Pair of Flight Championships Anchor Norway's 1st Finals Team Title Triumph
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2026
ISHPEMING — Norway keeps adding new types of hardware to its trophy case.
Two years ago, the baseball team went to its first MHSAA Finals championship game and took home the runner-up award. On Thursday, the Knights’ girls tennis team won the first U.P. championship in school history, claiming the Division 2 title.
“It’s the first one our school’s ever won, so it’s really special and I’m proud of all the work our team put in this year,” said Norway senior Jessa Rossler, who won a third-straight individual U.P. Finals title for herself as well. “I think we all did a good job and I’m really happy. I think we deserved it.”
Norway had someone playing in all eight finals matches to beat the likes of West Iron County, last year’s champion, and Ishpeming, which had won it the two years prior.
“It’s really exciting for this senior class,” Norway coach Taylor Huotari said. “We had seven seniors this year, and they had been in the program for a couple years. It’s just really exciting for them to go out on such a high note.”
This was Huotari’s first year coaching. He knew the Knights were coming off their first runner-up finish at U.P. Finals, and he asked where the team could improve.
“They were very transparent and open with me,” he said. “I just tried to build on their strengths and develop their weaknesses. They answered every single call. I am very proud of them, and they should be very proud of themselves.”
Rossler was the only singles winner for Norway. She took first at No. 2 after winning No. 4 singles the last two years.
“It feels really good, especially because I’m a senior,” she said. “I really wanted to go out on a win, and I’m really happy the way it turned out.”
Rossler won a marathon finals match over Iron Mountain and was the last off the court. She definitely had to earn her three-peat.
“The second set (which she lost), it felt like my nerves were getting to me a little bit,” Rossler said. “And I felt like I was starting to overthink my shots, trying to place them too much. But the third set, I just tried to reset everything and just play loose, and it worked really well.”
She handled the move up to the second singles spot well and Huotari said it reflected well on her work ethic. It’s also like her to be able to handle a tough match like she faced in the finals Thursday.
“She is a warrior,” he said. “She’s very mentally tough. And if she loses a set, I never doubt her because she never gets down on herself – she’s very confident in her belief that she’s going to do well. It’s just a testament to her character. She’s a fighter.”
Norway’s No. 2 doubles team, Lilly and Lyla Tomlanovich, also won a U.P. title with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in the final match.
“They’re sisters, a junior and then a sophomore,” Huotari said. “We made a little bit of a switch halfway through the year and fortunately it worked out for the best for them. They just complemented each other really well.”
West Iron County junior Grace Smith defended her title in No. 1 singles with a two-set win in the final match over Norway.
“I am proud of myself, for all the hard work I put in,” she said. “This was my main goal. … I feel like my ground strokes were pretty good. My serve wasn’t the best, but I still won.”
Wykons coach Jen Schive was confident she’d win.
“Phenomenal season, phenomenal all-around athlete, academically, on and off the court, the whole shooting match,” Schive said. “She’s a strong player. She is a focused, determined player. She’s a great leader on the team.”
Ishpeming won two U.P. flight titles, at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles.
Juniors Stella Nerlfi and Charlee Fredy won the doubles crown. They were 6-4, 6-0 winners in the final.
“We worked really hard for this all season,” Nerlfi said. “I think we were doing really good in hitting the alley shots, and our net was really good. We just stayed confident through the entire thing.”
“They came in as the 1 seed, so I thought they did pretty well,” Ishpeming coach Libbie Doney said. “They deserved to be the 1 seed from the start, and they played through and they did great.”
Sophomore Camryn Miller won the No. 3 singles title, also as the 1 seed, with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win in the final match.
“She deserved that as well. She played great all year,” Doney said. “She went into three sets – she bounced back, won the first set, lost the second and then came back and won the third. She played really well.”
The finals were supposed to be at Ishpeming’s courts, but their new ones won’t be done until next week.
“I’m pretty proud of my girls,” Doney said. “We haven’t had tennis courts all year, so we’ve been bouncing around with practicing at different locations. So for a few of us to come out as U.P. champs is pretty big and shows that the girls can come through adversity.”
