Country Day Pulls Away After Power Pair Enters Saturday Tied for Lead

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com

June 6, 2026

MIDLAND – There’s a lot of hardware in Division 3 girls tennis between Detroit Country Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and East Grand Rapids.

Since 2010 only Country Day and Cranbrook had been able to claim Finals titles. But before that run, East Grand Rapids captured the top spot seven times over 12 seasons.

So it was no surprise heading into Saturday’s semifinals that two of those traditional powers EGR and Country Day were tied for the lead at 24 points at the Lower Peninsula Finals at the Midland Tennis Center.

Two of the heavyweights were ready to claim another title – and the current streak stayed intact.

Country Day dominated the semifinals and finals, prevailing with 34 points. Bloomfield Hills Marian finished second with 29 points, and EGR was third at 28.

Country Day sophomore Chloe Conniff won the final point for the Yellowjackets at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-2  victory over Lilah Zaskowski of Ada Forest Hills Eastern. Zaskowski survived a four-hour semifinal match to advance.

Jiya Gill and Zoe Grebenski claimed the flight title at No. 4 doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Marian’s Lizzie Plunkett and Clare Reaume. The championship was Gill’s second at that flight.

“The only thing we think about is what we can control,’’ Gill said. “We always expect to be here, but our goal is to just go out and play good tennis.’’

Country Day’s Karishma Vakhariya, left, and East Grand Rapids’ Farha Malviya shake hands after their title decider at No. 2 singles. Said Grebenski: “We try just to play and not worry about the other things. We played Cranbrook and East Grand Rapids this year, so we knew what to expect.’’

Country Day also captured No. 1 doubles as Quinn Norlander and Helen Benjamin beat Marian’s Allegra Curis and Bri Daood, 6-3, 7-5.

No. 2 doubles went to Marian’s Emerson Turkot and Stella Glorio, who defeated Country Day’s Zoe Bergg and Grace Kaskanis, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. Marian’s Lexa Hindo and Emerson Villalba won No. 3 doubles with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over top seed Ava Kouza and Julia Geisz of Cranbrook.

While East Grand Rapids didn’t claim the team title on championship Saturday, coach Mickey Mikesell said his team’s future is bright.

“Our doubles teams are experienced, but we have a lot of youth in singles,’’ said Mikesell. “We have great depth. Phenomenal singles. The future is bright as well.’’

Freshman Evelyn Gingras is one of the youngsters. She entered as the top seed at No. 3 singles and won her first Finals title with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Country Day’s Addie Grebinski. Gingras dropped one game in the semifinal and final.

“We’re doing well, and I’m happy to be part of the team,’’ Gingras said. “We’ve worked really hard, and our coaches have put in a lot of effort.’’

Country Day’s Karishma Vakhariya, the top seed at No. 2 singles, said the goals stay the same each year.

“A three-peat would mean we bring in the right players every year,’’ she said. “Everyone believes they can win their flight. There’s a lot of pressure, but when you’re on the court the only thing you can think about is winning.’’

Vakhariya defeated East Grand Rapids’ Farha Malviya 6-2, 7-5 to win the flight. Marian freshman Gwen Slapak won at No. 4 singles 6-4, 7-6 over EGR sophomore Mia Owings.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Country Day's Chloe Conniff sends a backhand during her No. 1 singles championship match Saturday. (Middle) Country Day’s Karishma Vakhariya, left, and East Grand Rapids’ Farha Malviya shake hands after their title decider at No. 2 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.) 

Titles for Three at UP Tennis Finals

October 4, 2012

One of this season’s MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 girls tennis champions is used to finishing at the top. The other found itself in that favorable spot Wednesday for the first time in 25 years.

Kingsford and Negaunee split this season’s title, each scoring 14 points at Marquette High School. The Finals win was the first for Kingsford since the end of a four-year championship run in 2009. Negaunee celebrated its first championship since winning Class C-D in 1987, and after just missing with a runner-up finish in 2010.

Kingsford advanced players into all four singles and two doubles championship matches, with No. 4 singles Santina Bianco and No. 2 doubles Janay Walters and Ali VanRemortel claiming their flights. Negaunee advanced to five championship matches and had three winners – Allison Carlson at No. 2 singles, Kayla Hakala at No. 3 and Kylee Taavola and Jordyn LaFreniere at No. 3 doubles.

Escanaba senior Codi Jenshak won her second-straight championship at No. 1 singles, and third MHSAA singles title overall, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kingsford’s Sam Fleming. Jenshak also defeated Fleming in the 2011 championship match.

Her Escanaba teammates Braedyn Bosilovatz and Cathryn Wood won the No. 1 doubles championship.

Click for full championship match results and semifinalists.

Division 2 at Ishpeming Westwood

Westwood won its fourth straight MHSAA championship and fifth in six seasons, scoring 16 points to edge runner-up Iron Mountain by two.

The Patriots won four flights, led at No. 1 doubles by Kara Harrington and Alexis Forchini, who won at No. 3 in 2011. Taryn Moyle and Katie Rankinen won at No. 2 and Rachel Anderson and Shana Caliguri won at No. 4. Courtney Beauchamp won the team’s lone singles championship, at No. 4.

Iron River West Iron County’s Kylee Erickson repeated as the No. 1 singles champion, beating Westwood’s Sarah Massie in the final for the second straight season.

Click for full brackets of each flight.