West Iron Climbs Last Step To D2 Title
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2020
KINGSFORD — The West Iron County girls couldn’t have had a better ending to their tennis season Thursday as they earned their first Upper Peninsula Division 2 championship since 2006.
West Iron scored 13 points, followed by Munising with 12, Iron Mountain 11, Ishpeming nine, Gwinn five, and Norway and Ironwood with one apiece. The Wykons had finished runners-up the last three seasons.
Junior Kali Applin secured the title by taking a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 decision from Iron Mountain senior Arianna Morel at No. 2 singles on a chilly and windy day.
“It was a good match,” said Applin. “Coach (Joe Serbentas) told me we could share the title or be selfish and win it for ourselves. This is a big accomplishment for our team, and it feels great to win it for myself and the team. Dropping the second set was kind of a letdown, but I just tried to stay calm and play one point at a time.”
West Iron senior Tori Bociek became a four-time U.P. champion as she teamed with junior Madison Berutti in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Iron Mountain sophomore Aziza Burgoon and junior Bella Brown in No. 1 doubles.
“It feels great to be a four-time U.P. champion,” said Bociek, who will be attending classes at Northern Michigan University next fall. “I was confident coming in, knowing we had beaten every team here pretty easily during the regular season. The season went real well. We improved a lot.”
Berutti kept an eye at the net while Bociek was hitting her shots.
“I was playing mostly at the net and let Tori hit the ball,” Berutti said. “Although, I hit some lobs over the net.
“The wind and cold didn’t bother us. We practiced in that every day. There was no need for us to adjust.”
Wykons junior Aurora Dahl was crowned champion in No. 3 singles following a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Munising’s Jenna Mattson.
“I just wanted to make sure to get most of my shots in,” said Dahl. “I tried to angle my shots and leave the court open which gave me a few more options. The wind affected some of my serves. Otherwise, it wasn’t much of a factor.
“This is my first year playing singles. It was kind of a big adjustment. It was hard to get used to singles at first, but now I enjoy singles more.”
Munising’s lone flight title came at No. 3 doubles where Madeline Cole-Elizabeth Holloway topped Ishpeming’s Ashley Stille-Hailey Hyttinen 6-3, 6-2.
Iron Mountain senior Claire Mongrain gained her first U.P. title with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over West Iron senior Olivia Mazurek at No. 1 singles.
“I was definitely surprised by the margin of victory,” said Mongrain, who plans to attend Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay to major in dental hygiene. “We battled all season and had really close scores. I just tried to play one point at a time.
“The weather seemed to change every five minutes, typical of U.P. weather. I hit the ball long all the time. For that reason I prefer to hit into the wind. I couldn’t think of a better ending. I played great players this year. There were different rules because of the virus (Covid-19), but everybody was real good about it.”
Although disappointed in the outcome, Mazurek was gracious in defeat.
“I just had my head down, although I’m happy with the season we had,” she said. “I’m glad I made it to the championship match. She came out on fire. She was really good. I’m glad we at least got to play. Covid-19 affected everybody.”
Serbentas said the title was a long time coming.
“We had real good senior leaders,” he added. “Olivia has been a great asset to our program, somebody the girls look up to. Even though she didn’t win a championship today, Olivia was a great leader. Our No. 1 doubles were outstanding all season and Aurora made the transition from doubles to singles beautifully. The girls truly deserve to win it. This was a hard year with Covid-19.”
Iron Mountain also won No. 2 doubles with junior Danika Juul and sophomore Natalia Brown taking a 7-5, 6-3 decision from Munising’s Lori Mattson-Peyton Cotey.
“The girls did a great job,” said first-year Mountaineers’ coach Marcus Celello. “We have a lot of sophomores and I was happy to have the senior leadership. It was nice to see Claire come through and get a U.P. title. I didn’t play tennis in high school so this was a big learning experience for me. We can’t overlook how helpful our seniors were in my first year.”
Ishpeming took the remaining championships with Lily Thompson topping Gwinn’s Emma Clairmont 6-3, 6-2 in No. 4 singles and Addison Morton-Jenna Maki defeating West Iron’s Haille Bradshaw-Bailey Hoffart 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles.
“We had some girls who did very well,” said Gwinn coach Darcia Mattson. “This is the first time we’ve had one of our girls in the finals. Hopefully, we can build on this, and I really think we will. Having new courts in Gwinn and an assistant coach really helps.”
PHOTOS: (Top) West Iron County’s Olivia Mazurek fires a backhand during a No. 1 singles match Thursday. (Middle) Iron Mountain’s Claire Mongrain sends back a volley at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Theresa Proudfit.)
