LPD3 Champions Continue Dominance
May 30, 2015
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
GRAND BLANC – The unthinkable almost happened in one regard, then it did happen in another at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Girls Tennis Final on Saturday.
The unthinkable almost happened in that Williamston junior Sara Daavettila nearly lost a game.
The No. 1 singles standout for the Hornets, who also happens to be one of the top junior players in the country, Daavettila entered Saturday’s championship match against Sasha Hartje of Birmingham Detroit Country Day having not dropped a game in any of her matches this season.
But that streak was in jeopardy during the fourth game of the second set, when Daavettila struggled with her serve and fell behind 30-40 to Hartje.
Following a second serve, Daavettila then hit a forehand that hit the top of the net solidly and went straight up into the air.
The ball stayed in the air and then … dropped softly on Hartje’s side.
Point Daavettila.
Game back to deuce.
“I was really lucky,” Daavettila said. “I’m sorry to Sasha, but I was happy.”
Daavettila ended up staving off another game point, won that game to go up 4-0 and then wasn’t challenged the last two to beat Hartje, 6-0, 6-0, and win her second straight No. 1 singles title and extend her streak of games won to 245.
Given her dominance and national acclaim on the junior circuit, Daavettila sometimes gets asked why she bothers at all to play in high school.
But seeing teammates wearing shirts with her name on it cheering her every move, and the fact she gets well-wishes from classmates while walking the halls at school, make it an easy answer for her.
“The girls, I love them and I do it for the school,” said Daavettila, who also announced that she recently committed to play in college at University of North Carolina. “It’s great and supporting. Getting ready, that is how it is going to be in college. The USTA, it’s single so it’s a lot of individual. It’s nice to be on a team.”
Next up for Daavettila is a busy summer, which includes competing at tournaments each weekend, most notably a U.S. Open qualifier and a tournament in California.
As for the unthinkable that did happen, it was that Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood won its fifth straight team title despite not having a top seed at any of the eight flights.
But Cranbrook was No. 1 where it mattered most, the final team standings, using its superior depth to win it all again with a tournament-best 32 points.
“This was a team effort,” Cranbrook head coach Jeff Etterbeek said. “Everybody peaked at the right time. All our girls played their best tennis of the year. I was very pleased with our whole team.”
Grand Rapids Christian was second with 28 points, and Detroit Country Day was third with 27.
Holland Christian (17 points) and Grosse Ile (16 points) rounded out the top five.
Cranbrook Kingswood entered Saturday’s final day having advanced to the semifinals in all eight flights on Friday to take a one-point lead over Grand Rapids Christian, and the Cranes ended up making the finals at No. 2 singles, No. 3 singles, No. 4 singles, No. 2 doubles, No. 3 doubles and No. 4 doubles.
The team of Amanda Simmons and Amanda Twu won No. 2 doubles despite being seeded fifth, and the team of Amelia Smith and Alex Bowers triumphed at No. 4 doubles after being seeded second.
Emily Harvey advanced to the finals at No. 2 singles, Jazz Teste went to the finals at No. 3 singles as the third seed, Kate Cao made it to the finals at No. 4 singles, and the team of Sauma Du and Mackenzie Beckett advanced to the finals at No. 3 doubles.
“We felt that coming into this (Country Day) had the strongest singles lineup, Grand Rapids Christian probably had the strongest doubles lineup and we were somewhere in between both,” Etterbeek said. “Fortunately for us it worked out that way.”
Country Day did dominate the singles flights, as Haley Mullins at No. 2 singles, Sadina Fadel at No. 3 singles and Sarah Carroll at No. 4 singles all ended up winning championships to go along with Hartje’s runner-up finish at No. 1 singles.
Grand Rapids Christian was victorious in two doubles flights, with the team of Hannah Slenk and McKenzie Moorhead at No. 1 doubles and the team of Natalie DeBoer and Kate Zwiers at No. 3 doubles winning titles.
Because of stormy weather in the area, all of the tournament’s action on Saturday was moved indoors to Genesys Athletic Club in Grand Blanc.
PHOTO: (Top) Williamston junior Sara Daavettila returns a shot during her No. 1 singles championship match win. (Middle) Cranbrook Kingswood earned its fifth straight Finals championship. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
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.’’
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.
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.)