Northville Doubles Up, Holding Off Familiar Foe to Complete Repeat
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2026
MIDLAND – The Northville girls tennis team was attempting to repeat as Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion this weekend and had 21 points entering Saturday’s final rounds at Midland Tennis Center and needing to hold off Utica Eisenhower again to finish the run.
Bolstered by three doubles flight championships, the Mustangs finished the day with 27 points, and Eisenhower finished with 23 and second place for the third-straight season. The Eagles had entered Saturday trailing by three points.
Northville picked up important points at No. 3 doubles as second seed Lucia Lachapelle and Aadya Pullalarevu downed Pioneer top seeds Maryn Etheridge and Ayla Altinsel 6-1, 6-0.
Lachapelle and Pullalarevu had finished No. 2 runners-up in 2025.
“We played them in the regular season and lost, so we knew we’d have to eventually play them in the Finals,’’ Lachapelle. “We have this saying in our program ‘play like goldfish’ because goldfish have short memories.
“A second straight title shows how strong our program is.’’
Said Pullalarevu: “We were going into the match, we knew it would help us win a state title. We were obviously nervous. Losing in the Finals (last year) helped us for this year. We were focused on having confidence in our shots and each other.’’
Northville’s No. 4 doubles team of Michelle Lee and Emma Murphy pulled the team closer to the title with 7-6, 7-5 victory over Arya Iyer and Vibha Krishna of Troy.
“It was stressful,’’ said Lee. “It was tie-break, after tie-break after tie-break.
“In the back of your mind you think about winning states. Since freshman year I played singles, and for my senior year I wanted to switch it up. Luckily I got paired up with Emma. Every day at practice, we worked out butts off and we powered through this chaotic match.’’
Northville also won No. 2 doubles as Sravya Doppalapudi and Francine Ong defeated Novi’s Emily Backus and Sruthi Karthik 5-7, 6-1, 6-0. Eisenhower captured No. 1 doubles as Kara Lu and Alexis Gabriel ousted Troy’s Nainika Jasti and Hannah Wanstreet, 6-4, 6-4.
Gabriel was no stranger to state titles.
“This is my third time,’’ she said. “Freshman year I lost in the quarterfinals, sophomore year I won at No. 1 doubles and junior year I won at No. 2 doubles. It’s always exciting.’’
Eisenhower sophomore Morgan Emerick ran her high school record to a combined 74-1 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Isabelle Hult at No. 2 singles, claiming her second-straight Finals flight title.
“I hope to go to No. 1 singles next year,’’ said Emerick. “It feels really good to win two times. I try not to get too nervous. Just keep going and stay focused.’’
Clarkston junior Kayla Lemke captured the No. 1 singles championship over Saline senior Emerson Jones, but it wasn’t the way she wanted.
Jones, the top seed, slipped and hurt her right knee with the score tied 3-3 in the first set. She eventually got the knee wrapped and tried to continue. She fell behind 5-3 before retiring, unable to play with confidence or ball-striking ability after the injury.
“I definitely wanted a good match,’’ said Lemke. “She deserved it. She’s a senior. She’s worked so hard for this. I hate that it ended this way, but I’m happy how we both played and how it first started.’’
Portage Central’s top-seeded Aarna Betala captured the No. 3 singles title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Holland West Ottawa’s Sydney Shafer. Rochester freshman Jilly Knoester, the top seed at No. 4 singles, clinched that flight with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Eisenhower senior Sofia Gardner.
“I was just out there playing tennis,’’ said Knoester. “I broke her in each set. It was fun.
“I lost one match this year to (Bloomfield Hills) Marian. The season was exciting. I was happy to have the chance to play. I think I learned mistakes are part of the game, and it’s not over until it’s actually over.’’
(Photos by High School Sports Scene.)
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.)