Miners Net Deciding Point in D1 Clash
October 2, 2015
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
NEGAUNEE — Negaunee girls tennis coach Kyle Saari knows that come tournament time, it takes that extra bit of effort to put a team over the top.
Negaunee and Escanaba came into Thursday's MHSAA Division 1 Upper Peninsula Finals as virtual equals. Both went undefeated during the season and played to a 4-4 draw against each other. But it was the Miners who dug deep and found that next level, enabling them to repeat as U.P. champions.
Negaunee edged Escanaba 18-17, with Menominee in third place with seven points.
"U.P.'s are always a difficult day. Pretty much every year, you need your girls or boys to do something they haven't done during the season in order to be successful today," Saari said. "When you win by one, that's exactly what it came down to for us today."
The match that put the Miners over the top was No. 3 doubles, where Alexis and Skylar Taavola overcame Escanaba's Katie Ross and Karly Mayville 7-5, 6-4.
"They lost a heartbreaker at the conference meet the week before, and I told them there was something bigger out there for them. They believed it, and were able to get themselves a title, and that pushed us over for a team title," Saari said.
Negaunee played Escanaba in a dual Sept. 21, but Alexis and Skylar were moved to No. 2 doubles for that meet, so Thursday was their first look at Escanaba's No. 3 doubles flight.
"It was kind of hard to get used to them, having never played them before," said Skylar. "We won the first set, and thought we could do it again," added Alexis. "It was just trying to keep calm and play smart. It was close, but it's not always fun to win a blowout. This was fun."
The Miners also picked up a big win at No. 1 singles, where Angela Ring bounced back to beat Katy Hicks of Kingsford 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
"Katy is a great player, and Angie has a ton of respect for her, but at the same time, Angie realizes that if she plays her game, she can be as good as anybody," Saari said. "She's a real level-headed player."
Hicks looked strong early on with a powerful serve that generated a handful of aces. Her net front ability was also evident, as Hicks frequently made Ring pay for soft lobs near the net.
"Katy definitely finishes them when you set them up at the service line," Ring said. "I wasn't on early on, but I just started making the game set to my pace instead of hers. I had to continue being consistent."
Ring's twin sister Allison also picked up a victory at No. 2 singles, as she defeated Escanaba's Hannah Beversluis 6-3, 6-2. The title was her first, while Angela won a title at No. 3 her sophomore year and at No. 2 her junior year.
"Today was the first time I've gone to a three-set match," Angela said. "Allison and I have never both won before."
Saari said he's enjoyed having the sisters as part of his singles lineup the last few seasons, and praised their quiet leadership.
"They don't say a lot on the court; they're pretty quiet, stone-faced through the entire match," he said. "It can be tough to get a read on them, but usually when you look at their score cards, they're in the lead, so you kind of just let them be."
The runner-up Eskymos put six flights in the finals, including all four doubles flights.
The unbeaten No. 1 doubles duo of Emily LaFave and Kayla VanPortfliet never seemed threatened in their final match as they defeated Negaunee's Lauren Anderson and Nicole Violetta 6-0, 6-3.
"It's bittersweet," said LaFave. "I'm so glad we won and went undefeated, and winning is so much better, but I'm sad that it's over."
"We never expected this, never," said VanPortfliet. "Kingsford and Negaunee were both great opponents in different ways, and if you get frustrated with them the first time, you have to come back and play them again. It just gets harder each time."
Taylor Gauthier also completed an undefeated run this season, capping it off with a U.P. title at No. 3 singles. Gauthier defeated Negaunee's Megan Syrjala 6-4, 6-4, ending a long a day for her.
"I was pretty confident going in, but I was starting to get a little tired, so I was worried," Gauthier said. "It does feel great as a sophomore to get through unbeaten, and the fact that I pulled through being so tired, it feels great."
Escanaba coach Dennis Lueneberg praised the play of his No. 1 doubles flight from start to finish.
"In the summer, we didn't know if it would work because Kayla was a singles player," he said. "But we needed something to establish depth. Putting them together, they're friends, and you can see the chemistry click. It's not easy, but I don't think they've even lost a set. They're there every day working at it.
