Despite Rival's Return, Forest Hills Northern Completes Repeat Run
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
HOLLAND – Last year was a breeze for the Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern girls tennis team as it won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship by 14 points.
This year, with rival Birmingham Seaholm back from playing in Division 1, the Huskies knew they were in for another battle – which is why all of them took out a black Sharpie and wrote one word of motivation on their left forearm.
“We write FIGHT on our arms for a reason, because we never give up,” explained FHN senior Rhea Marwaha, who teamed with fellow senior Sophie Richards to knock off both of the top seeds to win the No. 1 doubles title.
“We knew this was our last hurrah, so we just decided to keep fighting and keep smiling.”
There were certainly plenty of smiling Huskies on Saturday at Hope College, after they outlasted Seaholm for their 11th Finals championship over the past 20 years.
Forest Hills Northern won with 34 points, with Seaholm right behind with 30 points – a full 12 ahead of the rest of the field, giving the end of the two-day tournament the feel of a dual match.
FHN and Seaholm squared off in all four of the doubles finals, with the Huskies winning first and second doubles and the Maples taking third and fourth. Ironically, neither school won a singles flight, but Northern was runner-up in all four, while Seaholm had no singles players reach the finals.
Mattawan placed third with 18 points as seniors Lizzie Novak and Romika Shokohi won the top two singles flights. Portage Central and Birmingham Groves tied for fourth with 17 points.
Seaholm, which was tied at the top with FHN after the first day with 24 points, needed to sweep the four doubles finals to have a chance. But Forest Hills Northern had other ideas.
Marwaha and Richards, seeded third at No. 1 doubles but the reigning champions at that flight, rode the momentum after downing second-seeded Portage Central in the semifinals to win an intense three-set match over top-seeded Madeleine Leo and Nina Graham of Seaholm in the final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
“We lost to Seaholm earlier this year, but we knew exactly what we did wrong and we fixed it up,” explained Richards. “We wanted to win today for the team, and we really wanted to beat Seaholm.”
FHN also won No. 2 doubles with the duo of senior Isabella Paul and sophomore Ryan Morey.
While Marwaha and Richards were the “giant killers” for the Huskies in doubles, it was junior Miriam Ogilvie who played that role in singles.
Ogilvie, a junior who was seeded fifth at No. 4, made it all the way to the finals – stunning the top seed in three sets in the semifinals before losing in another three-setter in the final to second-seeded freshman Paula Martinez of Battle Creek Lakeview in the last match of the day.
“I had some really tough battles, and I proved to myself that I could stay intense the whole time,” said Ogilvie. “It feels great to know that I came through for my team.”
Ogilvie was one of four singles runners-up for FHN, and it was those extra points which proved to be the difference against Seaholm. Also placing second for the Huskies were seniors Abby Siminski (No. 1 singles), sophomore Nathalie Lanne (No. 2) and junior Anna Dinsmore (No. 3).
The Huskies reached the finals in all eight of the flights, an incredible showing of depth, which put a smile on the face of veteran coach David Sukup.
“It doesn’t get old, because the kids keep me young,” said Sukup, who has led the Huskies to three second-place Finals finishes over the past 20 years, to go along with the 11 titles. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this, but at this point, I’m on a one-year contract every year.”
Seaholm, which now has four Finals titles and four second-places over the past 10 years, pulled out a couple of big upsets in doubles over FHN to keep its title hopes alive.
Jane Wineman and Tatum Hirsch upset top-seeded FHN at No. 3 doubles, while the duo of Sydney Fong and Jenna Ting went three sets to do the same at No. 4 doubles – but, ultimately, the lack of presence in the singles finals proved costly for the Maples.
The top two singles flights belonged to the Mattawan, as Novak dispatched Siminski (6-1, 6-3) and Shokohi defeated Lanne (6-1, 6-0). Novak will play college tennis next year at the University of Richmond (Virg.), joining her older sister Kate (Bucknell) in the college ranks.
“Oh, we aren’t competitive at all,” Novak said with a laugh, when asked about playing against her sister. “We have good matches, but I think I can beat her.”
