Preview: Serving Up Intriguing Scenarios
June 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s powerhouse girls tennis programs tend to annually contend for MHSAA championships, and this weekend’s four Lower Peninsula Finals should stay true to that pattern.
But a couple of possibilities could bring added intrigue to the mix of often-predictable winners.
One of those powers, Detroit Country Day, has the top seeds at every flight in Division 3 and could make a run at a perfect score. In Division 4, Ann Arbor Greenhills will shoot for its first team title since 2009 to join a recent string won by its boys program, and Jackson Lumen Christi is expected to contend for its first MHSAA Finals team title ever.
Following are all four sites and start times for both Friday and Saturday’s rounds:
- Division 1 – Greater Midland Tennis Center (8:30 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3)
- Division 2 – Hope College/Holland Christian HS (8:45 a.m., all finals at Hope)
- Division 3 – Kalamazoo College (8 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3)
- Division 4 – Holly/Fenton High Schools (8 a.m. 6/2, 9 a.m. 6/3, all finals at Holly)
Below is a brief look at top contenders at each tournament; click for more including brackets and seeds for all 32 flights across the four divisions.
LP Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center
Top-ranked: No. 1 Northville, No. 2 Midland Dow, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills.
Northville and Dow have swapped spots the last two seasons, Northville winning and Dow coming in second in 2015 and the reverse last spring. Northville edged Dow by two points to win the Ann Arbor Invitational at the end of April. If Bloomfield Hills can rise after finishing eighth last season, it would be the program’s first title – including for the two former schools, Lahser and Andover, that combined to form the current one.
Northville: The Mustangs finished only three points back of Dow a year ago and will look to make them up with seven flights seeded either first or second. Neha Chava and Sophie Zhuang won No. 3 doubles last season; Zhuang is playing this season with Serena Wang as the top-seeded pair at No. 1, while Chava and Maya Mulchandani make up the top-seeded pair at No. 2 – Wang and Mulchandani were the runners-up at No. 1 doubles in 2016. Shanoli Kumar is unseeded at No. 1 singles but finished runner-up at No. 2 last spring, and Joanne Gao is second-seeded at No. 2 after finishing runner-up at No. 3 a year ago – both were champions at their former flights in 2015. Also holding down top seeds are Renee Torres at No. 3 singles and Tori Mady at No. 4. Alexandria Petix was part of the No. 4 doubles champion last season and is seeded second at that flight with Madison DeYoung, while Connie Gao and Andrea Nam are second-seeded at No. 3 doubles.
Midland Dow: The reigning champion is seeded at seven flights as well and third or higher at six flights. Sarah Ismail, the No. 3 singles champion last season, is seeded third at No. 2; reigning No. 2 singles champion Caroline Szabo is paired with Christina Vanerkelen as the top seed at No. 3 doubles, while Meghan Killmaster and Kelly Livingston were champions at No. 2 doubles last season and are second-seeded this time at No. 1. Similarly, Tatum Matthews and Mina Fabiano moved up to the second seed at No. 2 doubles after finishing runner-up at No. 3 in 2016, and Maggie Schaller is back at No. 4 doubles this time with Reema Patel and seeded third after Schaller was part of the runner-up last spring. Jessica Brown is unseeded at No. 1 singles but was No. 2 runner-up in 2015 (and seeded sixth at No. 1 last spring), and Hadley Camp is third-seeded at No. 3 and was runner-up at No. 4 in 2015. Freshman Victoria Leiti is seeded fifth at No. 4 singles.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks are seeded at six flights as they pursue their first title, with four top-four seeds. Lauren Ruby and Kaela Bernard are the top-seeded pair at No. 4 doubles, and Tia Mukherjee is the second seed at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals at that flight last season as a freshman.
Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kari Miller: A freshman is the favorite to win No. 1 singles for the second straight season; this time it’s Miller entering the weekend as the top seed at the top flight.
Utica Eisenhower’s Ava Thielman: The No. 1 singles runner-up as a sophomore in 2015, Thielman also made the semifinals last season.
