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Tournament titlists: Westwood wins 2nd girls tennis tournament championship this fall at Kingsford Invitational

The Westwood High School girls varsity tennis team captured its second tournament title this fall with a three-point victory over runner-up Escanaba at the Kingsford Invitational on Friday. In the front row from left are Hannah Niemi, Hannah Mattila, Jillian Koski, Lindsay Williams and Alyssa Couveau. Top row from left, Lexi Olson, Izzy Marta, Laci Moffatt, Natalie Prophet, Alyssa Prophet, Taylor Jackovich, Natalie Blanck and head coach Sarah Massie. (Iron Mountain Daily News photo by Matt McCarthy)

KINGSFORD — Westwood won its second high school girls tennis tournament championship this fall when it captured the Kingsford Invitational on Friday.

Then on Monday afternoon, the Patriots tacked on a tight 5-3 dual meet victory over Escanaba at their own courts.

Meanwhile, the Eskymos blanked Marquette 8-0 on Tuesday.

Here is a rundown of those events:

———————–

Westwood tops field

The Kingsford Invite was twice postponed in August before the teams got together.

The Pats scored 38 points, edging out Esky’s 35 as Iron Mountain and West Iron County tied for third with 29, Menominee was fifth with 20 and the host Flivvers sixth with 17.

“Friday was a beautiful day for tennis and I’m glad my girls had the opportunity to come play in this tournament, despite the rescheduling,” WHS head coach Sarah Massie said.

Doubles domination was the key for Westwood as the Patriots won titles in three of them, though WHS also finished as runner-up in three singles flights.

At No. 1 doubles, Westwood’s Natalie Prophet and Natalie Blanck not just defeated, but blanked an Iron Mountain pair 6-0, 6-0 in the championship match. Earlier, Prophet and Blanck drew a bye and fended off a challenge from WIC.

At No. 3 doubles, the Patriots’ Hannah Mattila and Hannah Niemi won their championship over an Escanaba pair 7-5, 6-2. Earlier, they drew a bye and defeated a Menominee pair to advance to the finals.

And at No. 4 doubles, Westwood’s Izzy Marta and Laci Moffatt won their title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over a Kingsford tandem, earlier drawing a bye and defeating a duo from Iron Mountain.

The Patriots’ three singles runners-up were No. 1 Jillian Koski, No. 2 Lindsay Williams and No. 3 Alyssa Couveau.

———————–

Westwood 5, Escanaba 3

Monday’s dual meet was almost a repeat of Friday, with the Pats’ Nos. 1, 3 and 4 doubles winning along with Nos. 1 and 3 singles.

Couveau was stretched to three sets at No. 3 singles, beating Lizzy Sliva 6-1, 1-6, 10-6 after a third-set tiebreaker.

Koski took No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Sophia Derkos.

“A lot of girls had some close matches (Monday) and that’s important for them to endure as we look ahead to (the Mid-Peninsula Conference and Upper Peninsula Finals) in a few weeks,” Massie said.

Westwood’s three wins in doubles came in straight sets — at No. 1, Prophet and Blanck won 6-4, 6-3 over Gracie Wickham and Abby Hill; at No. 3, Mattila and Niemi won 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 over Sonya Maki and Leslie Purcell; and at No. 4, Marta and Moffatt won 7-5, 7-5 over Molly VanDamme and Lily Newhouse.

———————–

Escanaba 8, Marquette 0

At Escanaba on Tuesday, the Redettes endured a rough day as the Eskymos won all eight flights in straight sets.

“(Tuesday) was one of those days where the overall team score doesn’t reflect the play on the courts,” MSHS head coach Karl Thomsen said.

“A lot of the games went to deuce and we are just going to have to find a way to win those key points. If we can accomplish that, and I think we have the crew to do that, we’ll be in good shape for the end-of-the-season run.”

Two doubles matches were the closest. At No. 2, Esky’s Paxton Bullen and Delany McIntyre held off Marquette’s Hosanna Brindle and Jenna Hassell 6-3, 7-5, while at No. 4, the Eskymos’ Leslie Purcell and Sonya Maki pulled off a similar 6-4, 7-5 win over the Redettes’ Sophie Krysmalski and Lyndsey Lake.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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