Esky’s Sliva wins D-1 singles title
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KINGSFORD -- Escanaba senior Lizzy Sliva found a happy ending here Wednesday, earning the No. 3 singles championship in the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Girls' Tennis Finals.
Sliva completed her prep tennis career by taking a 6-2, 6-4 decision from Westwood's Mallory Leece on this sunny and warm afternoon.
"I stayed focused on what I was doing," she said. "The second set got close, but I pulled through. It feels great to end on a high note. Everybody worked real hard. We have a lot of good girls playing. They gave it their all."
Westwood captured its first D-1 title with 20 points. The Patriots were followed by Negaunee 15 and Esky 12.
"We had a good day," said Esky coach Chris Ogren. "Lizzy is a good athlete. She played her best tennis at the end of the year."
This was the 13th U.P. championship in 18 years for the Patriots, who competed in D-2 prior to last season.
"This was a fantastic finish for us," said Westwood coach Sarah Massie. "We felt we had a chance but knew there would be a lot of battling. Playing against the bigger schools is more challenging and unpredictable. We preached to the girls, 'when you get to the U.P. Finals, you're playing for your team.' We had a lot of seniors and freshmen this year. We had a nice mix. We had a lot of freshmen come out, which was nice to see."
Esky senior Erica Moore and junior Delaney McIntyre were runners-up at No. 2 doubles, dropping a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) decision to Westwood freshmen Lexi Olson and Alyssa Prophet.
"I was excited going into the last match," said McIntyre. "After the first set, I was worried. Then, I felt better about everything after the second set. I played them four times, and we beat them every time until now. It just wasn't our day."
In the third set, Esky took a 5-2 lead when Moore's overhand shot landed just inches in front of the back line.
"We were pretty confident we'd finish it," said Moore. "Maybe everything got into our heads a little. The remaining points were hard-fought points. We definitely felt we had the momentum after the second set.
"We played them at the beginning of the season and can see they put the work in."
The Westwood duo rallied to take a 6-5 lead before the Eskymos tied the score to force a tie-breaker.
"We knew it was going to be hard," said Prophet. "We also knew we had to keep fighting. We beat them in the first set and knew we could beat them again. Coach told us it wasn't over and not to give up until it was over."
Olson had similar thoughts.
"Coach told us to get our heads back in the match," said Olson. "Once we got within 5-4, we felt we had the momentum. We were a little nervous going into the tie-breaker but came through. That was very special."
Patriots' seniors Natalie Prophet/Natalie Blanck defeated Esky's Abby Hill-Gracie Wickham 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.
"Keeping a level head and knowing we knew how to play tennis were keys for us today," said Natalie Prophet. "Tennis is such a mental game. We hit good shots and didn't make many errors. They weren't hitting their shots in the first set. Then, they settled down and started to find their groove. It feels great to win as a team, especially after all the work we put in to get to this point."
Blanck said coach Massie told them to be patient.
"In the first set, we were pretty confident," she added. "Although, we never lost our confidence when they started to come back. Escanaba and Negaunee were the top schools we played this year."
Negaunee senior Lillian Nelson clipped Westwood senior Jillian Koski 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 singles.
"My groundstrokes worked well today," said Nelson. "My main goal was to stay consistent. I knew I had to stay strong mentally. The hardest thing about this sport is to keep from getting into your own head. This is the first time I won singles. I really had to work hard to get here."
The Miners captured six of the seven previous titles prior to Wednesday.
"This day is always exciting," said Negaunee coach Kyle Saari. "You don't know what to expect. Sometimes when you're in situations and get into the third set, the girls respond and make it work out for them. Other times they fall a little short. Our No. 2 singles (Daylen Drew) and No. 4 doubles (freshmen Audry Johnson and Kellen Schultz) had a great day. In the history of our program, Lillian is probably the best player we had on that side (singles). I'm glad she was able to cap an undefeated season. She handled every situation perfectly. She's a solid player all the way around."
Gladstone coach Ryan Barron was pleased with the Braves' effort.
"We got no championships, but we got a bunch of semifinalists," he said. "We played tough. I'm real proud of our No. 4 doubles. They split with Esky during the regular season. They dropped the first set 6-0 and were down 5-2 in the third set and nearly pulled it out. You can't coach the mental toughness part. That has to come from within. We had a decent season. We improved a lot."
Westwood 20, Negaunee 15, Escanaba 12, Gladstone 4, Marquette and Menominee 2, Kingsford 0.
Singles
No. 1 -- Nelson, N, def. Koski, W, 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 -- Drew, N, def. Williams, W, 6-2, 6-1; No. 3 -- Sliva, E, def. Leece, W, 6-2, 6-4; No. 4 -- Couveau, W, def. Enright, N, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles
No. 1 -- N. Prophet-Blanck, W, def. Hill-Wickham, E, 6-1, 6-4; No. 2 -- Olson-A. Prophet, W, def. Moore-McIntyre, E, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5); No. 3 -- Mattila-Niemi, W, def. Frustragilo-Luseth, N, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3; No. 4 -- Johnson-Schultz, N, def. Moffat-Marta, W, 6-1, 6-4.v