Work Pays Off as Country Day Rises to Extend Title Streak
By
Jarred Chrapek
Special for Second Half
June 5, 2021
HOLLAND –The Detroit Country Day girls tennis team won its fifth straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals title Saturday at Holland Christian High School – but keeping the streak going was anything but easy as Country Day overcame several hurdles along the way.
“We came in as a major underdog,” said Yellowjackets coach Jessica Stencel. “We went through a lot of adversity to win this championship. We lost to Cranbrook 7-1 in a dual this season, we lost at the Regional, and we’ve had kids out of the lineup due to injuries and COVID.
“But these kids have practiced hard, and they are super close as a team.”
Country Day needed every player to come through, and the total team effort was the difference in holding off second-place Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood. Hours upon hours of practice throughout the season paid off in a big way for the Yellowjackets.
“This team worked so hard, and it showed today,” Stencel said. “The amount of hours these kids put in this season was incredible. They would hit balls after practice. They would practice after matches. They would practice on Saturdays and Sundays. They put in so many hours to get here.”
Along with a team loaded with hard workers, Country Day also relied on one of the premier singles players in the state. Senior Julia Fliegner, who will be playing her collegiate tennis at the University of Michigan, won the No. 1 singles championship.
For Fliegner, the state title was her second in as many trips to the Finals with her first coming during her freshman year. As a sophomore, Fliegner did not play high school tennis, and COVID-19 led to the cancellation of last season.
“Winning the singles title feels pretty good,” Fliegner said, “but I wanted to win the title as a team very badly. I just wanted to do my part for the team and be a leader. I was in a position this year to be a team leader, and I was happy to be able to help lead.”
Junior Charlotte Brown led the way for second-place Cranbrook Kingswood. She won her second individual Finals championship, claiming the title at No. 2 singles.
“This is really special,” Brown said. “I was really nervous, but the match went really well. The wind was very difficult out there, but once I figured that out things went good.”
For the Chelsea tennis team, the number three proved to be the lucky number of the weekend. Not only did Chelsea finish in a program-best third place, but the Bulldogs crowned the first three individual Finals champions in team history.
“This tournament was unbelievable,” said Chelsea coach Tom Osbeck. “The highest we’ve finished before in school history was seventh place. We never had a player reach the finals before, and this year we not only had finalists in three flights but we had three state champions.”
Freshman Anne-Marie Begola claimed the first individual title for the Bulldogs as she won at No. 4 singles.
“This feels amazing,” Begola said. “I was really happy to just make it to states. To win the state championship is an incredible feeling.
“This feels very special. We broke a lot of records as a team, and this was a very special occasion.”
Soon after Begola won her title, Chelsea’s No. 4 doubles team of Megan Boughton and Meghan Bareis won another.
“They are good friends and good teammates,” Osbeck said. “They are just amazing together as a team. They hung in there the whole match against a really good Cranbrook team.”
Topping off the day for Chelsea was a surprising effort from senior Rachel Bareis. Unseeded at No. 3 singles, Bareis completed a memorable weekend by winning the flight championship.
“I just gave it everything I had,” Bareis said. “It was the last match of my high school career, and just getting to the Finals was amazing. I relied on my teammates to pull me through. I felt their energy knowing they were all there supporting me. They gave me the energy to push through.”
At No. 1 doubles, the Grand Rapids Christian senior duo of Dafna Heule and Grace Poortenga was another flight champion that surpassed its seed, after entering the weekend third in the bracket.
“Four years of high school tennis all built up to this,” said Heule. “To even get this far as a senior is really special.”
“At a single-elimination tournament like this, most players end their season with a loss,” Poortenga added. “To win your final match is so special. We figured out as partners how to pick each other up.”
Detroit Country Day's Aryasai Radhakrishnan and Marin Norlander also made an impressive run above their seed, claiming the championship at No. 2 doubles despite entering seeded fifth in the flight. No. 3 doubles Alyssa Rahmani and Emily Weinmann succeeded similarly for the Yellowjackets, claiming a championship from the third seed line.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Aryasai Radhakrishnan returns a volley during a No. 2 doubles match Saturday. (Middle) Cranbrook Kingswood’s Daryn Krause takes her position as teammate Kayli Lala prepares to serve at No. 3 doubles. (Below) Grand Rapids Christian’s Dafna Heule serves during a No. 1 doubles match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Morgan Caps Championship-Filled Career as Greenhills Adds to Title Streak
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
MIDLAND – Maddie Morgan added the final triumphs to a nearly unmatched high school tennis career Saturday at Midland Tennis Center.