Portage Central junior Anna Dinsmore, the third seed at No. 3 singles, upset second-seeded Courtney Marcum of Seaholm in the semifinals, then knocked off top-seeded Andrea Wang of FHN in the final.
At No. 4 singles, Battle Creek Lakeview freshman Paula Martinez became a Finals flight champion by downing Ogilvie in the day’s final match, 7-6, 0-6, 6-2.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern doubles teammates show their "FIGHT" during a match Saturday. (Middle) Mattawan's Lizzie Novak returns a volley during her No. 1 singles title match. (Below) FHN serves during another doubles match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Sadowski Motivated for More After Singles Title, Eisenhower's Best Finals Finish
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 15, 2025
UTICA — Gabby Sadowski could have followed a trend after winning last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championship at No. 1 singles.
Over the years, winning an individual Finals title as an underclassmen – of simply having great success – has been a jumping off point for top players to move on from high school tennis and focus on the junior circuit. An example: Three members of last year’s Clarkston lineup that won the Lower Peninsula Division 1 team title — including two Finals flight champions — decided to skip this high school season to play juniors.
Since Sadowski won the individual title at No. 1 singles last spring as a sophomore for Utica Eisenhower, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see her do the same.
But perhaps in an even more surprising development, Sadowski is instead again holding down the Eagles’ top singles spot.
“All of my life, I’ve been playing USTA tennis individually,” Sadowski said. “Being able to play high school on a team is something I’ve really enjoyed over the years.”
This spring, so far, is probably the most enjoyable Eisenhower girls tennis has ever had.
Not only is Sadowski back and dominating, but the Eagles for the first time are ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and primed to follow up their first-ever Finals runner-up finish last year with a march to a championship in two weeks.
Leading the way is Sadowski, who is simply a generational talent for the program.
“It’s said in tennis that it takes 10,000 hours to earn proficiency,” said Eisenhower co-coach Kevin Donahue. “Gabby is one of those few people at 20 hours a week and 10 hours of tennis, it would put her at 10,000 hours. Strength training, stretching, speed work and the hitting sessions. She’s dedicated as an athlete.”
The bug for tennis bit Sadowski early. She said she started playing at age 3 and competing in USTA junior events when she was 8.
As was the case with many young tennis players, Sadowski said she idolized Serena Williams.
“I think my game is similar to hers,” Sadowski said. “I think the way we both are really aggressive and looking to attack the ball.”
There are many good traits Sadowski has on the court, but Eisenhower co-coach Mike Pierson points to a few in particular.
“I’d say her ability to take a swing and volley separates her from other players, to be able to put it away” he said. “Just her mental toughness also.
“As far as coaching her, half the time we are talking about forehand cross battles, bringing your targets with the wind, or maybe telling her a joke to calm her down a little bit.”
Sadowski already has her college future planned out, as she has committed to Purdue. In addition to the tennis program, Sadowski — an animal over, particularly of cats — was drawn to West Lafayette, Ind., for its microbiology and veterinary medicine programs.
For the rest of this season, the goal for Sadowski and Eisenhower is to capitalize on what might be a once-in-a-lifetime team title opportunity.
Sadowski is certainly not all Eisenhower will rely on in that pursuit.
Freshman No. 2 singles player Morgan Emerick entered Regional play today 30-1 on the season, while the doubles teams of senior Alayna Aamodt and junior Alexis Gabriel, and sophomores Kara Lu and Maria Khami, are both undefeated.
Eisenhower likely will enter the Division 1 Finals in Byron Center as the favorite.
And if they are successful, it will surely further validate Sadowski’s decision to return to her high school team for another year.
“It would just mean a lot to all of us,” Sadowski said, “with all the work we’ve put in.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Utica Eisenhower’s Gabby Sadowski lines up a backhand during last season’s Division 1 No. 1 singles championship match against Rochester Adams’ Nicole Fu. (Middle) Sadowski, right, and Fu approach the net after the match is complete. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)