UP Tennis Finals: Negaunee, Westwood Reign
May 31, 2012
Negaunee won its third straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys tennis championship Wednesday at Marquette High School, and Ishpeming Westwood won its first team title, ever, in Division 2 at Iron Mountain High School.
The Miners were heavy favorites in Division 1 after finishing ahead of Kingsford last season and tying with Kingsford for the 2010 title. Negaunee scored 20 points this time, eight more than runner-up Marquette.
Finalists from 2011 returned in all four singles flights in that division, with three earning individual championships this time. Negaunee’s Cody Tossava won his second-straight at No. 2, while teammate Kevin Price did the same at No. 3 and Rob Sertich won at No. 4 after finishing runner-up last season. The only singles flight the Miners didn’t win was No. 1, where Dave Terzaghi finished runner-up for the second straight season – this time falling 6-3, 0-6, 6-0 to Marquette’s Julien LeCosquer.
Another returning Miners flight won at No. 1 doubles – Lucas Christianson and Nick Kill, who were runners-up in 2011. Teammates Austin Rice and Ryan Syrjala and Tyler Beaumont and Eric Ludlum won at Nos. 2 and 4 doubles, respectively. Ted Pietila and Sean Ryan claimed the No. 3 doubles championship for Kingsford, which finished third as a team.
At Iron Mountain, Westwood improved from sixth place in 2011 to edge reigning champ Iron River West Iron County by a point 16-15, although the Wykons had finalists in all four singles and two doubles flights.
West Iron County’s Austin Waara won his third MHSAA Finals championship and second straight at No. 1 singles by again beating Westwood’s Andrew LeSage in the title match, 6-1, 7-5.
Gwinn’s Derek Reetz downed reigning No. 3 singles champ Caleb Pellizzer of West Iron Country in the No. 2 Final, and Westwood’s Tyler Quayle won a three-set match for the championship at No. 3. Alex Rolston added a second singles title for West Iron County with a three-set win in the No. 4 Final.
Iron Mountain’s Gerry Pirkola and Max Frorenza and Henry Hakamaki and Taylor Huotari claimed the flight championships at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, respectively – Pirkola and Frorenza after winning No. 3 doubles in 2011. Westwood closed out the team championship by winning the final two doubles flights – Quinn Leroy and Michael Ostlund at No. 3 and Derek Wing and Josh Nicholas at No. 4.
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Performance of the Week: Lansing Christian's Stephen Gollapalli
October 31, 2025
Stephen Gollapalli ♦ Lansing Christian
Junior ♦ Tennis
Gollapalli emerged from the third seed to win the No. 1 singles flight at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals, defeating Lansing Catholic top seed Noah West 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, after also upsetting Plymouth Christian Academy second seed Luke Zhang in their semifinal match. Gollapalli finished this fall 30-1, his only loss to West in their Regional Final nine days earlier.
The championship also came after Gollapalli had advanced to the No. 1 singles semifinals as a sophomore and quarterfinals as a freshman, both times falling to Traverse City St. Francis’ Owen Jackson, who graduated in the spring. Gollapalli this fall went to three sets only twice, winning 12 matches 6-0, 6-0, and raising his career record to 80-3 with one season left to play.
@mhsaasports 🎾POW: Stephen Gollapalli #lansingchristian #tennis #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🎾POW: Stephen Gollapalli #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Lansing Christian boys tennis program.)