LP Division 2 at Hope College
Top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
The Pioneers were a distant second last season as Bloomfield Hills Marian dominated with 32 points, but are favorites to win their first MHSAA title since 2009 and first ever in Division 2 after more than a decade as a Division 3 power. Seaholm was fourth and Forest Hills Northern third in 2016, but they are used to being in contention as well; they shared the 2014 title and Seaholm won its third straight in 2015, when Forest Hills Northern was runner-up.
East Grand Rapids: No. 1 singles Sloane Teske, No. 2 Hannah Stuursma and No. 4 Halley Elliott are all top seeds, and No. 3 Audrey Olson is a second seed as that group leads the charge. All four doubles are seeded as well, two pairs as third seeds. The No. 4 pair of Audrey Devries and Kate Mackeigan is seeded third after finishing runner-up at that flight last season. Teske and Stuursma made the semifinals at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, respectively, in 2016.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples’ power is at doubles, with all four flights seeded fifth or higher. Caity Buechner is seeded second at No. 2 with Emma Latessa, and Lilly Trinch and Brooke Forte also earned a second seed, at No. 3 doubles. Three singles players are seeded fifth at their flights.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: Six flights are seeded, including three first or second. Felicia Zhang is the second seed at No. 4 singles after winning No. 3 a year ago, and FHN’s other flight champion from last season also is back but split over two flights. Claire Tatman and Salonee Marwaha are the reigning winners at No. 3 doubles, and this time Marwaha is part of the third seed at No. 2 with Abby Zhang, while Tatman is seeded second at No. 1 with Maansi Dalmia.
Mason’s Olivia Hanover: Last season’s runner-up at No. 1 singles beat Teske in the semifinals but is seeded just below Teske this time as the second in their flight.
Okemos’ Monika Francsics: She’s unseeded at No. 1 singles, but gets a mention for a few reasons; she won No. 2 last season and was No. 3 runner-up in 2015, and the Chiefs have had the No. 1 singles champion three seasons in a row.
Traverse City Central’s Yana Beeker and Kristin McLintock: The Trojans’ No. 1 doubles pair is seeded first after Beeker made the semifinals at that flight in Division 1 last season and McLintock made the second round as part of a No. 2 pair.
LP Division 3 at Kalamazoo College
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Country Day, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Holland Christian.
Country Day broke Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s hold on Division 3 last season after the Cranes had won five straight titles. But just barely. Country Day scored 32 points, with Grand Rapids Christian at 31 and Cranbrook at 30. The Yellowjackets are favorites again after winning all eight flights at their Regional.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets are loaded with championship experience. All four singles players are top seeds – Monique Karoub at No. 1, Sadina Fadel at No. 2, Nina Khaghany at No. 3 and Alexis Nardicchio at No. 4 – after Karoub was the No. 2 champion and Fadel won No. 3 last season. The 2016 winner at No. 1 singles, Sasha Hartje, is playing No. 1 doubles with sister Elle Hartje, part of last season’s champion at that flight. Of course they are seeded first, as are Heather Zimmerman and Tara Rahmani at No. 2, Chloe Ward and Ruhi Nayak at No. 3 and Jenna Lee and Maya Nassif at No. 4. Nassif was runner-up at No. 4 with a different partner last spring.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles are seeded at six flights with an impressive singles lineup leading the way. All four singles players are top-three seeds: Leah Newhof is a third seed at No. 1, while No. 2 McKenzie Moorhead, No. 3 Maria Poortenga and No. 4 Emily Schellenboom are all second seeds. Poortenga was the champion last season at No. 4 singles and Moorhead was part of the runner-up at No. 1 doubles.
Holland Christian: The Maroons came in fourth last season and enter with four seeded flights, three of them in doubles. Allyson Zwiep is unseeded at No. 1 singles, but was the runner-up last season at No. 4 as the team finished only five points behind the mix at the top.
Imlay City’s Grace Whitney: Imlay City has never had a flight champion at an MHSAA Girls Tennis Finals, but Whitney made the semifinals last season and enters this weekend the second seed at No. 1 singles.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Amelia Smith and Kate Cao: Last season’s No. 2 doubles champion enters this weekend seeded second at No. 1.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Frances Dube and Ava Harb: This pair also won last season and moved up, claiming the title at No. 4 and coming in now the second seed at No. 3.
