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ISHPEMING — Tennis may not be the first sport that comes to mind when people think of clutch performances, but that’s exactly what Matt Paavo did Wednesday for the Westwood boys tennis team.

With the Patriots in a tight battle with West Iron County and the team scores tied 15-15, the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals championship came down to the outcome of the No. 4 flight’s championship match.

The pressure may have been on Paavo at that point, especially after dropping the first set to the Wykons’ Alex Wickstrom, but the Patriots junior rallied to win the next two sets to earn a three-set victory, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, and give the Patriots their third U.P. title in four years.

Munising’s Mason Schieding reaches high for to serve during a singles match at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 finals at Westwood High School on Wednesday afternoon. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

Paavo said that he knew what the stakes were going into that last set, but said his teammates helped him out with that. He also said that he didn’t really change his technique before making his comeback, but just made sure to hit his shots when he had to.

“There was a decent amount of pressure,” he said. “My coach told me before I went into the final set that it was down to me, but my teammates were there and that really helped to have that support.

“I didn’t really change my strategy. (Wickstrom is) a really good player and he just made some really good shots in the first set. In that second set, I just started to come back a little and started to hit some more.”

Westwood head coach Chris Jackson praised Paavo’s efforts and said his team was in a similar situation last year at the U.P.’s.

“He (Paavo) lost to this kid a week or two ago in two close sets,” Jackson said. “I think after that, he felt like if he played well, he’d have an opportunity. After losing that first set, I’m not sure if it kicked him into gear, but it was kind of like, if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down the way we want to, and play your game. Matt’s a very good (No.) 4 singles player.

“We know we’ve had a really good run against West Iron for a while, not only with boys but girls, too. The last couple of years, it’s come down to one point.

“Last year, it was the same exact scenario. I’m not sure what doubles flight it was, but it came down to that last one and whoever won that was going to win. Today it came down to four singles. I’m really happy for the kids.”

Westwood senior Anthony Couveau was proud of his teammates and said that they achieved something that they had been striving for all season.

“This means a lot,” he said. “Being a senior this year, I was one of the leaders of this team and I feel like we accomplished our goal this year. Even though I didn’t win, there were other people that stepped up today and did really well.”

For the Wykons, it was a tough way to end the day after coming up one point short of repeating as U.P. champions, but head coach Joe Serbentas was happy with his team’s efforts.

“We got three championships and Westwood is a really solid team,” he said. “They’re a senior-loaded team and they were probably the slight favorite going in just because of all those seniors and that experience, but we have 10 sophomores in our lineup and I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.

“I thought it was a pretty good season and winning a Great Northern (Conference) championship, that was special, too. That was back-to-back years for us. We feel pretty happy with the year. We would’ve liked to have won a championship, but we’ll take the conference championship and know that we’re young.”

Westwood and WIC split the singles championships with Holden Ross (No. 1) and James Swanson (No. 2) winning for the Wykons, while Chad Pohlman joined Paavo as a U.P. champion by taking the third flight.

In doubles, Munising pulled a couple of surprises to keep the day from being wholly about Westwood and WIC. The Mustangs tandem of Landon Peters and Eli Werner won the No. 1 flight over the Wykons’ Caden Pellizzer and Andy Fredrickson, while Munising’s Russ Holloway and Guillermo Sese made it to the No. 2 final before falling to the Patriots’ Hudson Uren and Connor Traver.

“They (Peters and Werner) played lights out today,” Mustangs head coach Rod Gendron said. “They had an excellent season and they went out on top. They played a really good match at the right time today.”

Munising finished in third place with 9 points, finishing ahead of fourth-place Iron Mountain with 5, Ishpeming with 2 and Gwinn with 1.

“We knew right away that we weren’t probably going to be legit in the (team) mix for one or two, but we knew three was realistic and that’s where we ended up at,” Gendron said. “We’re happy with our performance today as a team. I was lucky to have a bunch of freshmen come out and I had six seniors and it’s been a good crew.”

In regard to Gendron’s No. 1 doubles team, Werner said the reason for their success was simple and that it helps that he and Peters have a connection.

“Just consistency,” Werner said. “Getting all our shots in, and our serving. Getting them in to get points started. We’re friends off and friends on. Last year was our first year together, so we’ve had two full years to work together.”

Westwood and WIC split the other two doubles championships. The Patriots’ Nathan Ostlund and Jack Mattias won at No. 3 over the Wykons’ Drew Hebert and Logan Horton, while WIC’s Cole Alexa and Lucas Shovald topped Westwood’s Austin Brewer and Ryan LaFountain at No. 4.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.