PH Northern Hits Winning Number
June 1, 2013
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – For the Port Huron Northern girls tennis team, winning the Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship at the Midland Community Tennis Center was all about redemption.
Last year, the Huskies tied Clarkston for second place with 25 points as Grosse Pointe South walked away with the title after tallying one more.
Northern came into the tournament believing that this year's magic number was 24.
"I knew if we hit the 24-point mark we would have a shot at winning the state championship," said Northern coach Char Sweeney.
Little did Sweeney know before the tournament got underway Friday that 24 would be the winning number and that her team would be on the winning end of things after the final matches were over Saturday afternoon.
Northern scored 24 points to top Farmington Hills Mercy, which finished second with 22. Grosse Pointe South and Clarkston tied for third with 20. Rounding out the top five was Northville with 14 points.
"We came so close to winning the whole thing a year ago, and we were a determined group coming into the season," Sweeney said. "I would have loved to have won a state championship last season and shared the experience with my older daughter, but to be able to share this with my daughter (Allie) this year along with the rest of the team is pretty special."
The win capped Northern's first championship run since 2002.
Farmington Hills Mercy coach Joe Stafford was all smiles after his team's second-place finish.
"This was probably our highest finish in the last 15 years," Stafford said. "I told the girls even before the tournament started that we play together. We win together. We lose together. Whatever happens after that is up to us. The girls rose to the challenge in the tournament and played their hearts out. I couldn't be prouder of what they accomplished here today."
With five freshmen, three sophomores and only two seniors, Stafford's team should contend for the top spot in the tournament for years to come.
Meanwhile, it was Northern that walked away with a Finals championship, also with a young team that will continue to surge in coming seasons.
Northern won two individual flight titles against Clarkston as Lizzie Brozovich defeated top-seeded Isabella Spindler, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2 singles, and Fran Basha and Alexis Wirtz defeated top-seeded Paige Olsen and Alex Whall, 6-1, 6-0, in No. 1 doubles.
Brozovich was the only singles winner that wasn't a No. 1 seed in her flight. Mary Hanna of Saline won at No. 1 singles; at No. 3 singles Dana Olsen (Clarkston) defeated Maggie Sweeney (Grosse Pointe South) 6-0, 6-4, and at No. 4 singles Madie Flournoy upended Jessie Guindi, 6-3, 0-6 and 6-2.
Brozovich's win was a game-changer for the Huskies.
"When Lizzie won we knew we could have a shot at winning the whole thing," Sweeney said. "Lizzie was so close to winning a year ago, she came into the tournament knowing what to expect this year. She was so poised an in control.
“This isn't a three-month passion for them. It's a year's worth of hard work and sacrifice. It's a long process to be able to accomplish what the girls did today."
In other doubles matches, Mercy's Anna Hinrichs and Mackenzie Zierau defeated Northern's Jenna Brettschneider and Maddie Neaton, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, at No. 2; Evie VanDewege and Alyssa Roopas of Ann Arbor Pioneer handed Northern's Amy Tseng and Maggie Bacheller their first loss of the season, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 3; and Northville's Shannon Williams and Libby Quinn bested Mercy's Julie Flanagan and Sarah Hinrichs, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4.
The No. 2 doubles match lasted more than three hours. Tseng and Bacheller already knew the team had locked up the title after the second set, but still would have liked to have won an individual championship.
"That was by far the longest match we have been in all season," Tseng said. "We would have liked to have won a state championship, but we did it as a team and I couldn't be prouder of what we were able to accomplish as a group."
Click for full results.
PHOTO: Port Huron Northern’s Amy Tseng and Maggie Bacheller play a No. 3 doubles match; they finished runners-up in their flight. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
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.)