The Negaunee boys tennis team captured its 15th consecutive Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship held at Westwood High School on Tuesday. In front from left are Brandon Alba, Carson Lajimodiere, Marshall Knapp, Quinn Walters, Axl Sarasin and Trent Emard. Top row from left, assistant coach Cody Scanlon, Vince Tincknell, Max Larson, Easton Guenette, Nolan O’Dovero, Wyatt Nelson, Conner Steede and head coach Kyle Saari. (Photo courtesy Kyle Saari)

ISHPEMING — Negaunee extended its run of consecutive Mid-Peninsula Conference boys tennis meet championships to 15 at Westwood High School on Tuesday.

The Miners won six of the eight flights, including a sweep of singles, and added in a pair of runner-up finishes in the other two flights to total 44 points.

The host Patriots were runners-up with 35, winning the other two flights and taking second place in another five, while Ishpeming was third with 23, including the one other runner-up finish.

Iron Mountain came in fourth with 11 points, garnering a third place, while Gwinn had 7 and Munising 5, also getting a third place.

“The conference (meet) is an important focus each year of our program,” Negaunee veteran head coach Kyle Saari said in emailed comments. “This run of 15 has included so many high-character kids over the years, and this group didn’t waver either.

“We’re thankful and proud of every one of them, past and present.”

Westwood head coach Luke Gray was also happy with his team’s result.

“Really proud of our team … and the way we competed,” Gray said in comments included with emailed details of the meet results. “Our seniors have done a great job of leading and establishing good habits. It’s been crucial with us having a good amount of first-year players.”

The half-dozen Miners champion flights lost a total of just 16 games in their sextet of finals matches.

The most dominant was Negaunee No. 4 singles player Axl Sarasin, who took a 6-0, 6-0 victory in his finale against Westwood’s Evan Hebert.

Saari also mentioned his No. 1 doubles tandem of Carson “Spud” Lajimodiere and Quinn Walters for a 6-2, 6-4 finals victory over the Patriots’ Xavier Grondz and AJ Pizziola.

“Quinn and Spud played confidently and it’s great seeing them rewarded as seniors at the top of the doubles lineup,” their coach said. “They had a strong day.”

Saari also spoke about his top singles players, No. 1 Easton Guenette winning 6-2, 6-1 in his final match over Ishpeming’s Kole Bancroft, and No. 2 Nolan O’Dovero triumphing 6-0, 6-1 in the title tilt against Westwood’s Caden Balzarini.

“We really feel all of our singles lineup kind of took a step up, too,” Saari said. “All four are trying to add another shot or two to their game, and Nolan in particular continues to use a lot of shot variety and it’s paying off.

“Easton is controlling pace, too, and that’s always such an emphasis in our singles lineup.”

Negaunee also got championships from No. 3 singles player Max Larson, who took a 6-1, 6-3 win over Westwood’s Caeden Nurmi in his finale, and the No. 3 doubles duo Connor Steede and Trent Emard, who posted a 6-2, 6-0 win over the Patriots’ Sean Grove and Brady Dobson in their ultimate match.

Westwood’s championships came by way of Ethan Marta and Jake Ridl at No. 2 doubles and Andrew Beckman and Deion Johnson at No. 4 doubles.

Marta and Ridl scored a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 triumph over Negaunee’s Vince Tincknell and Marshall Knapp in their final, while Beckman and Johnson also went three sets before taking a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over the Miners’ Wyatt Nelson and Brandon Alba.

“Credit to Jacob and Ethan at (No.) 2 doubles for coming out with a tough win against a really good Negaunee team,” Gray said. “After losing the first set … they were able to grind out the second set and found a rhythm to close it out.

“Andrew and Deion at (No.) 4 doubles started the season as JV players and have transitioned into playing varsity together very well. They’ve lost a few really close matches in the past two weeks but were able to close it out today on a big stage.”

In addition to its runner-up finish from Bancroft at No. 1 singles, Ishpeming’s third-place finishers were Gideon Krook at No. 2 singles, Dak Kakkuri and Grady Gauthier at No. 1 doubles, Davis Hyatt and Adam Aponte at No. 2 doubles, Ethan DeMarois and Marcus Annala at No. 3 doubles, and Legend Hewitt and Loki Vollmar at No. 4 doubles.

Munising also had a third-place finisher at No. 4 singles, Nolan Dolaski, while Gwinn had a pair of fourth-place finishers, Caleb Bash and Jace Netzel at No. 3 doubles and Isaac Sheen and Johnathan Sheen at No. 4 doubles.

With one more dual left for several of these teams, they’re all now pointing to their respective MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals to be held at two locations on Wednesday. Division 1, which will include Negaunee and Westwood, will be held at Westwood, while Division 2, including the other four M-PC teams, will be held at Kingsford.

“We’re looking forward to a few practices, one last dual, and then it’s all eyes on the end of the year,” Saari said. “We want to stay loose, have fun and enjoy every bit of what’s left.”

Story contents based on email received from Westwood tennis coach Luke Gray and Negaunee tennis coach Kyle Saari. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.