Every Class Contributes in Cranbrook Kingswood's Latest Title Triumph
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
MIDLAND – Runner-up to Detroit Country Day in 2021, 2019 and 2018, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood finally broke through with a cast of veterans and youngsters Saturday to capture the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls tennis championship at the Midland Tennis Center.
Cranbrook swept singles and scored 37 points, while Chelsea held off East Grand Rapids by one point, 21-20, to finish second.
Cranbrook previously had captured the team title from 2011 to 2015 before Country Day took over and won the following five championships in LPD3.
The Cranes' lineup featured one senior, two juniors, and nine freshmen and sophomores.
Freshman sensation Yenna Park, the top seed at No. 1 singles, didn’t disappoint as she defeated Otsego sophomore Aly Aldrich, 6-0, 6-2, in that flight’s championship match.
“This was very exciting,’’ Park said. “I knew a lot of people expected me to win and there’s some pressure with that, but I just wanted to go out and play my game. When warming up, I try to look at my opponent and see what their weak areas are. If it’s the back-hand, I’ll hit to the back hand. I was comfortable.
“When I play USTA I play to get better. Here it’s about winning the championship. We lost by one point to Country Day last year, so it was good to finally break through.’’
Aldrich entered the championship match coming off a semifinal with Bloomfield Hills Marian’s second-seeded Gaby Gryzenia that lasted nearly three hours. Aldrich previously had reached the No. 1 semifinals as a freshman and entered this weekend as the sixth seed.
Cranbrook senior Charlotte Brown, last season’s No. 2 singles champion, retained her crown and was the tournament’s first champ of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Chelsea sophomore Anne-Marie Begola. Brown was the top seed in the bracket, while Begola was unseeded but defeated the third, sixth and second-seeded players to reach the finale.
“I just decided to keep my head in the game and disregard anything about the lineup,’’ said Brown. “I just play my game. We’ve seen so much success this season. We had a lot of freshmen that came in this year and helped our team. Our No. 1 singles (Park) is a freshman, and she just beat everybody.
“I’m thankful for the way we played. Going back-to-back (at No. 2) is definitely a great feeling, but I’m more excited about the fact we were able to win the team title.’’
Top-seeded sophomore Sienna Ilitch gave Cranbrook another flight championship at No. 3 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over freshman Josie Arbanas of Stevensville Lakeshore, who also entered the tournament unseeded but defeated the second and third seeds to advance.
“I had a three-set match in the semis, which I did last year,’’ said Ilitch. “I got to the finals and said this is my second chance where I can get redemption. I locked in. I hit my targets. I played confident. I played wanting to win, knowing my team was relying on me. Even though our team was doing well overall, for me personally I wanted to be a state champion in my flight. Last year I lost in the final. Even though we were up, it mattered to me.’’
Top-seeded sophomore Olivia Zhang made sure Cranbrook swept singles, defeating Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s third-seeded Addison Bellows 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
“I got off to a slow start,’’ said Zhang. “I was afraid to play her.’’
Top-seeded freshman Ava Clogg and sophomore Grace Zhang claimed No. 3 doubles for Cranbrook with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 win over Chelsea senior Kendall Spink and junior Izzy Barkey, who entered as the sixth seeds. At No. 4 doubles, Cranbrook’s top-seeded Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala defeated East Grand Rapids’ second-seeded Kelly Couvrier and Kate Simon 6-1, 6-2 for the flight championship.
Upstart Chelsea’s runner-up team finish was its highest at a Girls Tennis Finals.
“One of the advantages we have is we have a middle school program, and we have a little kids’ program,’’ Chelsea coach Rahn Rosentreter said. “We really don’t have a lot of clubs. Most of our work is done during the summer. We’ve been lucky. We have a lot of parental support, and the school supports us. We have a community that puts a lot behind their boys and girls tennis.’’
After EGR, Bloomfield Hills Marian was fourth and Country Day fifth in the team standings.
Country Day’s second-seeded Peja Liles and Lana Haddad claimed No. 1 doubles with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over top seed Chloe Qin and Gaby Levine of Cranbrook.
At No. 2 doubles East Grand Rapids’ top-seeded Meg Simon and Ella Webb held off Country Day’s third-seeded Aryasai Radhakrishnan and Marin Norlander 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) in the final.
PHOTOS (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood's Yenna Park prepares to return a volley during her No. 1 singles championship match Saturday. (Middle) Otsego's Aly Aldrich sends a shot back to Park during that title decider. (Below) Chelsea's Kendall Spink and Izzy Barkey and Cranbrook's Ava Clogg and Grace Zhang greet each other at the net during their No. 3 doubles match at Midland Tennis Center. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)