Division 4 at Holly
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart has won the last two Division 4 Finals and three of the last four. But the teams to beat at least going in are Greenhills – seeking its first title since 2009 – and Lumen Christi, playing for its first team championship. Lumen Christi was fourth and Greenhills fifth last season.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: All eight flights are third seeds or higher, with four flights earning top seeds. Vidhya Rajaprabhakaran is the top seed at No. 3 singles, and Phoebe Sotiroff is the top seed at No. 4 after making the semifinals at that flight last season. In doubles, Baani Jain and Giselle Farjo are top-seeded at No. 2, and Jamie Todd and Ryan Perry are top-seeded at No. 3. Kate Shaffer also was a semifinalist last season in singles, at No. 1, and returns at that flight two seeds higher as a three this weekend.
Jackson Lumen Christi: All eight flights are seeded and six are seeded either first or second, giving the Titans plenty of opportunity to pursue that first title. Taylor Smith (No. 1), Nina Dunigan (No. 3) and Shae Wright (No. 4) are all second-seeded in singles, and third-seeded Sela Clifford at No. 2 was part of the No. 1 doubles champion last season. Geraldine Berkemeier and Jocee McEldowney are the top seed this time at No. 1 doubles, while Macie Richmond and Cat Carroll earned the top seed at No. 4.
Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart: Six flights are seeded, and the power is at doubles with all four seeded second or third at their respective flights. Sara Gerard and Annie Keating are the second seed at No. 1; Gerard with another partner made the quarterfinals at that flight last season. Margaret Mayer and Kathryn Monahan make up the third seed at No. 2 doubles after Monahan was part of last season’s champion at No. 3.
Kalamazoo Hackett’s Natalie Moyer: Last season’s champion at No. 2 singles is the top seed at No. 1 as she attempts to follow a graduated teammate by winning that flight.
Kalamazoo Hackett’s Maggie Ketels: She slides into the top seed at No. 2 right behind Moyer after making the No. 3 semifinals last season.
PHOTO: Kalamazoo Hackett’s Natalie Moyer returns a volley last season during her run to the No. 2 singles title at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Built Right, No Rebuild Needed: Cornelius Taking Gull Lake Back to Tennis Finals
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2025
RICHLAND – Once the boys season ends later this week, Roger Cornelius will begin preparing for his 50th year as varsity girls tennis coach at Gull Lake High School.
That tenure may have been cut short at 22 years, if not for the Gull Lake tennis community.
In January 1998, Cornelius’ 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay, died as a result of a winter car crash.
He had recently ended the fall season with the girls team and “I didn’t know if I could (coach) the boys that spring,” he said, still emotional when talking about the tragedy.
One of his former students, Jason Ryan, now a vascular surgeon at Beacon Kalamazoo Hospital, contacted Cornelius.
“He and one or two other guys talked with me and, if not for them, I would have quit tennis,” Cornelius said. “I decided to continue with tennis, and I’m glad I did. I found out that God was going to carry me through the toughest time of my life. The tennis community was really big for me back then. Richland, especially, came beside me and lifted me up.”
Although tennis is his sport of choice, Cornelius played football at Western Michigan University and was first hired at Gull Lake in 1975 to help with the football program. He jumped at the chance to coach the tennis team that spring and has coached either the boys or girls, and sometimes both, every year since.
He has been named Regional Coach of the Year several times and was enshrined in the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association (MHSTeCA) Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cornelius will lead the boys (12-2-1) to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals this Friday and Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. The Blue Devils finished 10th the last two years, earning eight points both times.
In a rebuilding year after losing all four singles and two doubles players to graduation, Cornelius was surprised and thrilled that this year’s team earned 20 points at its Regional, finishing second to St. Joseph and qualifying for the Finals.
At the beginning of the season, senior Peyton Orley said he wasn’t sure how good the team would be.
