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Westwood Patriots Claim D-1 Tennis Championship
 KINGSFORD---The Westwood Patriots won the MHSAA Division One Upper Peninsula girls tennis championship on Wednesday. They finished with 20 points. Negaunee was second with 15 and Escanaba third with 12. Westwood’s Natalie Prophet and Natalie Blanck won the #1 doubles title, and at #2, Lexi Olsen and Alyssa Prophet won a marathon three-set final over Escanaba’s Erica Moore and Delaney McIntyre, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). And at #3 doubles, Hannah Neimi and Hannah Mattila won at #3 doubels for Westwood. Negaunee’s Lily Nelson (#1 singles), Daylen Drew (#2 singles) and Audry Johnson/Kallen Schultz (#4 doubles) won U.P. titles. And Escanaba’s Lizzy Sliva won the championship at #3 singles. Escanaba Coach Chris Ogren was pleased with his team's play, especially Sliva's championship. "She came into the day as the #3 seed, but she was able to win all three of her matches today without losing a set," Ogren said. "She played the best tennis that she has ever played today and was able to earn herself the title of UP Champion." "I'm so proud of all of these girls and how well they played today," he continued. "Every team from Escanaba was able to win at least one match today, and we left the tournament with our heads held high. It has been a pleasure to coach this team all year. I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls to call my team." Sliva had to win three matches on Wednesday to claim the only Eskymo UP championship. She defeated Marin Park of Menominee, 6-0, 6-4, then topped Negaunee's Izzy Kanola in the semifinal, 6-0, 6-2. And then in the final, Sliva defeated Westwood's Mallory Leece, 6-2, 6-4. For Negaunee, and Coach Kyle Saari, it was tough to not retain last year's championship after winning all of their dual meets this season, and taking top spot in the in-season tournaments. It was great cap for Nelson, however, as she won another U.P. singles championship, beating Jillian Koski of Westwood in the final, 6-1, 6-1. FINAL D-1 U.P. FINALS TEAM SCORES Westwood 20 Negaunee 15 Escanaba 12 Gladstone 4 Menominee 2 Marquette 2 Kingsford 0 |
