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.)
As Adams' Fu Closes Career On Top, Northville May Be Starting Championship Era
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
BYRON CENTER – The fourth time turned out to be the charm for Rochester Adams senior Nicole Fu at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Tennis Finals.
She entered this weekend’s tournament having finished No. 1 singles runner-up all of her first three seasons of high school, including a year ago with a loss to Utica Eisenhower’s Gabby Sadowski in the deciding match.
But given another chance and a rematch with Sadowski, Fu wasn’t going to be denied.
Fu, who will play collegiately for the U.S. Naval Academy, ended her high school career on top with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Sadowski.
“I think over the last three years, I’ve matured a lot as a player,” Fu said. “Freshman year, I was more of an underdog. The last two years, I was a favorite. I’ve learned how to manage the pressure this season, and it was really helpful coming into states to just trust my shots, trust my game and stick to my gameplan.”
Fu obviously had familiarity with Sadowski having played her before, including three weeks ago when Fu won in two sets. She said the biggest keys this time were staying on the baseline, not letting Sadowski dictate play and simply going for it on each shot.
“I didn’t want to finish the match, then look back, see I was nervous and then have any regrets,” Fu said. “I just wanted to come in, play as freely as possible and go for my shots. Being aggressive for sure was the game plan.”
Fu advanced to the final via a 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Aarna Betala of Portage Central and a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 semifinal victory over Isabella Barretto of Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, who handed Fu her only defeat this season April 22.
Saturday’s team championship came down to the very last points, and a young Northville lineup including five sophomores capitalized.
The Mustangs captured their first Finals team title since 2018 with 23 points, just one more than Eisenhower – which was runner-up last year too and aiming for its first title in school history as well.
“We thought all along at the beginning the season that we were special,” Northville head coach Brenda Lionas said. “We started believing it and coming together as a young team. We called it a reload. We just started working together and getting them to believe how special they were.”
Northville won on the strength of its doubles, which produced two champions and a runner-up. Sravya Doppalapudi and Francine Ong won at No. 3 doubles despite entering seeded fifth, while Emma Murphy and Sophie Ong won at No. 4 while seeded fourth. Murphy and Ong defeated the top-seeded Adams pair of Joanna Ouyang and Monika Camaj in their semifinal.
Northville’s Lucia Lachapelle and Aadya Pullalarevu advanced to the championship match at No. 2 doubles but lost to Eisenhower’s Alexis Gabriel and Alayna Aamodt. Northville also saw Emmi Dober earn points by advancing to the final at No. 3 singles before losing to Arella He of Ann Arbor Pioneer.
“We talked about staying in every point,” Lionas said. “Staying in, staying in, and staying in, being patient and working the points as long as we could in both singles and doubles.”
Eisenhower freshman Morgan Emerick won the title at No. 2 singles, while Novi junior Rebecca Liu won at No. 4 singles. Rockford’s Alayna Gee and Avery Marchlewski won the championship at No. 1 doubles.
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester Adams' Nicole Fu returns a volley during her No. 1 singles championship match Saturday at Byron Center West Sports Complex. (Middle) Northville celebrates during its march to the team championship. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)