When Seaholm tennis coach Keith Bernacki decided to host a four-team “quad” tournament that included East Lansing, Portage Central, and the defending State Champions from Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, he was looking to give his team a chance to compete against some top-notch competition.
And that’s exactly what they found.Northern, who is currently ranked #1 in the state, rolled thorough the competition, winning seven out of eight flights and compiling 23 points out of a possible 24, finishing nine over Seaholm who finished with 14.
The only flight that emerged victorious for the Maples was #3 doubles where Sophomore Sam Miller and Freshman Arielle Williams won a hard-fought, nail-biting three-setter in the finals by a score of 5-7,6-2,7-5.
Miller felt that it was the mental aspect of the match that enabled Williams and her to overcome 3-0 third set deficit, reeling off seven of the last nine games to seal the deal and take home the title.
“We started to play smarter,” said Miller. “We started getting more consistent, but really we just stayed positive which was really important for us.”
“We got one.” said a good-natured Bernacki. “I was pleased with how they kept fighting throughout the match, which is probably why they won.”
While Bernacki would have liked to see a few more flights take out Northern, he was aware of what the Seaholm girls were up against.
“Northern is an extremely solid, well-coached team,” said Bernacki. “It always good to play against the best teams and use that as a measuring stick for us, and it can help us to realize that we’re not that far away from competing with a team like that.”
From the opening serve on Monday morning, Northern’s level was the highest of all.
“I felt that we stayed consistent throughout the day,” said Northern Coach Dave Sukup. “While the doubles may have struggled a bit, I thought that we played pretty well as a team today. The most important thing to me has always been to keep improving, and I think we did that today.”
That consistency contributed to Northern’s overwhelming victory in the tournament, falling one close third set short of an eight flight sweep.
While a first place finish on their home court would have been nice, the Maple squad did have a respectable outing, taking second place in six flights, along with a third and first place finish.While impressed with some of what he saw, Bernacki was by no means thrilled by his team’s performance.
“To tell you the truth, we played okay” said Bernacki. “I mean, there a few places where I was very pleased with the effort, but we definitely have some work to do in order to compete at a higher level heading into the later stages of the season. To play against teams like that, we need to play focused, smart tennis, and more than anything we need to play consistent.”
Finishing in third place were the Trojans from East Lansing.
While only ending up with a pair of second place finishes, four third-place finishes, and a couple of fourth place finishes, East Lansing head coach Lisa Semerly found the tournament to be a positive experience for her young team.
“We have a lot of inexperienced, younger players,” said Semerly. “Really though, Seaholm’s doubles strategy was very good at all flights. They play very aggressive, and love to cut off balls at the net and shorten the points. They’re a very well coached team.”
Portage Central finished the tournament in last place with three points.
While Central coach Peter Militzer surely wouldn’t have a minded a few more victories for his team, he remains positive.
“I’m happy to see our team play great competition,” said Militzer. “I mean have a total of three points, but the girls out there competing and improving by playing against very strong teams, so I am happy about that.”
As the final stages of the season are nearing, a couple of crucial late season tournaments are on the calendar, the last ones before the State Finals in Kalamazoo on May 29th.
On Saturday, the team will look to capture an OAA D1tournament crown right here at Seaholm in an 8-team tournament consisting of Lasher, Andover, Troy, West Bloomfield, Clarkston, and Seaholm.