"I kept telling all the girls to keep working at it," Lueneberg added. "You don't want to have regrets. Maybe some do today, but I thought they played their hearts out. You can only do so much. They'll reflect on it, and learn."
Escanaba also won at No. 4 doubles. Menominee won the No. 2 doubles and No. 4 singles flights to take third. Gladstone's lone point came at No. 1 singles, when Paige Schwartz played in a semifinal match against Angela Ring. Ring won that match 6-3, 6-0.
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee's Allison Ring defeated Hannah Beversluis of Escanaba in the No. 2 singles final 6-3, 6-2. (Middle) Kingsford's Katy Hicks unleashes her powerful serve at No. 1 singles against Negaunee's Angela Ring. Ring won 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. (Below) Escanaba's Taylor Gauthier at No. 3 singles faces Negaunee's Megan Syrjala. Gauthier won 6-4, 6-4. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)
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- MHSAA News
Field Hockey Debut, Tennis Finals Change Among Most Notable as Fall Practices Set to Begin
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 8, 2025
The addition of girls field hockey as a sponsored postseason championship sport and a revised schedule for Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals are the most significant changes to fall sports as practices are set to begin Monday, Aug. 11, for an anticipated 100,000 high school athletes at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 36,210 football players and 19,679 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2024 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, field hockey, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week. Competition begins Aug. 15 for cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 20 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 28 for varsity football.
Field hockey is one of two sports set to make its debut with MHSAA sponsorship during the 2025-26 school year; boys volleyball will play its first season with MHSAA sponsorship in the spring.
There are 37 varsity teams expected to play during the inaugural field hockey season. There will be one playoff division, with the first MHSAA Regionals in this sport beginning Oct. 8 and the first championship awarded Oct. 25.
To conclude their season, Lower Peninsula boys tennis teams will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event Oct. 15-16, followed by Division 1 on Oct. 17-18, Division 2 on Oct. 22-23 and Division 3 played Oct. 24-25.
Also in Lower Peninsula boys tennis, and girls in the spring, a Finals qualification change will allow for teams that finish third at their Regionals to advance to the season-ending tournament as well, but only in postseason divisions where there are six Regionals – which will be all four boys divisions this fall.
The 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will be played this fall over a three-day period, with Division 8, 4, 6 and 2 games on Friday, Nov. 28, and Division 7, 3, 5 and 1 games played Sunday, Nov. 30, to accommodate Michigan State’s game against Maryland on Nov. 29 at Ford Field.
Two more changes affecting football playoffs will be noticeable this fall. For the first time, 8-Player Semifinals will be played at neutral sites; previously the team with the highest playoff-point average continued to host during that round. Also, teams that forfeit games will no longer receive playoff-point average strength-of-schedule bonus points from those opponents to which they forfeited.
A pair of changes in boys soccer this fall will address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline. The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- In volleyball, multiple contacts by one player attempting to play the ball will now be allowed on second contact if the next contact is by a teammate on the same side of the net.
- In swimming & diving, backstroke ledges will be permitted in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them.
- Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
- In football, when a forward fumble goes out of bounds, the ball will now be spotted where the fumble occurred instead of where the ball crossed the sideline.
The 2025 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 29 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 28 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 18
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 24 or 25
L.P. Finals – Nov. 1
Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 8-21
Semifinals – Oct. 22 or 23
Final – Oct. 25
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
District Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
District Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Regional Finals – Nov. 14 or 15
Semifinals – Nov. 22
Finals – Nov. 28 and 30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
Regional Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Semifinals – Nov. 15
Finals – Nov. 22
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11
Finals – Oct. 17-18
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 8-18
Regionals – Oct. 21-25
Semifinals – Oct. 29
Finals – Nov. 1
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 13
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 21-22
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 1, 2, 3, or 4
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 8, 9, 10, or 11
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 15-16 (Division 4), Oct. 17-18 (Division 1), Oct 22-23 (Division 2), and Oct. 24-25 (Division 3)
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 3-8
Regionals – Nov. 11 & 13
Quarterfinals – Nov. 18
Semifinals – Nov. 20-21
Finals – Nov. 22
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.