Performance: Pioneer's Kari Miller

June 7, 2019

Kari Miller
Ann Arbor Pioneer junior – Tennis 

After a year away, Miller returned to high school tennis this spring and won her second No. 1 singles championship in Lower Peninsula Division 1, capping an undefeated season Saturday at the Greater Midland Tennis Center to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”

Miller also had won No. 1 singles in LPD1 as a freshman before spending last year playing national events. Much was expected from Miller’s return to the high school courts, as she’s ranked 17th nationally in her graduating class by Tennis Recruiting Network and has committed to continue her career after high school at University of Michigan. Miller met all the pressure head on and shined, finishing 29-0 with just two lost sets the entire spring. She entered the LPD1 Finals as the top seed at No. 1 and gave up a combined seven points over her first three matches before falling in the first set of the finale 7-5 to Grosse Pointe South freshman Lily Jones, herself ranked 24th nationally in the Class of 2022. Miller bounced back to win the following two sets 6-0, 6-0. Her flight championship helped Pioneer to a fifth-place team finish with 19 points, an 11-place and 17-point jump from 2018.

Tennis runs in the family; Miller was guided into the sport by her father, and her aunt Annie Miller played professionally and rose to No. 40 in the world in 1998. Annie Miller went on to study at U-M, and Kari is carrying a 4.0 GPA and plans to study business with aspirations of a career in finance or consulting in New York City. Her immediate future, however, includes one more year of high school and another exciting opportunity – her sister Reese will be a freshman and join her on the Pioneer tennis team in 2020.

Ann Arbor Pioneer assistant coach Dan Goldberg said: “Obviously it’s a game-changer when you have the best player in the state come back and play high school tennis for her team. For her, personally, a lot of the tennis she plays at the national level is individual. She loves the girls on the team. She loves being a part of the team. That really was the big decision, along with the fact that she’s already committed to college. Her sophomore year she really needed to go where the competition was.’’

Performance Point: “The state tournament compared to all the tournaments I play isn't the most challenging, but I feel like it's different because there's a lot more pressure involved,” Miller said. “There's big crowds and people cheering. So in some ways I feel like it's actually a harder tournament than a lot of the ones that I'm used to playing. ... The girl I played at the Finals is really, really good, and she's a freshman, and she plays a lot of the same national tournaments as me. She ranks really high for her grade. We're pretty even – I knew that, my parents and coaches knew that, and I'm sure she and her parents and coaches knew.”

All expectations fulfilled: “When I decided to play (high school) again, I don’t think I really thought about it. (But) there was actually more pressure this year than there was last year because everyone knew and lot of people were talking about how I was playing again. I just had to try to not think about what others expected. Obviously I expected a lot from myself, but it made it harder for me when I saw what the expectations were (from) other people. It was mentally tougher this year.”

Aunt Annie knows: “I do sometimes talk to her. I don't really see her that much because she lives in Portland, Oregon. But she Facetimed me after the state tournament, told me congrats, and we talked about it for a little bit, how I was happy that I won and some of the stuff that went on during the tournament. She understands because she's done all I've done, and then more.”

Behind the lens: “My life during the school year is basically homework and school, or on weekends I’ll have a tournament or hang out with my friends a little. When I go on vacation, I usually try to bring my camera. … Recently I've been taking pictures of other people – me and my sister will take pictures of each other or together on vacation, but sometimes I take pictures of nature where I am. I haven't had as much time to do that recently, but mostly during the summers. In seventh grade I saved a bunch of money to buy a camera, so it was definitely worthwhile because it's really nice.”

More to accomplish: “Next year I just want to be able to play on the team with my sister. And I think honestly, the one other thing is next year I think we'll be even better (as a team) than this year. Next year we really need to try to win the state tournament. I think we'll have a good chance. I mean, I want to try to win individually again – winning a third time would be nice – but I already won twice. The one thing I would say I haven't experienced yet is winning as a team.”

- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
and Perry A. Farrell, correspondent

Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.

The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster. 

Past 2018-19 honorees

May 23: Keshaun Harris, Lansing Waverly track & field - Read
May 16: Gabbie Sherman, Millington softball - Read
May 9:
Nathan Taylor, Muskegon Mona Shores golf - Read
May 2:
Ally Gaunt, New Baltimore Anchor Bay soccer - Read
April 25:
Kali Heivilin, Three Rivers softball - Read
March 28:
Rickea Jackson, Detroit Edison basketball - Read
March 21:
Noah Wiswary, Hudsonville Unity Christian basketball - Read
March 14:
Cam Peel, Spring Lake swimming - Read
March 7:
Jordan Hamdan, Hudson wrestling - Read
February 28:
Kevon Davenport, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Read
February 21:
Reagan Olli, Gaylord skiing - Read 
February 14:
Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31:
Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24:
Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29:
Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15:
Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8:
Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1:
Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25:
Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18:
Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4:
Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read

PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer's Kari Miller lines up a backhand during a first-day match at last weekend's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Greater Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Miller waits on a volley during her run to the No. 1 singles title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Senior-Powered Ishpeming Follows Doubles Dominance to 1st Finals Win

By Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com

October 5, 2023

KINGSFORD – Ishpeming coach Kaitlin Rich said she had a call to make after Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals. 

The school never needed a girls tennis banner before, but they do now.

The Hematites won their first U.P. title Wednesday at Kingsford, edging West Iron County 19-18 on a warm, windy day in Dickinson County.

It’s been their goal since finishing runner-up to Iron Mountain last year. Rich was reminded of that earlier this week in her Facebook memories – her team of mostly seniors were juniors then, and their goal was, “U.P. ’23.”

