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MARQUETTE -- Marquette Senior High School put its stamp on the Great Northern Conference meet in the championship matches, winning five of the six it was entered in to capture this high school girls tennis title on Wednesday.
Playing on its home courts, the Sentinels scored 34 points to 28 for runner-up Escanaba. Gladstone was third with 21, followed by Kingsford with 20, West Iron County 10 and Menominee seven.
Each of these teams -- except WIC, which was entered in the GNC tourney as a team without a conference in this sport -- will play in Wednesday's MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals for Division 1 at Negaunee.
The host Miners and fellow Mid-Peninsula Conference member Westwood will join that fray, with the Patriots and Sentinels looking to be the favorites after winning their conference tourneys this week.
WIC will be joined by M-PC members Ishpeming, Gwinn, Munising and Iron Mountain, along with Norway and Ironwood, at the Division 2 finals set for Thursday and hosted by Ishpeming, though its high school courts are undergoing renovation this fall.
That tournament will instead be held at Westwood and Negaunee high schools, with Westwood scheduled to host the finals matches.
Marquette head coach Karl Thomsen, though, wasn't worrying about the U.P. Finals yet, instead concentrating on his team's success at the GNC meet.
"We had a great team victory," he said in an email detailing the result. "All 12 of our girls contributed points and we knew going into (Wednesday) every point was going to matter."
The Sentinels put their stamp on the finals by winning all three championship matches when they were matched up against players from their closest pursuer, Escanaba.
An Esky sweep of those matches would've likely handed the meet title to the Eskymos.
That included Marquette's Sydney Kuhl downing Escanaba's Amelia Alimenti 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
"Sydney Kuhl was robotic ... en route to her victory," Thomsen said. "She missed very few shots ... which puts tons of pressure on her opponents."
The other two Marquette-Esky finals matchups came in doubles and were quite closely contested. MSHS No. 2 Eva Dewitt and Charlye Swajanen fended off Esky's Isabella Noblet and Lily Benetti 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), while Sentinels' No. 3 Lola Rink and Morgan Downey outlasted the Eskymos' Emma Landwehr and Cora Dittrich 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
Thomsen was particularly pleased with them, along with the No. 1 doubles tandem of Eva Kentala and Charlotte Thomsen, who posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kingsford's Mira Johnson and Kylee Woodard in their final.
"Our No. 1 through No. 3 doubles all played a good brand of tennis," the MSHS coach said. "What impressed me the most was how all three of these teams closed out their matches.
"At No. 1 doubles, it was great to see Eva Kentala and Charlotte Thomsen turn up the gas in the second set.
"Charlye Swajanen and Eva Dewitt at No. 2 got laser focused in the second set tiebreak and shut the door.
"Finally, I loved the adjustments and poise Lola Rink and Morgan Downey displayed at No. 3 doubles. Esky got the better of them in the second set and was starting to roll, but our girls refocused, made a couple of strategic tweaks and played that third set with the 'eye of the tiger.'"
Marquette's other title came from No. 3 singles player Nora Skytta, who needed three sets to dispatch Gladstone's Lilly Ketchum, 7-5, 3-6, 6-0.
And the Sentinels' coach also had good things to say about the MSHS player who lost in the finals, No. 2 singles player Kirra Longtine, who was bested by Maddy Sleik of Kingsford, 6-1, 6-3.
"Kirra Longtine and Nora Skytta really outkicked their coverage," Thomsen said, using a football metaphor. "Both girls were (No.) 3 seeds ... with Kirra reaching the finals and Nora taking home the title.
"Nora was on a mission today, as the kids would say, she was a 'dawg' out there ... knocking off the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds."
In the other two finals not involving Marquette, Kingsford's Aubrie Moore carted off the No. 1 singles title over Esky's Anna Martin, while the Eskymos' Alexa DeGrand and Ava Jackson played another three-setter to defeat Gladstone's Miranda Drielich and Reese Lovell at No. 4 doubles.
GNC meet
Wednesday at Marquette
TEAM SCORES -- 1. Marquette 34, 2. Escanaba 28, 3. Gladstone 21, 4. Kingsford 20, 5. West Iron County 10, 6. Menominee 7
Championship matches
SINGLES -- No. 1, Aubrie Moore (K) def. Anna Martin (E) 6-2, 6-0; No. 2, Maddy Sleik (K) def. Kirra Longtine (MQT) 6-1, 6-3; No. 3, Nora Skytta (MQT) def. Lilly Ketchum (G) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0; No. 4, Sydney Kuhl (MQT) def. Amelia Alimenti (E) 6-1, 6-0
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Eva Kentala-Charlotte Thomsen (MQT) def. Mira Johnson-Kylee Woodard (K) 6-1, 6-2; No. 2, Eva Dewitt-Charlye Swajanen (MQT) def. Isabella Noblet-Lily Benetti (E) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); No. 3, Lola Rink-Morgan Downey (MQT) def. Emma Landwehr-Cora Dittrich (E) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2; No. 4, Alexa DeGrand-Ava Jackson (E) def. Miranda Drielich-Reese Lovell (G) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Story contents based on an email received from Marquette Senior High School head coach Karl Thomsen. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.