“Last year at the beginning of the season, we could tell we had a really good team,” Orley said. "This year, we lost a lot of our seniors and it didn’t look promising for states.
“Everyone on the team was mission-motivated to get to the state tournament.”
Orley pairs with senior Sullivan Abegg at No 1 singles and the pair did their part, winning their Regional flight. For Abegg, it was a three-peat after taking the title at No. 3 doubles two years ago and No. 2 doubles last year.
The Blue Devils are led at No. 1 singles by freshman Kade DeMaagd, whose father also played for Cornelius.
“Kade’s got the best strokes on the team,” the coach said.
Lucas Nichols, at No. 4 doubles, is the other freshman in the lineup. The other three seniors are Max Uppal (No 3 singles) and Dylan Piwko and Evan McCann, both doubles players. Three juniors, who all play doubles, are Jaden Jones, Jackson McDermott and McGuire Abegg. Two sophomores round out the singles flights: Jake Worgess at No. 2 and Jacob Nichols at No. 4.
Comparing old & new
Cornelius said there isn’t much difference between the tennis players today compared to those 50 years ago.
“I think what’s changed the most is today’s athletes have so many different options, so many different interest areas,” he said. “A lot of the kids have early college classes, some of them have to come to practice from off site and so many things are happening, whether it’s the Model United Nations or tutoring someone at the high school or DECA. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
While the boys are competing in Division 3, the girls are in Division 2, a more difficult road to the Finals, Cornelius said.
“It does make it pretty tough for the girls to make it out of Division 2 with the Mattawans, Portage Central, St. Joe, Battle Creek Lakeview,” he said.
Orley’s sister, Ava, a junior who plays at No. 1 doubles, said the girls team has already bonded.
“We build our team off loving each other,” she said. “It’s not everyone out for themselves, it’s all of us (working together). We focus on being a good role model.
"We’ve had coaches tell us how we played with class and how it’s an honor to play us because we learned from (Cornelius) that you always want to be a good sport.”
Competitive, compassionate
Cornelius, who taught French at the high school for 32 years, currently tutors French-speaking African and Haitian families for the district.
“I tutor the kids and work with the families,” he said. “It’s vastly different than what I did in the classroom. The greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my nearly 50 years working with Gull Lake schools was working with a little African boy who was blind.”
Cornelius and some friends pooled money to take the boy to a specialist in Grand Rapids. The specialist asked Cornelius to translate for the mother that he thought he could help the young boy regain some sight.
“The two surgeries were successful,” said Cornelius, choking up a bit with emotion. "He has to wear glasses, but he can see. It’s the high watermark of my life.”
That compassion is visible on the tennis courts, said retired Allegan coach Gary Ellis, now a volunteer assistant tennis coach at the school.
“I’ve known Roger since 1977,” Ellis said. “We started competing against each other when he started coaching the boys.”
He said that although Cornelius wants to win and likes to compete, “at the same time, he’s got a good perspective on the whole thing and the value of high school sports, and tennis in particular. He’s very positive, both with his team and with the opponents.”
Cornelius was so supportive of opponents that one year Ellis’ girls team invited the Gull Lake coach to their awards banquet at the end of the season.
“He had a conflict and couldn’t attend, but he sent a really nice letter to the girls,” Ellis said.
Cornelius makes it a point to talk with opponents, both coaches and players.
“I love to get to talk to the kids that I would never get to talk with,” he said. “My favorite is Battle Creek Central because they have struggles that most of us at Gull Lake don’t know about.
“For them to commit their spring or their fall to tennis, that’s a major decision. I want to make darn sure that after the match, I get to meet every one of them, talk with them, talk with their coach.”
Cornelius doesn’t expect this to be his last season.
“I will step down when the good Lord says, ‘I think it’s time,’” he said. “And I don’t think it’s time quite yet.
“I wouldn’t mind if they put on my gravestone ‘Loved God, Loved People.’”
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) Richland Gull Lake tennis coach Roger Cornelius hits with his players during practice this season. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Cornelius, assistant Gary Ellis, junior Ava Orley and senior Peyton Orley. (Below) Cornelius talks things over with his team. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)