (to win)," Ransome said. "But these players, whatever they lacked in skill set, they certainly made up for in desire. They were hungry.”
The Maples receive this week’s Second Half team High 5 for how they won almost as much as winning itself. Sophomore Jackie Meier and freshman Rachel Wilson teamed to win the No. 3 doubles championship – playing to their top seed in that flight. But six other flights also played at or above their seeds.
It was a gratifying end to a two-month stretch that saw the Maples start with high expectations after finishing seven points behind FHN at the 2011 Final. They dominated in early competition, but then were dealt a sad blow when junior Nancy Benda – a second seed at No. 1 singles last season – was lost for seven weeks with a stress fracture.
Ransome and assistant coach Paul Young took an approach of emphasizing interchangeable parts – “We said, ‘Let's not fixate on Nancy. She’s an integral part of the program, but she in herself is not the entire program,’” Ransome told his team – and after playing a few matches defaulting at No. 1 singles, moved everyone up a flight and finished 13-1 without her in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Ransome and Young prepared their healthy players to be strong at the end. The Maples regularly do ladder drills and other agility work for 45 minutes at the start of practice before taking their first hits of the day. And the team’s No. 5 and 6 doubles teams continued to push those ahead of them to help them get stronger.
“It was almost like when Nancy returned, those girls were able to catch a breathe,” Ransome said. “They were able to get some rejuvenation in going back to their rightful positions.”
Seaholm tied with eventual MHSAA Division 1 runner-up Clarkston for the Oakland Activities Association Red championship, then finished runner-up to Bloomfield Hills Marian at the Regional. But with the benefits of season-long preparation for a final run, plus improved skills Ransome and Young saw across the lineup, the Maples had one more effort left – a championship effort, it turned out.
Sophomore Labina Petrovska advanced to the final match at No. 2 singles, as did sophomore Lauren Frazier at No. 3 and freshman Claire Markley at No. 4. Petrovska and Markley were second seeds, and Frazier was a third.
Senior Katie Root and junior Lauren Benderoff made the semifinals at No. 4 doubles as a fifth seed. And Benda won a match at No. 1 singles despite coming in unseeded.
“It was gratifying more than anything else. That’s the only way I can describe it,” Ransome said. “For what we had, for us to have enough balance in the lineup. And it really did take some help (from opponents winning other matches). We played to our seeds, and that’s what this was really all about.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Jackie Meier (center) and Rachel Wilson (right) won Birmingham Seaholm's lone individual championship, at No. 3 doubles, at Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) No. 1 singles player Nancy Benda hoists the Maples' team championship trophy. (Bottom) Sophomore Lauren Frazier was one of three Seaholm singles players to advance to the final of their flights, she at No. 3 singles. (Photos courtesy of Anne Benda.)
Olivier Adds to Family Success on Court
September 20, 2018
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA — Elyse Olivier has come full circle in her love for tennis.
The Marquette High School junior has been playing since eighth grade, but as part of a huge tennis family she was not into the sport until the past couple of years.
“I was never pressured to play,” she said after sweeping a pair of 6-0 decisions recently at a match at Escanaba High School. “It was always an option.”
Her dad, Wayne, is a long-time accomplished tennis fanatic. Her brother Alec, a Marquette senior, is unbeaten in three seasons with the Redmen. She also has two younger brothers.
Tennis has become a passion for Olivier, who said she didn’t like watching it just a couple of years ago. Last year she played No. 2 singles; this year she is unbeaten at No. 1.
“I just wanted to be good enough to make the varsity,” she said of her first foray into competitive tennis. To accomplish that she attended some tennis clinics and spent extensive time practicing.
“I did a lot of hitting with my dad,” she said. “He is my main coach out of season.”
Derek Sandstrom, the Marquette girls coach, said she is becoming more comfortable playing the game.
“When she is on, it is fun to watch,” he said. “It is a matter of getting her to keep things even. Sometimes she is nonchalant, and sometimes she tries to hit shots she is capable of hitting but the situation doesn’t call for it.
“She has a real nice all-around game.”
Ground strokes are her strong point, which is why she prefers to lay back and hit from the baseline rather than charging the net in an attacking mode. “I’m not afraid to come up to the net. I try to be ready for anything,” she said.
There are times when the game can be frustrating “because you are playing by yourself. It is you, you and you.” She said the mental and physical aspects can also be frustrating.
Olivier is not expressive on the court, simply chasing after everything and returning shots with solid strokes. “I do talk to myself a little bit,” she said, indicating she does not want to draw attention for any antics or disrupt the other matches.
“It can be really hard out there by yourself,” she said, showing she will clench her fist after completing a successful volley. “I don’t like to yell. I don’t want to obstruct other people on the court,” she said.
After getting her shutout at Escanaba on a windy, sun-baked afternoon, Olivier said she just tries to focus on the ball and her shot and ignore everything else. “I try not to let the wind affect me,” she said as it blew the hair around on her head.
Her love of the game is obvious as she goes about her business, then when she’s done she merely leaves the court, grabs her cellphone and talks to family and friends while walking around the court as the other matches continue.
“I am passionate about tennis. I love to be out here. I always want to play,” she said.
She has played against her brother Alec, but said “it did not go well for me. He is a lot better than me.” She also plays with her brother Nick, a Marquette freshman netter. “I can still beat him, but I don’t know for how long,” she admitted.
Olivier is hoping to get a chance to play tennis in college, then stay involved in tennis as part of a women’s group or perhaps move into coaching.
She loves the challenge of tennis, whether in matches or just hitting balls. “I am always learning about it. I am always improving. I love that,” she said.
She also enjoys playing a variety of opponents because each one provides a new and many times different challenge and style. Meanwhile she tries to improve her footwork, mobility and shot-making skills while enjoying being a part of a team.
“I’ve met so many people through tennis,” she said, indicating No. 2 player Mollie Kilpela is her best friend and they hit a lot of balls together. “We are all so different, but we do have that one thing going to tennis. It is nice to have that.
“I’m pretty simple in my life. Basically, I like tennis. I like it that way.”
Olivier does go beyond tennis, indicating she likes to bike, draw, write about her daily life and sing. She also works at Marquette Pediatrics and thinks she may enter the dentistry field.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012 and currently is in a second stint as the interim in that position. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette’s Elyse Olivier prepares to return a volley; she’s playing No. 1 singles this fall. (Middle) Olivier, undefeated this season, lines up a backhand. (Photos courtesy of the Marquette athletic department).