Mourning Those Who Contributed Much

MARQUETTE — The Negaunee boys completed a perfect tennis season here Wednesday, retaining their Upper Peninsula Division 1 tennis title with 22 points.

Negaunee, which finished undefeated over 11 meets, was followed by Marquette with 15 points and Escanaba with six.

“We have four meets which we call the U.P. grand slam, those being the Kingsford and Negaunee Invitational, Mid-Peninsula Conference and U.P. Finals,” Miners’ coach Kyle Saari said. “This is probably the most rewarding among the titles we’ve had because we had to replace seven guys who graduated last year.

"Our No. 2 doubles (Carson Lajimodiere-Blake Holmgren) was down 4-1 to Westwood in the first set (of a semifinal) and were able to come back and win that match, which was instrumental in setting us up for team success.”

This marked the 10th U.P. championship in 13 years for the Miners, who were crowned M-PC champions for the 13th consecutive time.

Senior Gavin Saunders finished 22-0 this season, including Wednesday’s No. 1 singles final in which he outlasted Marquette senior Matt Barsch 5-7, 7-5 (7-4), 6-1.

“I just had to grind it out one point at a time,” Saunders said. “Coach always says it’s 0-0, and the second set went into a tie-breaker. This is the longest and by far the toughest match I had all year. I hadn’t played him before, so I didn’t know what to expect.”

Saunders, who will play basketball at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis., next winter, was the No. 2 singles champ the past two seasons.

“I don’t think there was much difference because the competition was very tough,” he said. “This one is the most special because it’s my senior year.”

Saunders reached the title match by defeating Westwood’s Andrew Niemi (6-0, 6-1), and Barsch topped Kingsford’s Gavin Moore (6-3, 7-5) in the semifinals.

Negaunee’s Mick Kumpula defeated Marquette’s Caden Laurn 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 3 singles final, and Ethan Harris posted a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Westwood’s Jaxson Alderson for the No. 4 crown.

In doubles, Negaunee’s James Thomson and Brady Johnson posted a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Marquette’s Billy Krebs-Lucas Belkowski at No. 1.

Negaunee sophomores Easton Guenette and Nolan O’Dovero claimed their first title in a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 conquest of Escanaba junior Adam Prey and sophomore Caden Fulsher in No. 3 doubles.

“We were more consistent getting the ball over the net in the third set,” O’Dovero said. “I think this is a good stepping stone for us. I think this will set us up for success down the road. Going undefeated as a team is definitely good motivation for us. I think we played well overall.”

Guenette said strong net play helped them take the first set.

“They were more aggressive in the second set, then we just got ourselves together and went from there,” he added. “We re-established our net play, and that made quite a difference in the third set.”

Kolten Store and Quinn Walters also provided the Miners with a championship in No. 4 doubles with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Marquette’s Bode Helman and Conner Henry.

Marquette juniors Abe Kentala and Connor Stade blanked Negaunee’s Lajimodiere and Holmgren 6-0, 6-0 for their first championship at No. 2 doubles.

“Having confidence in myself and my partner and sticking with the fundamentals played a big role today,” Stade said. “Our serves and net play were huge. This is a big confidence builder going into next year. This shows we can play with anybody.”

Kentala had similar thoughts on this sunny and seasonably-cool afternoon.

“This feels great,” he said. “A lot of work goes into it, and we played with consistency. Negaunee is always good. Staying upbeat always makes a difference. It helps you keep your head in the game and stay positive.

Marquette’s Chase Thomsen took No. 2 singles, topping Negaunee’s Tyler Lajimodiere 6-4, 6-3.

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(Photo courtesy of the Marquette athletic department.)