Redemption Reigns for D1 Champions
June 2, 2018
By John Walker
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND — Bloomfield Hills junior Tia Mukherjee got redemption, while the Northville girls tennis team eked out another title Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.
Mukherjee dominated for a 6-0, 6-0 win over Northville senior Shanoli Kumar in the championship match at No. 1 singles. Mukherjee lost 6-0, 6-0 last year in the finals to Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kari Miller, and said that was motivation.
“It feels great after last year,” Mukherjee said. “That was tough. I didn’t want that to happen again. I was more prepared.
“I improved my fitness and my forehand. I did a lot of off-court conditioning. I didn’t have enough energy going into the finals last year.”
Bloomfield Hills coach Chris Dobson agreed.
“Her fitness level is better,” he said. “Plus another year of maturity, poise and confidence. It makes a difference. She was highly motivated coming in.”
“At the end of the day, Tia was amazing,” Northville coach Linda Jones said.
“I thought she is the best player in the state,” Dobson said, “and she proved it. She played her best match and earned it.”
Northville had to earn its title, too, edging Midland Dow 32-30. Bloomfield Hills was third with 28 points.
The Mustangs shared last year’s title with Dow. Dow won the 2016 title. Northville won in 2015. The two were at it again in 2018.
Northville entered Saturday with 24 points and eight players in the semifinals for the first time in school history. Dow had 23 points with seven players, as did Bloomfield Hills.
Northville won key semifinals matches against Dow at No. 2 and No. 3 singles and advanced six to the finals. Dow advanced five, while Bloomfield Hills advanced three and dropped from contention.
In the finals, Northville and Dow faced off at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 doubles. Dow got the first victory, at No. 3 doubles, and briefly tied the score with a win at No. 2 doubles. But Northville prevailed in the other head-to-head matches, clinching the crown with the win at No. 4 doubles.
“It’s so sweet,” Northville’s Jones said. “This year we lost three important seniors and were seeded No. 2 all season behind Dow. We came in as underdogs. The girls just played over their levels. It’s the most satisfying (title). Three-time state champs is not too bad.”
“Absolutely there’s disappointment,” Dow coach Garrett Turner said, “which is a good thing, I guess. It means we’re doing the right things. We win one of those matches and the nerves are shifted to them. It’s hard to be upset with a second-place finish. We had our chances.”
At No. 2 singles, Ann Arbor Huron junior Miriam Gandam, the No. 1 seed, defeated Northville sophomore Tori Mady, the No. 2 seed, 2-6, 6-0, 6-1. Mady, the 2017 champ at No. 4 singles, got a key semifinals win over Dow’s Zoe Angell, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
At No. 3 singles, Ann Arbor Skyline senior Caroline Cartwright, the No. 2 seed, defeated Northville junior Renee Torres, the No. 4 seed, 6-3, 6-2. Torres, the returning champ at No. 3 singles, upset Dow’s Sarah Ismail, the No. 1 seed and returning champ at No. 2 singles, in a key semifinal match, 6-3, 6-4.
At. No. 4 singles, Jenna Silverman, the No. 1 seed, rallied past Dow senior Hadley Camp, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in a 2-hour, 57-minute match. Silverman also rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win in the semifinals over Northville’s Maya Mulchanandani. Camp was the Finals runner-up for the third straight year.
At No. 1 doubles, Northville senior Serena Wang and junior Sophie Zhuang, the No. 1 seed, defeated Dow seniors Tatum Matthews and Kelly Livingston, the No. 2 seed, 6-1, 6-4.
At No. 2 doubles, Dow junior Meghan Killmaster and sophomore Victoria Leiti, the No. 3 seed, defeated Bloomfield Hills senior Alandria Bellamy and sophomore Kaela Bernard, the No. 4 seed, 6-2, 6-2.
At No. 3 doubles, Dow seniors Giacomina Fabiano and Christina Vanderkelen, the No. 3 seed, defeated Northville junior Madison DeYoung and freshman Michelle Tong, the No. 4 seed, 6-2, 6-3.
