This Time, Kingsford Reigns Alone
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2013
KINGSFORD — There were tears of sorrow, then tears of joy among some Kingsford High School tennis players as they were crowned MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 champions with 18 points Wednesday.
Negaunee, which shared last year’s title with Kingsford, was runner-up this time with 14. Third-place Escanaba had nine.
Kingsford reached the title round in all eight flights, but won only two.
“It was kind of bittersweet,” Kingsford coach Mark Shanks said. “None of our eight seniors won their flights. My daughter’s No. 1 doubles (seniors Anna Shanks and Kate Lamy) and No. 3 singles (senior Santina Bianco) went down today. This was the first loss in more than two years for Santina – although our three juniors won.
“We talked all week since the GNC (Great Northern Conference) meet how the U.P. Finals would be a different situation with single elimination. Had any of our kids lost in the semifinals, it would have meant no points in that flight. Our biggest challenge was getting to the finals without zeroes. That assured us of scoring at least 16 points.”
Juniors Ali VanRemortel and Jaelyn Jennings provided the Flivvers with their first championship in No. 2 doubles, taking a 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 decision from Negaunee senior Kylee Taavola and junior Hanna Kantola.
“We tend to start slow, but we always stay positive,” VanRemortel said. “We just forget about our mistakes and play our game. We played a more conservative first set because we hadn’t seen them since the beginning of the season.”
Taavola-Kantola, often attacking the net early in the match, built leads of 3-0 and 4-2 in the first set.
They led for the final time at 6-5. But the Flivvers then tied the score by taking advantage of a pair of double faults prior to pulling out that set.
“It took a little while for us to adjust to what they were doing,” Jennings said. “They were playing very well. In the break between the first and second set, we could tell we were coming on and we weren’t going to let up. It’s awesome to feel this way. There was definitely some pressure coming in here as the favored team. We knew everybody was coming after Kingsford.”
Kingsford junior Janay Walters earned the No. 2 singles crown with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Negaunee senior Abbi Kill.
“We were about even (in ability) and hustling after the ball really helped,” Walters said. “I’ve gotten better at recovering after every play. Thankfully, I was able to keep returning the ball. I knew I had to bring my A game. It’s tough to play Abbi because she’s very good with her placement of the ball, and her shots are hard and solid.”
Negaunee junior Allison Carlson finished a perfect season with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Kingsford senior Hannah Tresedder in No. 1 singles.
“I just tried to be consistent and be in position when she came to the net,” said Carlson, who also plays hockey for the Marquette Sentinels travel team. “She came to the net a lot, so I wanted to hit the ball deep. She’s a good player. It’s always a good match when I play her.”
At No. 3 singles, Negaunee sophomore Angie Ring topped Bianco 6-4, 6-1.
“As a whole, I’m proud of our girls,” said Negaunee coach Kyle Saari. “We knew it was going to be a battle with Kingsford. Anytime you have seniors in the U.P. Finals, you never know what’s going through their minds with this being their last high school match. For Angie to come here as a sophomore and beat a senior who hasn’t lost in more than two years is a great effort on her part. Allison is a true athlete. Athletes like her know how to grind a point out. They just find a way to get the ball over the net.
“We have a fairly young team and (we’re) pleased with being runner-up. You’re dealt a new hand every year, and that’s what’s fun about high school sports.”
Negaunee also claimed No. 4 singles where junior Dana DeBretto topped Kingsford freshman Katy Hicks 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Escanaba junior Olivia Berquist and senior Shelby Gregoire took No. 1 doubles in a 6-2, 6-1 conquest of Kingsford seniors Anna Shanks and Kate Lamy.
“We kept playing strong this year,” said Berquist, who teamed with Gregoire for the No. 4 doubles crown last season. “This is very different from No. 4 doubles because it’s a lot harder. The team we just played has been in No. 1 doubles since they were sophomores. We just found a way to push through it.”
This marked the first time in five meetings this year the Berquist-Gregoire duo beat Shanks and Lamy.
“We went three sets with them in the GNC meet (on Sept. 25),” said Gregoire. “The first time we played them, they blew us out of the water. Since then, we had gotten a little closer each time. The momentum we gained from winning the first set was huge. This is the best way to end my senior year, for sure.”
In No. 3 doubles, Escanaba junior Olivia LaForest and sophomore Emily LaFave outlasted Kingsford seniors Megan VanPembrook and Taylor Jacobson 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) for the title.
“A lot of it is we’re learning to relax and take it one point at a time,” said LaForest. “The will for us to win this after beating them in the GNCs was huge. We kept telling each other and ourselves we could do it. This may be a game of physical challenge, but much of it is mental.”
LaFave had similar thoughts.
“We just wanted to be a little more patient,” she said. “We tried to let the game come to us. It’s really fun playing with Olivia. She keeps my spirits up when I’m down, and I try to keep her spirits up when she’s down.”
Marquette took the remaining flight (No. 4 doubles) with sophomores Brenna Leafers and Aubrey Reynolds-Erspamer defeating Kingsford seniors Abby Johnson and Kelsey Bennett 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.
Click for full championship match results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kingsford's Anna Shanks sends a shot back toward Negaunee during the No. 1 doubles semifinal match on Wednesday. (Middle) Escanaba's Johanna Snowden swoops in to defend a spike from Menominee's Molly Jackson during their quarterfinal match at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Keith Shelton for Second Half).
