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.)
Courageous Carpenter Serving Winners Again
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
May 21, 2019
PORTAGE — With her bubbly personality and bright smile, Abby Carpenter looks like any other tennis player trying to win points for her team.
But the Portage Central sophomore's path to return to play for one of the state's top teams has been anything but typical.
Carpenter has suffered eight concussions and fought her way onto the team through physical therapy, medication and sheer determination.
“The first (concussion) was a mild one in fifth grade,” she said. “It was playing badminton in gym class.
“The serious ones were in volleyball my freshman year. I got two in volleyball and one in tennis.”
The one in tennis sidelined her all last season, so she is doubly excited now that the Mustangs have qualified for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals at Holland.
“I was at the net and someone was serving and served it into the back of my head in warm ups, actually, so I didn’t get to play a single match last year,” she said.
Her love of sports has kept her fighting to play, and her perseverance has kept her on the court, although it has not been easy.
“I don’t normally have a stutter but I actually have something called concussion conversion syndrome, meaning no matter how often my head’s hit, my brain tries to shut itself down and it goes into shock and tries to protect itself, causing concussion-like symptoms,” she said.
“They used to last for months but then I’ve gone to therapy to basically teach myself how to get out of them and prevent the full shutdown. I can prevent some of them, and I have my medicine to prevent some of the side effects.”
She also has vision issues.
In spite of all that, she played her way to the No. 4 singles spot for coach Peter Militzer’s Mustangs.
“I’ve always been over-competitive and I don’t like the thought of letting other people down because of my individual struggle,” she said. “I’m hardest on myself more than anyone, so I don’t want to let myself down.
“Tennis is the only sport I’m cleared to play by my neurologist.”
Carpenter gets treated at The CORE Institute in Brighton and “I’m under intense concussion treatment and take daily medication and physical therapies,” she said.
“At one point, I had to relearn to talk and walk because I got such a bad concussion. It’s been a long road.”
Portage Central qualified for the MHSAA tournament May 31-June 1 by finishing second to Mattawan at last weekend’s Regional.
Militzer was not sure how the team would fare since he has just one senior, Riley Burns, who teams with junior Lea Stephen at No. 3 doubles.
‘We are really strong at No. 1 singles (junior Casey Smith) and No. 1 doubles (juniors Ashnu Mehra and Kimberly Kovacik, who won the Regional title) but I think we have good depth at both singles and doubles,” Militzer said.
“Any time you have one senior, you don’t think you’re going to do really well. But we have a good nucleus of juniors and some really good freshmen and a couple new players.”
One of those surprising freshmen is Sydney Sonday.
“She’s a swimmer but her mom and dad are avid tennis players,” Militzer said. “She picked it up quick and is doing quite well.”
“Going into the season, we’re looking at our lineup and we knew (freshman) Diya (Singh at No. 2 singles) and (freshman) Carly (Smith, No. 2 doubles with junior Alyson Miller) coming in would be good and would contribute at a high spot, but we weren’t sure where we were going to be in singles.
“Sydney settled in at 3 singles, and Abby has done well at 4 singles.”
Casey Smith has played at the top spot all three years.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking at first, especially freshman year, because I had never really done a team sport since elementary school. So to be put into that atmosphere was definitely a learning moment for me,” said Smith, who also competes in USTA tournaments.
“It taught me a lot about myself. I feel like I learned to deal with pressure in nervous matches. We all know that in every single one of our positions, we’re all worth the same. We just have to do our jobs.”
Portage Central improved from 11th at the LPD2 Finals in 2017 to eighth a year ago, and moved up to No. 8 in this week’s coaches association rankings with another Finals opportunity coming up.
“It’s so exciting for all of us because it means we get to keep hitting and get to keep practicing with each other for another couple of weeks,” Smith said.
“We never want it to end at Regionals when we know we can go farther. Just to play a lot more competition and to play teams we don’t normally play is really exciting.”
After finishing runner-up to Mattawan’s Kate Novak at Regionals, Smith hopes to be seeded at states for the first time.
“I’m tired of playing seeds in the second round,” she said. “I’ve had to play first round, and I’ve lost my second round both years.
“Both have been good matches, but I really want to start second round this year. That’s a goal.”
Militzer said Smith is a hard worker and great defensive player.
“She can run down things, and players who go out on the court against her will have to hit two or three winners before the point ends,” he said. “That can wear on a person during a match.
“She’s always had a few weapons, and her weapons are getting stronger and more consistent as she’s matures.”
With her sister Carly playing doubles, Casey Smith said she tries to keep an eye on her sister’s match when they are both on the court.
“I feel like I’m only watching when it’s not a distraction,” Casey Smith said. “I feel like I’m pretty good at pulling myself back into my match. But I do watch over there on changeovers.”
Although she is the younger sister, Carly Smith is definitely not the “little” sister.
At 5-foot-9, she also plays volleyball and is very happy playing doubles during the spring. She and Miller were No. 2 doubles champs at Regionals.
“I like when you have someone to pump you up and cheer you up when you’re down,” she said. “Singles is not my thing.”
Sophomores Molly Rohs and Jana Schnur round out the roster at No. 4 doubles.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Portage Central sophomore Abby Carpenter receives encouragement from coach Peter Militzer during Saturday’s Regional. (Middle) Clockwise, from top left: Carpenter, Militzer, Carly Smith and Casey Smith. (Below) Casey Smith returns a volley during one of her Regional matches at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)