• HS Volleyball 10/8: Marquette 3, Gladstone 0
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: Kingsford 3, Iron Mountain 0
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: Carney-Nadeau 3, Munising 0
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: Escanaba 3, Bark River-Harris 0
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: West Iron County 3, Chasell 1
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: Forest Park 3, North Central 0
  • HS Volleyball 10/8: St. Ignace 3, Brimley 1
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Wednesday October 9, 2024
FOUR-PEAT! Escanaba Wins GNC Championship

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School girls tennis team won the Great Northern Conference championship on Wednesday, winning for a fourth straight year, and setting up a battle with Negaunee in the MHSAA U.P. Finals next Wednesday.

Escanaba won the team score with 27 points. Kingsford was close behind in second place with 24 points, as both teams each won championships in four of the eight flights. The Eskymos had the slight advantage in some of its "non-champions" finishing higher than the Flivver girls did.

Marquette (13 points) finished third, followed by Menominee (nine points), West Iron County (four points), Munising (two points), and Gladstone (one point).

"We had a good showing today from the whole team," Escanaba Coach Chris Ogren said.

Ogren was happy with two girls who came into the day as third seeds, but won championships despite that disadvantage. One of them was Samantha Korpi at #2 singles, who defeated Kingsford's Abby Przeslakowski in a three-set marathon, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

"Samantha really found a groove late in the third set," Ogren said. "She was closing at the net and playing all around smart tennis to finish off the win. Samantha has worked extremely hard this year, and it was great to see her find this success today."

Ogren was also pleased with Sophie Hill at third singles. She was also a third seed, but swept West Iron County's Kaycee Ingram in the semifinals, and then battled the top-seeded Aubrey Phillips of Kingsford in the final before losing in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

"She was able to get a big upset win in the semifinals to get to the finals," he said. "She ran into a great Kingsford player in the finals, and ended up finishing second. It was great to see Sophie stay focused all through the day and play hard from start to finish."

At fourth singles, Raegan Dubord was on cruise control, winning both of her matches in straight sets.

"Today she may have played her best match of the year," Ogren said. "In the semifinals Raegan found herself up against an opponent that she had lost to in their only meeting. Despite knowing her opponent was a great player, Raegan was able to get a 6-0, 6-0 win. She was then able to carry that success into the final where she again won in straight sets. Raegan is peaking at the right time of the season, and I'm excited to see what she'll do at UP Finals next week."

At second doubles, Escanaba seniors Danni Hughes and Molly Smale easily won both of their matches in straight sets to gove the Eskymos some big team points.

"These two seniors have plenty of experience and they showed their composure in their big matches today," Ogren said. "They played the net tremendously well while also staying in rallies from the baseline. Their on court chemistry was visible today, and I couldn't be happier seeing them finish the tournament on top."

At third doubles, Aubrey Elliott and Brooklyn Hackleman were expected to win the championship, and they came through. The top-ranked duo beat Menominee's Lily Kamin and Zoey Frazer in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-4, and then took care of Marquette's Kylie Smith and Logan McFarren in the championship, 6-3, 6-2.

"They looked great," Ogren said. "They were the favorites coming into the tournament, and their results showed why. They won each of their sets comfortably and played smart tennis from start to finish. Their baseline play was stellar and their net finishing really made them tough to win points against."

Escanaba had to settle for second place at #4 doubles, with Hannah Cady and Brooke Miron losing a marathon match to Kingsford's Addison Paternoster and Maddy Sleik on a tiebreaker in the first set, 7-6; and then after tying the match with a 6-4 win in the second set, the Flivvers won the deciding third set, 6-3.

"In the third set, Kingsford really upped their level of play, and Hannah and Brooke weren't able to get the final set," Ogren said. "They'll get the opportunity to rebound next week, and I'm confident they'll be ready."

The MHSAA Division One U.P. Finals will be held next Wednesday in Escanaba.

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