Though final team scores weren’t officially available, the Miners were crowned champions in four of the eight flights and finished as runner-up in the other four against a quartet of other Upper Peninsula schools.

The host Flivvers were declared runner-up, as Iron Mountain, Escanaba and West Iron County also competed.

There was no lead-up to a championship match; instead, each singles player or doubles tandem played in a round-robin format for a total of four matches against the other schools, the finishing order of the flight dependent on how many matches the school won.

A count of total matches won shows Negaunee winning 28 of a possible 32 matches, Kingsford winning 21, Escanaba 16, WIC 11 and IM 4, though it wasn’t stated that that was the official mode of scorekeeping.

Negaunee No. 2 doubles player Bryce Storms follows through on a return in a high school boys tennis meet against Escanaba at the Miners' courts on Thursday, May 12, 2022. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

“Tournaments always require a total team effort and we got that (on Saturday),” Miners head coach Kyle Saari said in an email detailing the results. “Early each season, some flights have to prove to themselves they belong, and we had some kids experience that.

“It’s the first time we feel our lineup is established, so it’s a promising start.”

To show off its balance, Negaunee was a champion in two singles and two doubles flights, each of those competitors and duos compiling a perfect 4-0 record.

The Miners’ Kolten Store was champion at No. 3 singles, while teammate Max Larson pulled off the feat at No. 4 singles.

“Kolten and Max (I was) really encouraged with,” Saari said. “No. 3 singles has been kind of (a) revolving (door) for us, and Kolten proved he’s comfortable there.

“Max has come a long way in the last two weeks and his next two will be even more important to take another jump.”

Each abbreviated match was a best-of-8 single set. Store was dominant, winning 8-0, 8-2, 8-1 and 8-0, while Larson’s matches were more competitive as he won 8-6, 8-0, 8-5 and 8-4.

In doubles, the No. 1 pairing of Easton Guenette and Nolan O’Dovero came up as winners, while the No. 3 tandem of Hank Tincknell and Eli Cody also came out on top.

“Nolan and Easton have continued to set the bar for our doubles lineup,” Saari said. “When they play with the confidence they have now, they’re not easy to compete with.”

Guenette and O’Dovero won their matches 8-0, 8-5, 8-2 and 8-6, while Tincknell and Cody came out ahead 8-1, 8-6 and 8-5 with a score of the fourth match not listed.

The four Miners’ runners-up each went 3-1, in three instances losing to an undefeated Kingsford competitor for that flight title.

In the flight Kingsford didn’t win, Negaunee’s No. 2 doubles pair of Quinn Walters and Carson “Spud” Lajimodiere also went 3-1, but in this instance were involved in a three-way tie for the flight championship, total losses determining the champ after the trio of duos each was 3-1. 5-13

Walters and Lajimodiere lost a total of 19 games to be declared runner-up after Escanaba’s Adam Prey and Caden Fulsher edged them out with just 17 losses, while WIC’s Keenan Dobson and Matt Swenski had 26 losses.

Other Miners’ runners-up were No. 1 singles player Brady Johnson, No. 2 singles player Ethan Harris and the No. 4 doubles twosome of Jhon Jarvi and Marshall Knapp.

“We have another real big week ahead, and it’s a great opportunity to take another step each day,” Saari said.

Specifically, Negaunee hosts West Iron County in a meet at 4:30 p.m. today, then plays a road doubleheader in Dickinson County on Wednesday afternoon, playing at Iron Mountain at 1 p.m. EDT then traveling to next-door neighbor Kingsford for a 3 p.m. EDT meet.

The Miners also host their Negaunee Invitational on Friday morning, with schools attending to include Marquette and Westwood.

Story contents based on an email received from Negaunee High School head coach Kyle Saari. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.