At No. 4 doubles, Northville junior Connie Gao and freshman Sneha Ganan, the No. 2 seed, defeated Dow juniors Amelie Kraef and Reema Patel, the No. 1 seed, 6-4, 7-6 (1). Kraef and Patel came into Saturday without losing a set all season but had to rally for a 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 win in the semifinals.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills' Tia Mukherjee prepares to return a shot during her No. 1 singles match Saturday. (Middle) Northville poses with its latest MHSAA Finals trophy. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Sadowski Motivated for More After Singles Title, Eisenhower's Best Finals Finish
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 15, 2025
UTICA — Gabby Sadowski could have followed a trend after winning last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championship at No. 1 singles.
Over the years, winning an individual Finals title as an underclassmen – of simply having great success – has been a jumping off point for top players to move on from high school tennis and focus on the junior circuit. An example: Three members of last year’s Clarkston lineup that won the Lower Peninsula Division 1 team title — including two Finals flight champions — decided to skip this high school season to play juniors.
Since Sadowski won the individual title at No. 1 singles last spring as a sophomore for Utica Eisenhower, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see her do the same.
But perhaps in an even more surprising development, Sadowski is instead again holding down the Eagles’ top singles spot.
“All of my life, I’ve been playing USTA tennis individually,” Sadowski said. “Being able to play high school on a team is something I’ve really enjoyed over the years.”
This spring, so far, is probably the most enjoyable Eisenhower girls tennis has ever had.
Not only is Sadowski back and dominating, but the Eagles for the first time are ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and primed to follow up their first-ever Finals runner-up finish last year with a march to a championship in two weeks.
Leading the way is Sadowski, who is simply a generational talent for the program.
“It’s said in tennis that it takes 10,000 hours to earn proficiency,” said Eisenhower co-coach Kevin Donahue. “Gabby is one of those few people at 20 hours a week and 10 hours of tennis, it would put her at 10,000 hours. Strength training, stretching, speed work and the hitting sessions. She’s dedicated as an athlete.”
The bug for tennis bit Sadowski early. She said she started playing at age 3 and competing in USTA junior events when she was 8.
As was the case with many young tennis players, Sadowski said she idolized Serena Williams.
“I think my game is similar to hers,” Sadowski said. “I think the way we both are really aggressive and looking to attack the ball.”
There are many good traits Sadowski has on the court, but Eisenhower co-coach Mike Pierson points to a few in particular.
“I’d say her ability to take a swing and volley separates her from other players, to be able to put it away” he said. “Just her mental toughness also.
“As far as coaching her, half the time we are talking about forehand cross battles, bringing your targets with the wind, or maybe telling her a joke to calm her down a little bit.”
Sadowski already has her college future planned out, as she has committed to Purdue. In addition to the tennis program, Sadowski — an animal over, particularly of cats — was drawn to West Lafayette, Ind., for its microbiology and veterinary medicine programs.
For the rest of this season, the goal for Sadowski and Eisenhower is to capitalize on what might be a once-in-a-lifetime team title opportunity.
Sadowski is certainly not all Eisenhower will rely on in that pursuit.
Freshman No. 2 singles player Morgan Emerick entered Regional play today 30-1 on the season, while the doubles teams of senior Alayna Aamodt and junior Alexis Gabriel, and sophomores Kara Lu and Maria Khami, are both undefeated.
Eisenhower likely will enter the Division 1 Finals in Byron Center as the favorite.
And if they are successful, it will surely further validate Sadowski’s decision to return to her high school team for another year.
“It would just mean a lot to all of us,” Sadowski said, “with all the work we’ve put in.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Utica Eisenhower’s Gabby Sadowski lines up a backhand during last season’s Division 1 No. 1 singles championship match against Rochester Adams’ Nicole Fu. (Middle) Sadowski, right, and Fu approach the net after the match is complete. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)