Iron Mountain junior Rhiannon Johnson won the No. 4 singles title, claiming her final matchup 6-3, 6-2.
“I think it’s great. I feel amazing,” she said. “(The key was) staying mentally strong and never getting stressed out and staying calm and composed.”
Iron Mountain coach Keith Huotari said her championship win was a bit unexpected. He did think she had a chance when she got a second seed for the finals.
“But she’s a bulldog,” he said. “That kid, she just works hard. She wanted it, and she got it.”
Johnson wanted to make the move from doubles to singles and proved she belonged. She also battled illness this year, as she was throwing up while playing in the heat. She played with a wet towel around her neck and was determined to stay on the court regardless.
“She said point blank, ‘I’m playing,’” Huotari said. “That’s what it takes to win a U.P. title – it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude. You have to just gut it out sometimes, and she did.
“Just seeing her happy after all she’s gone through, good for her.”
West Iron County’s Reese Ahola and Vivian Holm took the No. 3 championship. They were 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 winners in the final.
“I tell them, you’re a bunch of maniacs, you get out there and make things work for yourself and that’s the fun of it,” Schive said.
The Wykons’ Tessa Stapleton and Zoe Donati took the No. 4 doubles win. They won 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
“I have to say I was a little bit shocked, but I could not be any prouder of them for coming together like they did,” Schive said. “At the beginning of the season, I wondered if we were going to be able to develop a swing, and in the end here, they proved that they did and a little more. So very, very proud of them, very proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Norway’s Jessa Rossler returns a volley during a No. 2 singles match Thursday. (Middle) West Iron County’s Grace Smith reaches to get to a shot at No. 1 singles. (Below) Stella Nerlfi sends a shot back over the net for Ishpeming at No. 1 doubles. (Photos by Jason Juno.)
Preview: Favorites Own Impressive Streaks, but Challengers Await
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 1, 2023
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern is playing for a fourth-straight Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals championship this weekend, with Ann Arbor Pioneer seeking a third straight in Division 1, Ann Arbor Greenhills going for the repeat in Division 4 and Detroit Country Day looking to rebound for a sixth Division 3 title over the last seven seasons.
But full brackets of contenders are seeking to stand in the way – including another reigning champion and No. 2-ranked teams either seeking their first Finals title or first in two decades.
All four divisions again will be played Friday and Saturday over multiple locations, with semifinals and finals to be played at the first sites listed below in each division.
Below is a glance at the highest-ranked teams in each division and additional No. 1 singles players expected to be in contention. Click for full brackets and more from MHSAA.com.
LP Division 1 at Hope College and Holland Christian High School
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Troy, 3. Bloomfield Hills.
Ann Arbor Pioneer: The Pioneers have won two straight LPD1 championships, claiming last year’s outright after sharing with Bloomfield Hills in 2021. Those two titles came with sweeps of singles flight titles, and that’s a possibility again with junior Elsie Van Wieren seeded second at No. 1 and junior Bridgette Kelly, senior Juliana Pullen and freshman Sophia Liang seeded first at Nos. 2-4, respectively. Van Wieren won No. 2 the last two seasons, and Kelly won No. 4 the last two years. All four doubles pairs are seeded fourth or higher as well, with top seeds at No. 2 with juniors Eleanor Vogel and Casey Roe and No. 3 with sophomores Elita You and Arella He. Vogel was part of the No. 3 runner-up last season.
Troy: The Colts are seeking their first team championship since 2003 and finished third a year ago with three doubles pairs earning runner-up finishes. This weekend senior Grace Zhu and junior Nika Tanako are seeded first at No. 1, and junior Marin Fox and freshman Nainika Jasti are seeded first at No. 4, with the Nos. 2 and 3 pairs also earning top-three seeds. Zhu was part of last season’s No. 1 runner-up, and Tanako was part of the No. 2 runner-up pair, while 2022 No. 4 runners-up Vienna Thieu and Michelle Baik are playing this time at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with other partners. Two singles flights also are seeded, with senior Stephanie Ochoa fourth at No. 3 after playing doubles last season with Zhu.
