Perfect Ending to Sienko's Story
November 1, 2012
B y Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If Michael Sienko could re-play the last three years of his school tennis career, he’d hope for them to play out the same way.
That would mean experiencing again the disappointment of falling in two straight MHSAA championship matches. But those moments of frustration would be more than worth reliving this season, which ended two weeks ago with the Division 4 championship at No. 1 singles.
“Winning my last match is not something a lot of guys can say, and I think it’s cool that I lost twice in the state finals and ended up winning it. It’s a good story,” Sienko said. “It taught me lessons about not giving up and just working hard to accomplish my goals, and that’s what I did.”
In fact, Sienko didn’t lose a high school match in 2012. The Williamston senior gets a Second Half High 5 after finishing 28-0 this fall to run his career record to 102-8. The championship actually was Sienko’s second – he also won the Division 4 title at No. 2 singles as a freshman.
But much has changed since Sienko joined the Hornets varsity in 2009, playing the second position behind his older brother Peter, who finished MHSAA runner-up that season.
Michael was a slight 5-foot-3 then, before hitting a growth spurt at the end of his freshman year that helped him get to 5-10.
But he still had growing to do to set up this perfect season.
Sienko’s league, the Capital Area Activities Conference White, has produced the last three Division 4 champions at No. 1 singles. In 2010, Sienko lost to then-junior Paul Heeder of Lansing Catholic, 6-4, 6-2, after advancing to the final by beating the No. 1 seed. But Sienko entered last season’s Finals as the top seed and beat Heeder in a semifinal match – before then falling to second-seeded Chance Conley of Portland, 6-4, 6-2 again.
Heeder graduated in the spring, but Conley also is a senior this fall. That meant the two of them could meet at least four times – including a rematch in the Final at Kalamazoo College.
Fueled by the 2011 loss, Sienko got to work. He played more during the offseason and did more conditioning. He also hit the weight room – “It’s not like I was benching 250 or something, like the football guys, one, two, three and drop the weight,” he said – and focused on high-rep workouts that added explosiveness and velocity to his shots.
He also did some mental training, with the help of his older brother. Peter Sienko plays for Army, and texted Michael frequently before matches, mostly to help build his brother’s confidence. “Tennis, a lot of it is mental,” Michael said. “It’s confidence. If you’re not getting down on yourself, chances are you’re going to win. If you’re down on yourself, there’s really no help for you.”
Sienko did indeed see Conley in their final high school match. And this time, Sienko came out on top 6-1, 6-0.
“Michael had a goal all season to win states, and he worked very hard to achieve it,” Williamston coach Jenny Nalepa said. “He has a great attitude on and off the court and set an example for all the other players on the team.”
Williamston ended up 11th as a team at the Division 4 Final, and Sienko helping his teammates was a big part of his final season. He’ll get the chance to play at the collegiate level – his favorites are Army and Air Force – but this fall was about team, and when the Hornets lost, he was disappointed too although he’d won his point. He enjoys leading and fell into that position easily as a senior.
That’s how he’d like to be remembered, as much for his perfect season and his two championships.
“I gave 100 percent every time I played, and I definitely tried to play for Williamston and not myself,” Sienko said. “Because that’s the bigger picture.”
PHOTO: Williamston's Michael Sienko returns a volleyball during the MHSAA Division 4 Final at Kalamazoo College. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
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.)