The Ann Arbor Greenhills senior had helped the Gryphons to three straight Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals team titles entering this weekend. Along the way, she had won two No. 1 singles titles after reaching only the semifinals as a freshman.
Top-ranked Greenhills entered the second day of play one point ahead of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, the No. 2-ranked team in the state. And the Gryphons proceeded to finish the four-peat in resounding fashion, securing the title even before Morgan played for the singles championship against Notre Dame Prep freshman Marissa Bitoni.
Morgan then pulled out a 6-1, 6-4 victory for her third championship at the top flight.
“It was nice knowing we had won even before I started playing,’’ said Morgan. “It was just so much fun playing that last match. Knowing it was my last high school match, that propelled me through it even though we had already won. It helped me. The freshmen and sophomores came through.’’
Greenhills finished with 38 points to 28 for the Fighting Irish. Traverse City St. Francis was third with 20.
Being everyone’s target didn’t faze Morgan.
“I try not to think about it like that,’’ she said. “I approach each match the same way. Do my routine. I just think about the tennis, and I think that’s the key.
“I really enjoy cheering and just being with this team. Individual state champions – they mean a lot, but the team state championships are what really matters to me. … I’m so grateful to be a part of this team environment we have in high school tennis. We had 11 of the 12 back from last year and we lost one senior the year before, so it has been the same group.’’
Greenhills won all but two flights, instead finishing runners-up at Nos. 2 and 4 doubles.
“Our motto is ‘all joy, no fear, can’t lose,’” said Greenhills coach Mark Randolph, who concluded his 31st year as a head coach and 52nd overall. “We knew we’d be competing with Notre Dame, but they aren’t our enemies. This is about relationships.
“One of our great stories is Jessica Shi at No. 2 doubles. She has been around the program for four years but didn’t expect to be here other than to cheer us on. We suffered an injury and we put her in the lineup, now she’s competing in the Finals. That’s a great story.’’
Greenhills’ first champion came at No. 1 doubles as Danica Rakic-Dennis and Shangyang Xia defeated Wixom St. Catherine’s top-seeded Julia Ivezaj and Stephanie Lisch, 6-0, 6-2. The Gryphons pair dropped only six games over four matches on the weekend.
“This was our first year playing together,’’ said Rakic-Dennis. “It was one of our best matches. It was a challenge to work on our chemistry during the season, but we pulled through. I’m really proud of us.’’
Said Xia: “It was one of our best matches. Notre Dame Prep has always been a big rival. We knew that coming to states. I have a lot of faith in our team.’’
Notre Dame’s flight title came at No. 4 doubles as Vanessa Artinian and Elana Vandieren, both freshmen, defeated Greenhills’ top-seeded Meera Pandey and Meera Tewari, 6-3, 6-0.
Maddie Morgan’s freshman sister Hazel captured her first Finals title, at No. 3 singles, as she downed Notre Dame’s Ava Jarvis, 6-2, 6-0.
“I think I played her during the regular season,’’ said Hazel. “It was a good match. I’m proud of our team. We’re doing so well. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished this season. (Jarvis) is a great person, and she should be proud.’’
Greenhills sophomore Ellie Kim won her second-straight title with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over St. Francis’ Elliana McClellan at No. 2 singles.
“It feels great to get the second one,’’ said Kim. “She’s a really good player. Her forehand is really strong. I think in the second set I got a little tight. I was hitting more balls short to her forehand. I honestly don’t think I was playing bad. It was a good, fun match.’’
Greenhills sophomore Nina Malani secured the No. 4 singles title with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over St. Francis’ Anna Cate Maday. Wixom St. Catherine’s No. 2 doubles team of Lily Wolocko and Loren Nafso defeated Greenhills’ Shi and Sophia Kleer, 6-3, 6-3 to claim that flight, but Greenhills also pulled out No. 3 doubles as Lauren Ye and Alyssa Hong knocked off Nore Dame Prep’s Erin Delaney and Adriana Johnson 6-3, 6-1 in the clincher.
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Maddie Morgan follows through on a backhand during a Friday match at Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Players meet at the net at the conclusion of another early-round match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)