Kingsford Stands Alone Atop D1
May 30, 2013
By Craig Remsburg
Special to Second Half
MARQUETTE — It took 60 years, but Kingsford High School has captured the school’s second outright MHSAA Upper Peninsula boys tennis championship.
The Flivvers of head coach Mark Shanks compiled 21 points Wednesday to far outdistance runners-up Marquette and Negaunee to claim the U.P. Division 1 title in play held in Marquette.
KHS last won an outright peninsula crown in 1953. The Flivvers shared titles with Marquette in 2008 and Negaunee in 2010.
Kingsford placed seven of eight flights in the finals Wednesday and won six.
“It has been a banner year,” Kingsford head coach Mark Shanks said in closing out his 13th season at the helm of the Flivvers. “We’ve been working on this (U.P. crown) for years.
“We had T-shirts made up with ‘1953’ on them. It’s the only goal Kingsford tennis has had for 6-7 years. It’s just a grand feeling.”
Kingsford senior Sean Ryan, part of his team’s winning No. 2 doubles unit with Ted Pietila, said capturing the peninsula title had been on the Flivvers’ minds for “a long time.”
“After last year, we didn’t lose too many seniors, so we set this as a goal.” he said. “Every team skull session, we talked about the 60-year drought.
“It feels great this being our year.”
Sophomore Adam Szabo helped lead Kingsford with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Negaunee’s Ryan Syrjala at No. 2 singles.
“It was a pretty good match with a lot of line points,” said Szabo, who finished second last year at No. 2. “My serve was on, and I hit a lot of winners with my backhand.”
Other Flivvers who won titles were Daniel Harrington at No. 3 singles, Brady Hicks at No. 4 singles, Alec Tuchowski and Joe Gregory at No. 3 doubles and Tyler Schaut and Chris Roell at No. 4 doubles.
Shanks said his Flivvers’ team sported a group of special players.
“We have seven sensational seniors, and these are the best group of kids I’ve had in my 26 total years as a tennis coach,” he said.
Cody Tossava of Negaunee High School closed out a brilliant high school career on a high note Wednesday by taking the No. 1 singles title — his third consecutive peninsula crown overall. He won twice at No. 2 singles before Wednesday’s No. 1 championship.
Tossava beat Kingsford’s Caleb Harrington 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 to remain unbeaten the last three seasons. Ironically, Tossava’s last loss came to Harrington in the 2010 U.P. Final his freshman campaign.
“I told myself afterwards he started it and I finished it (Wednesday),” the Negaunee netter said. “I thought I really played well today. I served with consistency, and my forehand and backhand were good.”
Tossava came from behind in both sets, trailing 1-0 in the first and 2-1 in the second before winning both despite committing some unforced errors.
“Unforced errors are part of the game,” the southpaw said. “But I know what I’m capable of doing.
“My goal was to put (Harrington) on his backhand and spread him out. I did that, and it opened my forehand a lot.”
Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari noted Tossava lost only one set all season.
“In his tennis career, he has overcome a lot of adversity.” the coach said.
“Cody persevered and deep down, he’s a competitor, a tough kid. He’s one of the best in the U.P. and has helped set the stage for our program.”
The Miners saw their three-year reign as U.P. team champs — two outright — come to an end. They and Marquette finished with nine points each.
Saari said his team’s runner-up finish “went as expected.”
“Kingsford’s a strong team. We needed a near-perfect day to keep our (title) run going,” Saari said. “But today was good for us. Taking second is a good sign for our freshmen and sophomores. It will be a good learning experience and raise the bar for them.”
At No. 1 doubles, Escanaba’s Dave Fix and Justin Eastin — partners the last three seasons — toppled Marquette’s Kyle King and Alex Shahbazi, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
“Marquette’s always tough, but we just stuck to our game plan,” Fix said. “We communicated well and both moved at the same time.”
Added Eastin: “Teamwork and rushing to the net were big. It’s pretty awesome (winning a U.P. title). It’s nice to get it our senior year.”
Marquette coach Charlie Drury, who was without the services of No. 1 singles player Josh Downs due to a broken arm Downs suffered a week ago, said his team’s No. 1 doubles unit “just came up shy.”
“I was hoping Escanaba was getting tired, but it was a good match,” Drury said. “(The Escanaba duo) was experienced, sat back and let our guys make the mistakes.”
PHOTO: Kingsford’s Adam Szabo won the Upper Peninsula Division 1 singles championship at No. 2 singles to help his team to the team championship. (Photo by Craig Remsburg.)
Built Right, No Rebuild Needed: Cornelius Taking Gull Lake Back to Tennis Finals
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2025
RICHLAND – Once the boys season ends later this week, Roger Cornelius will begin preparing for his 50th year as varsity girls tennis coach at Gull Lake High School.
That tenure may have been cut short at 22 years, if not for the Gull Lake tennis community.
In January 1998, Cornelius’ 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay, died as a result of a winter car crash.
He had recently ended the fall season with the girls team and “I didn’t know if I could (coach) the boys that spring,” he said, still emotional when talking about the tragedy.
One of his former students, Jason Ryan, now a vascular surgeon at Beacon Kalamazoo Hospital, contacted Cornelius.