Negaunee Sends All 8 Flights to Championship Matches in Team Title Repeat
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2025
Negaunee was focused on getting to the championship matches in all eight flights at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals. They won the team title because of their success doing so.
The Miners finished as U.P. Finals winners for the fourth straight year, edging Westwood by one point in Wednesday’s tournament at Westwood.
Negaunee picked up wins at No. 2 singles and No. 1 and 2 doubles. They made the finals in all four singles and all four doubles flights.
“Every girl knew their job was to make it to finals and then play their best tennis and leave it all out there. I am so proud of every flight for going out and doing just that,” Negaunee coach Megan Kerkela said. “We had three flights end in a win, but it was a team effort. Without every girl making the final, we would not have been able to pull out a win.”
Negaunee’s Rheana Nelson overcame a first-set loss to defeat Westwood’s Morgan Schneider 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.
“Rheana Nelson had the longest final of the day,” Kerkela said. “She was the first to start and the last to finish. Rheana hasn’t been in a third-set situation yet this year, but anything can happen at U.P.s. Today she was able to play one ball better and show how consistent she can be.”
Clare O’Donnell and Nicole Kerkela took the No.1 doubles title in a three-set final win over Escanaba’s Aubrey Elliot and Brooklyn Hackleman, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
“One doubles might have had the best comeback of the day,” Coach Kerkela said. “They were down 1-4 in the third set, but they did not quit. Nicole had some great shots at the net, which were really a turning point in the match. Clare did a great job of staying consistent at the baseline and played smart tennis.”
And Sadie Rogers and Olivia Richards took down Westwood’s Makenna Olson and Ella Stacy 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 2 doubles championship match.
“(They) were unstoppable all year and they continued that through today,” Kerkela said. “They are a fierce combo, both strong athletes who aren’t afraid to be aggressive.”
Westwood took home victories at No. 3 and 4 singles and No. 3 and 4 doubles.
“I thought our team played great today,” Westwood coach Sarah Zindler said. “I know we lost by one point, but we actually won four finals.”
None of the Westwood winners had played on the Patriots’ senior-heavy varsity roster last year.
“I think just all season they developed so much because everything was new to them,” Zindler said. “And so their growth was a lot higher than someone that’s been there forever.”
Westwood’s Lyn Magnuson won the No. 3 singles final 6-2, 6-0 over Negaunee’s Stella Lenten. Magnuson finished the season undefeated at 3 singles with the win.
Magnuson, a sophomore, was never satisfied — if she won 6-3, 6-2, she wanted to win 6-1, 6-1 next time.
“I think that helped her focus — when you get up in a match, instead of giving up a few games because it’s no big deal, she had these goals for herself within the match, of no, I don’t want to drop more than a game in this set,” Zindler said. “And all season long, she was just impossible to beat.”
Patriots junior Emmi Hamel took the No. 4 singles final 6-3, 6-4 over the Miners’ Adelyn Chapman.
“Emmi, at 4 singles, is one of the most competitive girls on the team,” Zindler said. “And she just has some fire and spunk in her that you know that when she goes out there she’s going to compete for every single point whether she’s winning or losing.”
Hamel defeated Negaunee twice during the year but lost to Chapman in Mid-Peninsula Conference action last week.
“From that, she just mentally had to get herself in the right headspace, to be confident enough to go out there and just say, ‘I’m not losing today,’” Zindler said.
Westwood’s Tessa Burke and Emmi Carlson won 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the No. 3 doubles final over Negaunee’s Victoria Poutanen and Rebecca Lammi. They lost their first set in the semifinal to Marquette’s Charlyee Swajanen and Eva Dewitt, and they were down three games in the second set before coming back to win 6-4, 7-5.
Both Burke and Carlson are freshmen who picked up a racket this summer for the first time. They went to summer camp and open hits.
“I could just tell by how they developed and mentally, they’re both athletes playing other sports, that they just had the mental capabilities to jump into a varsity lineup, which is not an easy thing as a freshman, especially when you’re the only freshmen on the team,” Zindler said. “I just said from the start, you two are going to play together and you’re going to figure it out.”
Westwood sophomore Emerson Williams and junior Lauren Michaud-Richards won the No. 4 doubles final over Negaunee’s Paige O’Donnell and Maia Brunette. Williams and Michaud-Roberts had not beaten Negaunee before, but they did at the most important time.
Williams was new to the tennis team this year.
“She hadn’t played before, so when she first started the season, she wasn’t necessarily the best player, but she just developed so much quicker than people that had played before,” Zindler said. “And I noticed right away that she had an athleticism, especially at the net that you can’t really teach people. Just her ability to read the ball, paired with Lauren’s great ground strokes from the back.”
They were up and down all season, but Zindler said the coaches knew their potential was great.
“To see them finally put matches together today, I’ve never seen them play as well as they played today,” Zindler said. “There’s no better time to play your best than at U.P.s.”
Zindler was also impressed with Schneider at No. 2 singles. Nelson hasn’t lost in years, Zindler said.
“Morgan has had to play her a bunch of times, and today she pushed her to three sets,” Zindler said.
Kingsford’s Aubrie Moore defeated Negaunee’s Liliana Saunders 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles for the Flivvers’ only flight win of the day.
(Photo courtesy of Negaunee High School.)