Did you see that?
May 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's league championship time for many MHSAA teams, especially with tennis and track and field Regionals coming up later this week. And the week that was May 7-12 provided for a good share the first of many championship-level opportunities to shine.
Tennis
Streak stopper: The Fenton tennis team ended Holly's 29-season league title run by edging the Bronchos by a point in Tuesday’s Metro League championship tournament. The Flint Journal reported that Madison Ballard became the first Fenton No. 1 singles player to win a league championship in 24 seasons. (Tri-County Times)
Softball
On the rise: Division 1 No. 5 Portage Central swept top-ranked Mattawan -- putting Portage Central ahead by two games at the top of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West standings. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Strike 75: Fennville’s Selena Beltran-Pena had strikeouts for 25 of 30 outs in two five-inning wins over Martin. Beltran-Pena threw a no-hitter in the opener and a one-hitter in the second game. (Holland Sentinel)
Tuned up: Saginaw Swan Valley beat three ranked Division 3 teams – No. 2 Saginaw Valley Lutheran, No. 4 Tawas and No. 7 Unionville-Sebewaing – as part of a round-robin brought on by a delay at the Hemlock Invitational that forced the tournament to break up into smaller groups of games. Swan Valley is ranked No. 3 in Division 2. (Saginaw News)
Track and Field
Down to the wire: Two of the state’s best boys and girls teams compete in the O-K Red, and Friday’s conference championship meet no doubt provided at least a partial preview of next month’s MHSAA Division 1 Finals. The top-ranked Rockford girls edged No. 2-ranked East Kentwood, while the top-ranked East Kentwood boys ran away from the No. 3 Rockford boys and the rest of the field to win that league title. (Grand Rapids Press)
Record Breaker: Jackson High’s Cierra Pryor won the 100 meters and also the long jump at Friday’s Siena Heights Invitational, with her jump of 19 feet, 1.5 inches breaking a 31-year-old school record. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Just getting started: Richland Gull Lake freshman Kirsten Taylor also broke her school's long jump record, which had stood since 1978, with a leap of 18-5. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Still undefeated: Norway’s Dani Gagne had won all 24 events in which she’d competed through Friday, including winning the 100, 200, 400 and long jump at the Norway Miners Co-Ed Meet. Her long jump of 17-0.5 broke her school record in that event set a year ago, and her 58.61 in the 400 broke another school record set during the early 1980s. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Baseball
Best of the Best: Richland Gull Lake, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 10-4 in the championship game of its Best of the Best Invitational. Gull Lake also beat No. 5 St. Clair during the event. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
'Locked In' Clarkston Claims 1st Finals since 2011, Potentially Just Getting Started
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
MIDLAND – Kayla Lemke, a freshman and the No. 3 singles champ, put it best Saturday afternoon at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Tennis Finals at the Midland Tennis Center.
“We might be better next year,’’ she said after defeating Evie Price of Holland West Ottawa, 6-0, 6-1, to clinch her flight. We have two eighth-graders coming up next year.’’
The Wolves ran away with the team title, scoring 28 points to 22 for runner-up Utica Eisenhower. The championship was the program’s first since 2011 and first top-two finish since 2014. Ann Arbor Pioneer saw its team title streak end at three, placing third..
Clarkston entered Saturday with a two-point lead on the Eagles and finalists at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles, and No. 2 and No. 4 doubles..
“I left Deer Lake (Racket Club) for a couple of years and our talent went down after our run in 2011, 2012 and 2013,’’ said Wolves coach Mary Jo Colonna. “I went back and we started developing talent. We have a large group coming in next year and the year after and the year after. This is a great group, and I’m happy for them.’’
At No. 1 singles, Eisenhower sophomore Gabriella Sadowski outlasted Rochester Adams’ Nicole Fu, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 to claim her first title. Fu finished No. 1 singles runner-up for the third-straight season.
“I went up 3-0 in the third, and it gave me confidence,’’ said Sadowski. “We had fresh balls, and I was able to play from the baseline and pound the ball.’’
At No. 2 singles, Clarkston freshman Sydney Geisz lost the first four games in her match with Isabelle Hult. But she rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“I had to keep my mental focus,’’ said Geisz. “I came back a little bit in the first set, and I kept believing if I stayed focused, I could win.’’
Like Geisz, Clarkston junior Charlotte Partchenko, lost in the first set to Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Arella He, before rallying to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“The word they used today is ‘locked in,’’’ said Partchenko. “After the first set, I got locked in. I focused more on what my opponent was doing instead of just hitting the ball. Once it got locked in, I started playing better.’’
Troy seniors Clara Yalamanchili and Elena White captured No. 4 doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Clarkston’s Lily Stephenson and Abby Finnerty. Yalamanchili and White lost just one match all season.
“I think we played really well; I think that’s the best we’ve played all year,’’ said Yalamanchili. “We were really into it. It’s our senior season. That was our last tennis match in high school. It went perfectly.’’
Added White: “We had played them before, so we knew what to expect.’’
Brooke Nicholson and Alexis Gabriel of Eisenhower claimed No. 1 doubles over Novi’s Madira Sardar and Alice Chen, 6-2, 6-4. At No. 2 doubles, Troy’s Marin Fox and Nainika Jasti bested Clarkston top seeds Katrina Fisher and Ava Henkel, 6-4, 6-3. Bloomfield Hills’ No. 3 doubles team of Natalie Petrucci and Nisha Singhi outlasted Troy’s Anna Wang and Jhoshi Prasath 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in that final.
PHOTOS (Top) Clarkston's Sydney Geisz hits a forehand during her No. 2 singles title victory Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Utica Eisenhower's Gabriella Sadowski returns a volley during her No. 1 singles championship win. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)