“He and one or two other guys talked with me and, if not for them, I would have quit tennis,” Cornelius said. “I decided to continue with tennis, and I’m glad I did. I found out that God was going to carry me through the toughest time of my life. The tennis community was really big for me back then. Richland, especially, came beside me and lifted me up.”
Although tennis is his sport of choice, Cornelius played football at Western Michigan University and was first hired at Gull Lake in 1975 to help with the football program. He jumped at the chance to coach the tennis team that spring and has coached either the boys or girls, and sometimes both, every year since.
He has been named Regional Coach of the Year several times and was enshrined in the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association (MHSTeCA) Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cornelius will lead the boys (12-2-1) to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals this Friday and Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. The Blue Devils finished 10th the last two years, earning eight points both times.
In a rebuilding year after losing all four singles and two doubles players to graduation, Cornelius was surprised and thrilled that this year’s team earned 20 points at its Regional, finishing second to St. Joseph and qualifying for the Finals.
At the beginning of the season, senior Peyton Orley said he wasn’t sure how good the team would be.
“Last year at the beginning of the season, we could tell we had a really good team,” Orley said. "This year, we lost a lot of our seniors and it didn’t look promising for states.
“Everyone on the team was mission-motivated to get to the state tournament.”
Orley pairs with senior Sullivan Abegg at No 1 singles and the pair did their part, winning their Regional flight. For Abegg, it was a three-peat after taking the title at No. 3 doubles two years ago and No. 2 doubles last year.
The Blue Devils are led at No. 1 singles by freshman Kade DeMaagd, whose father also played for Cornelius.
“Kade’s got the best strokes on the team,” the coach said.
Lucas Nichols, at No. 4 doubles, is the other freshman in the lineup. The other three seniors are Max Uppal (No 3 singles) and Dylan Piwko and Evan McCann, both doubles players. Three juniors, who all play doubles, are Jaden Jones, Jackson McDermott and McGuire Abegg. Two sophomores round out the singles flights: Jake Worgess at No. 2 and Jacob Nichols at No. 4.
Comparing old & new
Cornelius said there isn’t much difference between the tennis players today compared to those 50 years ago.
“I think what’s changed the most is today’s athletes have so many different options, so many different interest areas,” he said. “A lot of the kids have early college classes, some of them have to come to practice from off site and so many things are happening, whether it’s the Model United Nations or tutoring someone at the high school or DECA. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
While the boys are competing in Division 3, the girls are in Division 2, a more difficult road to the Finals, Cornelius said.
“It does make it pretty tough for the girls to make it out of Division 2 with the Mattawans, Portage Central, St. Joe, Battle Creek Lakeview,” he said.
Orley’s sister, Ava, a junior who plays at No. 1 doubles, said the girls team has already bonded.
“We build our team off loving each other,” she said. “It’s not everyone out for themselves, it’s all of us (working together). We focus on being a good role model.
"We’ve had coaches tell us how we played with class and how it’s an honor to play us because we learned from (Cornelius) that you always want to be a good sport.”
Competitive, compassionate
Cornelius, who taught French at the high school for 32 years, currently tutors French-speaking African and Haitian families for the district.
“I tutor the kids and work with the families,” he said. “It’s vastly different than what I did in the classroom. The greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my nearly 50 years working with Gull Lake schools was working with a little African boy who was blind.”
Cornelius and some friends pooled money to take the boy to a specialist in Grand Rapids. The specialist asked Cornelius to translate for the mother that he thought he could help the young boy regain some sight.
“The two surgeries were successful,” said Cornelius, choking up a bit with emotion. "He has to wear glasses, but he can see. It’s the high watermark of my life.”
That compassion is visible on the tennis courts, said retired Allegan coach Gary Ellis, now a volunteer assistant tennis coach at the school.
“I’ve known Roger since 1977,” Ellis said. “We started competing against each other when he started coaching the boys.”
He said that although Cornelius wants to win and likes to compete, “at the same time, he’s got a good perspective on the whole thing and the value of high school sports, and tennis in particular. He’s very positive, both with his team and with the opponents.”
Cornelius was so supportive of opponents that one year Ellis’ girls team invited the Gull Lake coach to their awards banquet at the end of the season.
“He had a conflict and couldn’t attend, but he sent a really nice letter to the girls,” Ellis said.
Cornelius makes it a point to talk with opponents, both coaches and players.
“I love to get to talk to the kids that I would never get to talk with,” he said. “My favorite is Battle Creek Central because they have struggles that most of us at Gull Lake don’t know about.
“For them to commit their spring or their fall to tennis, that’s a major decision. I want to make darn sure that after the match, I get to meet every one of them, talk with them, talk with their coach.”
Cornelius doesn’t expect this to be his last season.
“I will step down when the good Lord says, ‘I think it’s time,’” he said. “And I don’t think it’s time quite yet.
“I wouldn’t mind if they put on my gravestone ‘Loved God, Loved People.’”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Richland Gull Lake tennis coach Roger Cornelius hits with his players during practice this season. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Cornelius, assistant Gary Ellis, junior Ava Orley and senior Peyton Orley. (Below) Cornelius talks things over with his team. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)