GNC Champ Escanaba Hoping to Serve Up More History
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2021
ESCANABA — Fourteen years have passed since the Escanaba boys were last crowned Upper Peninsula tennis champions.
The Eskymos, fresh from earning their first Great Northern Conference title since 2003, will try to change that at today’s U.P. Division 1 Finals at Negaunee.
“We have a very nice opportunity ahead of us,” said fifth-year coach Tom Penegor. “We just went through a tough GNC meet (May 27 at Marquette). We’re hoping that will give us an edge in the U.P. Finals. I think we have some momentum.”
Standing in the way is five-time reigning champ Negaunee.
“They’ll be tough, and Marquette has good singles players,” said Penegor. “The other schools also have some good players. There’s pressure out there, and everybody responds to that differently. The game is just as much mental as physical. The scoring system is different from the GNC. You need every single point.”
The Eskymos have an all-junior singles lineup with Gunner Dlugas holding a 14-5 record at No. 1. Filling out singles are Shawn Beauchamp (13-7) at No. 2, Nathan Howes (15-3) at No. 3 and Connor Smale (10-2) at No. 4.
“It felt great to win the GNC,” said Dlugas, who among latest improvements to his game has made the transition from a two-handed to a one-handed backhand shot. “We hadn’t won the GNC since I was born. Four of us have played for two years, and the rest of the guys are first-year players. We’re a fresh team, and that’s why this is so important for us. We have a lot of No. 1 seeds and we’re definitely improving, which gives us a pretty good feeling going into the Finals. I think we’re ready to go.”
Also part of today’s lineup are senior Ryan Moreau and junior Viktor Pospisil, an exchange student from Mladá Boleslov in the Czech Republic, who together are 10-2 at No. 1 doubles.
“I wasn’t supposed to play tennis, but I started playing with the guys at first, then decided to join the team,” said Popisil. “I had been playing in my hometown in Europe and appreciate having the opportunity to play here. I didn’t think we’d be this good at the beginning of the season, but everything kind of progressed as the season went on. We’ve been coming together as a team.”
Moreau said he truly enjoys playing with his partner.
“Viktor’s a great player, and we’ve become great friends,” he added. “All the players from the other schools come up and talk to him.
“I’m real excited about the Finals. Negaunee has a great program. We’re coming in as kind of an underdog. We definitely have to play our game and take the title away from them. If we do that, we should take it.”
Junior Isaac Maki and sophomore Dawson Williams fill the No. 2 flight.
“This experience has been awesome,” said Williams. “I learned a lot about tennis and made a lot of new friends. This is actually my first high school sport. Our first match (this season) against Menominee was exciting. I didn’t know how it was going to go, but I thought we performed beyond expectations.
“Negaunee as a great team, and West Iron County is very good. I thank God for giving me the strength to play at a high level and Coach, my teammates and parents for all their encouragement and support. Winning the GNC gave us a boost going into the Finals.”
Joining them in the doubles lineup are seniors Tanner McDonald and Jordan Nance (13-1) at No. 3 and senior Brayden Roberts and junior Joe Hubert at No. 4.
Should the Eskymos prevail today, it would mark the first time they’d have won the GNC and U.P. Finals in the same year since 1999.
“We had four practices before the U.P. Finals,” said Penegor. “After the GNC meet, we asked the guys if they wanted to practice over the weekend and they decided they wanted to do that.
“Our team has worked hard, and our assistant coaches (Chris Ogren and Alan Adams) have been a tremendous asset to our team this year.”
Tennis is a self-supporting program at Escanaba, and Penegor said one of the reasons he took over after retiring from the city was out of love for the sport.
“We appreciate the support of our sponsors, and the parents have driven us to some of the meets,” said Penegor. “They’ve also been big supporters of our team.
“We started with four seniors. It’s nice to have a mixture of younger kids with our seniors. This is definitely the best mix we’ve had in my five years as coach. We stress to the kids the importance of having fun, making improvements and working on their game.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: (Top) Escanaba’s Ryan Moreau returns a volley this season against Ishpeming Westwood. (Middle) The Eskymos celebrate their Great Northern Conference championship. (Top photo courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press; middle photo courtesy of the Escanaba athletic department.)