Bloomfield Hills: After tying with Pioneer in 2021, Bloomfield Hills missed doing the same last season by one point. Three singles flights and one doubles pair are seeded this weekend, led by second-seeded junior Julia Yousif at No. 3 singles after she was runner-up at No. 4 last spring. Seniors Natalie Raab and Colleen Pettengill are seeded third at No. 1 doubles after Raab was part of the No. 2 champion and Pettengill part of the No. 4 winner a year ago. Freshman Prisha Lingam will debut as the fourth seed at No. 1 singles.
Sari Woo, Ann Arbor Skyline junior: She’s 15-1 this spring, with more than half of her wins by 6-0, 6-0 scores and the only loss a default. Woo finished No. 1 runner-up as a sixth-seeded freshman in 2021.
Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams sophomore: She’s the third seed at No. 1 singles for the second-straight season and after finishing runner-up a year ago.
LP Division 2 at Midland Tennis Center and Midland High School
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies’ championship streak reached three last spring as they edged Seaholm by four points, and they enter this weekend with all eight flights seeded third or higher. Freshman Harriet Ogilvie will play her first Finals as the top seed at No. 4 singles, while juniors Ryan Morey and Paige McKenzie earned the top seed at No. 1 doubles and senior Maria Jacobs and sophomore Morgan McKenzie are top-seeded at No. 3. The team’s other three singles flights all are seeded third after moving up one flight coming off runner-up finishes in 2022 – junior Nathalie Lanne now at No. 1, sophomore Andrea Wang now at No. 2 and senior Miriam Ogilvie now at No. 3 after finishing second at No. 4 a year ago. Morey was part of last year’s No. 2 doubles champion and Paige McKenzie part of the runner-up at No. 4 with Ava Hamilton, who is part of this weekend’s third-seeded pair at No. 2.
Birmingham Seaholm: The runner-up last season and in 2019 is seeking its first title since 2018 with seven seeded flights including top-seeded juniors Katie Slazinski and Jenna Ting at No. 2 doubles and top-seeded junior Stella North and freshman Lucy Jen at No. 4. Slazinski was part of last season’s No. 2 doubles runner-up and Ting was part of the No. 4 champion. Seniors Tatum Hirsch and Ellie Wyzykowski are teaming up for the third seed at No. 1 doubles after Hirsch was part of last year’s No. 3 champion and Wyzykowski partnered with Slazinski at No. 2, and senior Sydney Fong is part of the third seed at No. 3 after teaming with Ting for that No. 4 title in 2022. Senior Madeleine Leo has moved to No. 1 singles after finishing as part of the No. 1 doubles runner-up last season.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The Rangers are expected to jump after finishing seventh last season, and all eight flights are seeded fifth or higher. Leading are junior Lily Ohlman with a second seed at No. 1 singles, sophomore Maggie Moog and freshman Clare Knoester with the second seed at No. 4 doubles, and freshman Chloe Cox as the third seed at No. 4 singles. Ohlman made the No. 2 singles quarterfinals last season.
Helaina Pietrowsky, Grosse Pointe North senior: She’s the top seed at No. 1 singles in her third season playing that flight, and she’s 14-3 with two losses to Division 1 players and the third by default. She made the quarterfinals last season as a sixth seed.
Allison Wootton, Portage Northern senior: She’s also in her third season at the top flight and the No. 4 seed this time, entering this weekend 24-2.