“They set that goal, and they crushed it,” Rich said. “They showed up every day. They worked hard.”

Munising was third with seven points. Gwinn, Iron Mountain, Ironwood and Norway all had three.

West Iron County's Aubrey Bice won No. 1 singles.After the longest event of the day finally wrapped up, the Ishpeming players went to the scoring area and confirmed their victory. They celebrated with their trophy and looked forward to their fire truck escort into Ishpeming later that evening.

Ten of the 12 Ishpeming players were seniors. One of the two sophomores is Rich’s sister.

“I have been connected to these seniors since I taught them in third grade, and as a coach, there’s not a greater moment that I think I’ve had or will ever have than this moment right now,” Rich said. “These girls work so hard every day. Most of them dual sport. They are the definition of athlete: They have commitment to each other, they have true grit and there’s nothing that will top this day for me as a coach – going forward, in the past, nothing.”

West Iron County, which won all four singles flights, came up just short of a first U.P. title since 2020.

“Overall a very good day for the team,” WIC coach Jen Schive said. “They are a team of seniors, so we were coming out and we were ready to compete against them. I think the girls overall did pretty well this year. I’m excited for next year because I have a good group of incoming juniors.”

Ishpeming won on the strength of its doubles teams, all four of which won Wednesday.

Addison Morton and Payton Manninen defeated West Iron County’s Destiny Lemery and Olivia LaMay 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 1 doubles final.

The No. 1 seeds started slow in their semifinal win over Ironwood after a first-round bye. They had to wait again to play the final, and they overcame a slow start once again.

“But we were able to bring the energy and play how we know we can play,” Morton said. “It was really good to be able to take the championship.”

She said the team title was “really important for us,” with all the seniors they had this season.

Rich said it’d be hard to find a more athletic doubles team than her No. 1 pair.

“They are just so athletic,” she said. “And I’ll tell you, those two have a fire in them that you can’t coach and they are just mentally tough.”

Ishpeming’s No. 2 doubles team of Jenna Maki and Emma LaFave defeated West Iron’s Aubrey Richardson and Kaycee Ingram 6-2, 6-0.

“I think this is the best me and Emma have ever played together,” Maki said. “We were pretty nervous going into it. Last time we played, we played about two weeks ago in Ishpeming, and it was tiebreaker each set, so we thought it was going to be a lot more of a challenge. But we played really great and swept them.”

They complement each other well, Rich said. 

“Jenna Maki is just a beast at the net and Emma has just beautiful placement. She can get the other team running. She sees the gaps and hits them all the time,” Rich said.

The No. 3 duo of Ciara Schaffer and Kadie Kaukola downed Munising’s Tessa Salo and Emmy Crisp 6-1, 6-4.

 “It feels really good to finally see our work pay off, all the practice we’ve put in, and also being our senior year, getting the title,” Kaukola said. 

They work well together also, Rich said.

“The growth they’ve shown from the beginning of the season to now is just amazing,” she said. “And I’ll tell you, Katie Kaukola is just an athlete and she can get to any ball on that court. Ciara is a competitor, and she loves the game more than anybody.”

Gwinn's Miaha Schiefel finished runner-up at No. 1 singles. Rich’s sister, Ava Jo Hares, and Kaitlyn VanDeuren defeated Munising’s Tamryn Nolan and Lauren Nelson 6-2, 6-0, for the No. 4 doubles win. Hares said they did well battling the strong wind.

They’d lost only to Negaunee in what was a dominant season.

“They again are very well-balanced,” Rich said. “Kaitlyn is phenomenal at the net. She’s very intimidating up there. She’s very tall, and she gets a lot of the balls down. And then Ava hustles and she has very good placement and she also has a really good serve, especially for a sophomore.”

West Iron County swept the singles championships.

The Wykons’ Aubrey Bice defeated Gwinn’s Miaha Schiefel 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in No. 1 singles.

“It shows me that all my hard work finally paid off and at least I can go out with a bang in my last year,” Bice said.

Coach Schive said Bice is a phenomenal player.

“She’s a very focused player; she is a true No. 1,” Schive said. “I am glad that she won today, she fully deserves it. She’s been fighting all season and working every little bit, everything that she knows that she needs to win.”

Seanna Stine swept Ishpeming’s Emily DeMarois 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.

“I stayed confident, and I hit well,” Stine said. 

Schive said Stine showed her senior athleticism all season.

“She hits the ball well, and she strives to really work on her placement as a strategy,” she said. 

Kaitlyn Smith took No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-1, over Ishpeming’s Lilly Swanson.

“What a competitor,” Schive said. “All year long, she strives to do well, she works and puts a lot of time in. You can see it paid off today.”

Erin Kolbas defeated Ishpeming’s Lilly Ryan 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4 singles. It was the final match of the day and all of the remaining players were able to watch.

“At first it was just me and the other team, and my team wasn’t over there. I was a little bit worried, I was scared. But then my team came over and they were cheering me on, so I felt a lot better,” Kolbas said. “I genuinely didn’t expect to get this far because this is my first year.”

Schieve said the sophomore has improved “leaps and bounds” this year.

“She has put her time in,” Schive said.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Emily DeMarois finished second at No. 2 singles at Wednesday's UP Division 2 Finals in Kingsford. (Middle) West Iron County's Aubrey Bice won No. 1 singles. (Below) Gwinn's Miaha Schiefel finished runner-up at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Jason Juno.)