West Iron County Goes Distance When Needed to Complete Finals 3-Peat
By
Jack Hall
Special for MHSAA.com
May 27, 2026
KINGSFORD – In the end, Wednesday’s final scoreboard in Kingsford read:
West Iron County 46, Ishpeming 28, Iron Mountain 20.
But that scoreline doesn't show just how hard the Wykons had to work to capture their third-straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis championship.
The Wykons won seven of the eight flights, but the three of the flights had a set that needed a tiebreaker, and two of the flight finals went three full sets.
“I don't even have words for it,” Wykons coach Jim Anderson said. “It's something that we've been planning for the whole year. It's been a goal. And to have a three-peat under our belts is amazing. I'm just thrilled. I'm so happy that the guys had such success today. They've worked incredibly hard throughout the season.
The match that highlighted the afternoon came at first singles between the Wykons' Dominick Brunswick and Iron Mountain's Malakai Broersma. They went back and forth for more than two hours, with both taking momentum, losing momentum, and getting it back again.
Brunswick pulled out the first set by winning a grueling tiebreak, 7-5, that included multiple long rallies.
Then in the second set, Broersma found his footing, winning the first four games before holding off Brunswick to even the match, 6-3.
Both were visibly tired as the match wore on under sunny, 85-degree conditions. Brunswick eventually wore down Broersma, taking the decisive third set, 6-1.
“He just played really well today,” Brunswick said. “He was super-consistent, wasn't making a lot of mistakes, so, he made it so I really couldn't make mistakes myself. In the end, I think it came down to endurance, and to who wanted it more. It feels great to finally win UP's as myself, because in previous years, I've got second. So it means a lot to get one as a senior for me, and to get the three-peat for my team.”
For his part, Broersma admitted that he was completely out of gas, after he also had to win a war in the semifinals over Ishpeming's Kole Bancroft, 7-6, 6-4. It was a lot of pressure tennis for the Mountaineers junior.
“I seem to do that a lot, last year as well, tire myself out,” Broersma said. “That first match I had today against Ishpeming, that felt like forever as well. Oof, I should've taken a longer break. Really, I didn't have a lot of hope at the start. But once I started picking it up, I felt good.”
“But then, I mean, it's hot. I got tired and kind of lost it at the end there. I'm a junior, so I still have a year ahead of me. He's a senior, so I'm happy for him to go out that way.”
The other marathon match was at second singles, with the Wykons' Donte White outlasting Iron Mountain's Seth Greenleaf, 7-6 (8-6 tiebreak), 5-7, and 6-3. That match started right after a 45-minute rain delay ended, and was the final match to be completed to wrap up the tournament.
Anderson praised Brunswick and White, saying that “hard work pays off.”
“I feel like we've progressed so much since we got started in March,” the coach said. “I'm just so proud of them. Dominick had an incredibly hard match. He wasn't feeling well to start the day, so I'm glad he was able to find a way to fight through it. Today is a testament to just how tough he is.”
There was one other team on the court Wednesday: the Gwinn Modeltowners. The Modeltowners did not make it to the finals in any flight, but competed well, scoring 12 points.
“We held our own this year,” Gwinn coach Dan Turecky said. “I think it's one of the better ones (UP Finals) that we've had. Over half of the team have won medals and were in the semifinals, so that was a good showing for Gwinn and the Modeltowners this year.”
Ishpeming, meanwhile, had four boys finish as flight runners-up, and Iron Mountain saw its top three singles players all finish as runners-up.
PHOTOS (Top) West Iron County’s Dominick Brunswick prepares to make contact with the ball during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals. (Middle) Iron Mountain’s Malakai Broersma connects during a volley. (Below) Ishpeming’s Kole Bancroft elevates to send the ball back over the net. (Photos by Jack Hall.)