Negaunee Conquers Wind, Dominates Doubles in 3rd-Straight Finals Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
ESCANABA – The Negaunee girls tennis team is once again the Upper Peninsula Division 1 tennis champion.
The Miners made that possible Wednesday by edging Ishpeming Westwood 20-16.
Escanaba, which shared the title with Negaunee a year ago, placed third this time with 10 points.
Nicole Kerkela and Paitlyn Brunette helped the Miners earn their third consecutive title by outlasting Westwood’s Niila Nurmi and Emersyn Nelson in an emotional 6-3, 6-7 (6-7), 6-3 victory in the No. 3 doubles final.
“We’re incredibly proud of this group,” Negaunee coach Kyle Saari said. “Today was a rollercoaster day. We had several girls step up along the way. You never know what’s going to happen in the U.P. Finals. The girls showed a lot of grit and determination. Our No. 1 doubles was outstanding today, and our No. 3 doubles played their best match of the year in the finals. Our players communicated and trusted in each other.
“Our girls team was solid this year, but they were tested often.”
Seniors Kellen Schultz and Madalynn Peters rallied past Westwood’s Izzie Marta and Nolia Dawson 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 for the No. 1 doubles crown on a sunny, seasonably cool and windy afternoon on the Abrahamson Courts at Escanaba High School.
“We played together in No. 3 doubles two years ago,” Peters said. “We communicated and had good chemistry. The wind made it hard to keep the ball in play. We had plenty of episodes in which the ball didn’t go where you wanted. We had a rough road getting here. We wanted it so bad.”
A stiff south breeze, with gusts up to 30 mph, made it challenging for all players.
“I think we communicated well,” Schultz said. “I had a lot of good shots in front, and Madalynn had plenty of good shots from the back. This is definitely the highlight of the season. Westwood had a good team this year.”
Players were presented with special medals commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“This makes it all the more memorable,” Schultz added. “This feels awesome. It’s pretty cool and very special.”
Negaunee made a clean sweep of the doubles with Autumn Ring and Alyssa Borlace taking a 6-2, 6-4 decision from Marquette’s Aubree Blackburn and Eva Kentala at No. 2, and Emma Wils and Halle Palomaki defeating Westwood’s Kaya Etelamaki and Taylor Jackovich 7-5, 6-0 in No. 4.
In No. 2 singles, Negaunee junior Liliana Saunders topped Escanaba senior Samantha Korpi 6-3, 6-1. Saunders, who won No. 4 singles two years ago, was runner-up in No. 2 last season.
“That was a pretty big step up,” she said. “Although, I think I had a lot more experience this year.
“The wind made it hard. You didn’t know where the ball was going. I thought I was in the right position and the ball would just move on me. You definitely had to stick with groundstrokes. If you tried to lob the ball, it would go out of bounds.”
Negaunee’s Rheana Nelson added a victory in No. 3 singles in a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Westwood’s Hannah Niemi.
Westwood senior Lexi Olson claimed the No. 1 singles title in a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Escanaba senior Maggie Martin.
“The wind was awful,” Olson said. “It affected my serving. You had to be strong mentally and able to adapt. You got to hit the ball hard into the wind.
“It was fun playing with Maggie. She’s a very good player and opponent. I knew it would be cold, although everybody has to play in the same thing.”
The Patriots also got a first in No. 4 singles from Morgan Schneider in a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Negaunee’s Addie Chapman.
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee’s Aubrey Johnson returns a volley during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Escanaba. (Middle) Escanaba’s Maggie Martin prepares to connect during a No. 1 singles match. (Photos by Adam Hinch.)
Country Day Bounces Back from Regional Disappointment to Repeat as Finals Champ
June 1, 2025
ANN ARBOR – Advantage Detroit Country Day – at least for now.
That’s the kind of rivalry the Yellowjackets have formed with Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood as they’ve combined to win the last 15 Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls tennis championships.
Just this season, the pair of powerhouses tied in a dual match April 16 before Cranbrook won the Regional by two points two weeks ago – and Country Day took back the lead in the never-ending race by clinching the latest LPD3 Finals title by two points Saturday at University of Michigan.
The Yellowjackets finished the weekend tournament with 34 points to Cranbrook’s 32, losing all four head-to-head flight championship matchups to the Cranes but banking enough points elsewhere to emerge with their second-straight Finals title.
Freshman Karishma Vakhariya’s flight clincher at No. 3 singles and junior Helen Benjamin’s at No. 4 put the finishing touches on the latest triumph.
“It’s always close between us and Cranbrook,” said Benjamin, who repeated as a flight winner after taking the title at No. 3 a year ago. “The cheering gets a little competitive, the matches get competitive. I mean, it’s been a rivalry forever.”
Benjamin was top-seeded at No. 4 and clinched her flight with a 6-3, 6-2, win over Holland Christian sophomore Iyla Holmes.
Vakhariya worked through more of a challenge in her No. 3 decider, defeating Bloomfield Hills Marian senior Anya Nix 6-3 in the first set before falling 6-1 in the second and coming back to win the third set 6-0.
“I just tried to not get upset, at least on the outside, because I know that definitely when your opponent can see that you’re mad it can affect the entire match and make you lose yourself,” Vakhariya said. “(It was matter of) doing what I did in the first set and not the second one, and whatever her weaknesses trying to hit to that instead of just getting upset and hitting wherever.”
Country Day’s other flight championship came at No. 4 doubles, where senior Katherine Chen and freshman Grace Kalkanis pulled out some of the most important points of the weekend. Entering as the fourth seed, they won their championship match 6-1, 6-1, over second-seeded juniors Sage Gabriel-Menegay and Brooklyn Angel of Chelsea. But perhaps more significant was Chen and Kalkanis’ semifinal win over the top-seeded Cranbrook duo of senior Katelyn Dubrowsky and sophomore Brianna Giudici.
“What happened after Regionals, I’d say was a little bit of fuel for us,” Country Day coach Nicholas Fiaschetti said. “The past couple of weeks, we’ve just been on it every single day at our practices. We came out here and handled our nerves, and from there everybody was amazing.”
Cranbrook won four flight championships, let by top-seeded senior Chloe Qin’s 6-0, 6-0, win at No. 1 singles over second-seeded Country Day senior Sophia Grzesiak, last season’s No. 1 champion. Qin hadn’t played high school tennis the last two seasons and had finished as part of a flight runner-up at No. 1 doubles as a freshman.
“I think I played really solid, moving all over, doing my best and figuring things out,” Qin said. “Even though there was a little bit of adversity throughout, I felt like we played a fair match and played super solid, and I think as a senior it was a really good win for me and I’m really glad I could close it out. … It’s feels like a full-circle moment. I’m just proud of myself and happy with how I stuck to my gameplan and got it done as efficiently as possible.”
Cranes freshman Caroline Liu carried her top seed at No. 2 singles through to the championship, with seniors Ava Clogg and Chiara Martella at No. 1 doubles and seniors Sophia Kouza and Madeline Day at No. 2 doubles achieving the same.
Bloomfield Hills Marian sophomores Stella Glorio and Lexa Hindo also carried their top seed to the title at No. 3 doubles.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Helen Benjamin returns a volleyball during her No. 4 singles match Saturday. (Middle) Cranbrook’s Caroline Liu follows through on a forehand during her No. 2 singles finale. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)