LP Division 3 at University of Michigan and Dexter High School
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Country Day, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets moved up to the top spot in the rankings this week after tying Cranbrook for the Regional title. They finished fifth at the Final a year ago coming off five straight LPD3 championships, and will be back in the hunt with all four singles flights second-seeded and three top seeds and a third seed at doubles. Juniors Peja Liles and Marin Norlander are the top seed at No. 1 doubles – Liles was part of the champion at that flight last year and Norlander part of the runner-up at No. 2 – while senior Alyssa Rahmani and freshman Noor Mahmoud are the top seed at No. 3 and senior Josie Pachla and freshman Jiya Gill are the top seed at No. 4. Norlander’s partner last year, senior Aryasai Radhakrishnan, is part of the third seed at No. 2 and she and Norlander won No. 2 in 2021, while Rahmani was part of the champion at No. 3 in 2021. Sophomore Sophia Grzesiak is the second seed at No. 1 singles after also playing that flight as a freshman.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The reigning champion won last season with 37 points – 16 more than the field – and will try to withstand challenges this time with eight seeded flights including three tops seeds and two flights seeded second. Junior Sienna Ilitch is the top seed at No. 3 singles after winning that flight last season and finishing runner-up as a freshman, and junior Olivia Zhang is the top seed at No. 4 also as the reigning champion and runner-up in 2021. Junior Grace Zhang and sophomore Sophia Kouza are top-seeded at No. 2 doubles, Zhang coming off last season’s championship at No. 3 with sophomore Ava Clogg, the fifth seed this time at No. 1 singles. Juniors Daryn Krause and Kayli Lala – who teamed for the No. 4 doubles title last year – are seeded second this time at No. 1
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles are seeking their first championship and also looking to break back into the top two for the first time since a third-straight runner-up finish in 2017. They’ve been bolstered substantially by freshman Brynn Uchman, who enters as the top seed at No. 1 singles and 26-0 without reaching a third set this spring. Junior Natalie Poortenga is the top seed at No. 2 for the second-straight season and reached the semifinals a year ago. Five other flights are seeded as well.
Julia Gurne, Portland Notre Dame Prep junior: The third seed at No. 1 singles made the quarterfinals as the third seed last season and was the No. 1 runner-up as a freshman.
Aly Aldrich, Otsego junior: She’s up to the fourth seed at No. 1 singles this weekend after finishing runner-up a year ago as the sixth seed.
LP Division 4 at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons were champions for the first time since 2017 last season, distancing themselves from the field by nine points, and are in position to repeat with all eight flights seeded first or second and most experienced at the Finals level. Sophomore Maddie Morgan made the semifinals at No. 1 singles last season as a third seed and moves to the top line this weekend, while sophomore Shangyang Xia is the top seed at No. 2 after winning that flight a year ago. Freshman Danica Rakic-Dennis is the top seed at No. 3, and senior Manassa Golapalli is the second seed at No. 4 after finishing runner-up at that flight in 2022. Reigning No. 3 singles champion Sophie Chen has moved to No. 1 doubles as a sophomore and is paired with freshman Lauren Ye as the top seed. Sophomore Sophia Kleer and junior Parini Rao are second-seeded at No. 2 doubles after both were part of runner-up pairs a year ago at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Second-seeded No. 3 pair Meera Tewari and Meera Pandey, both sophomores, are a combo of a reigning No. 4 doubles champ and Rio’s partner at No. 3 last season, respectively, and freshmen Arya Prabhakar and Aoife Tang are debuting at the Finals as the second seed at No. 4.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators tied for 11th last season but have finished runner-up four times over the last eight years. They’ll make their run this time with four seeded flights including senior Audrey Lee on the top line at No. 4 singles. Only three of 12 starters are seniors, so St. Francis should remain in the hunt moving forward as well.
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard: The Irish went from unranked to No. 3 in the final poll, and should jump after tying for 13th last season. FGR has only one senior among its starters, but all four singles players are seeded including three in second slots – freshman Jenny Florea at No. 1, senior Vivian Heegan at No. 2 and freshman Kenna Trost at No. 3. Heegan made the quarterfinals last season at No. 1 while unseeded.
Maggie Page, Jackson Lumen Christi senior: She’s returning as the third seed at No. 1 singles after winning a match at that flight last season while unseeded and going 21-1 this season with her only loss to Florea.
Ayva Johnstone, Elk Rapids junior: She’s also back at the top singles flight, this time as the fourth seed after entering as the fifth seed a year ago.
Jadyn Koenes, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian senior: She’s the fifth seed at No. 1 singles after reaching the quarterfinals last season as a sixth seed.
PHOTO Otsego’s Aly Aldrich returns a volley during a match day this spring. (Photo by Gary Shook.)