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MARQUETTE -- Westwood kept its name among the strongest teams in the Upper Peninsula by defeating Marquette 7-1 in a high school girls tennis meet held at the Sentinels' courts on Thursday.
The Patriots swept singles and won three of four in doubles, also winning the two matches that went to three sets.
"There was a lot of good tennis ... across the board and I thought our girls played really well," Westwood head coach Sarah Zindler said in an email about the meet. "Overall I thought we had a great team win ... against a strong opponent."
Marquette head man Karl Thomsen thought his team could learn from the result.
"(Thursday) is another one of those tough opponents where my hope is we can learn a few lessons," Thomsen said in his email detailing the results. "Despite the loss, I thought our girls really battled in all eight flights."
The Patriots' three-set victories came in doubles, including No. 1 Tessa Burke and Ella Stacy winning 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 over the Sentinels' Eva Kentala and Charlotte Thomsen.
WHS' No. 2 tandem of Makenna Olson and Lauren Michaud-Richards were victorious 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 over Marquette's Eva Dewitt and Charlye Swajanen.
"No. 1 doubles played a really tight match and fought through a second-set tiebreak in order to push things to a third set," Zindler said. "Tessa and Ella both played aggressive at the net ... and looked confident. Marquette has a talented No. 1 doubles team, so I was excited to see our girls pull off the win."
She was also happy with several other winners, including the No. 3 doubles pair of Samiah LaFreniere and Emerson Williams and No. 2 singles player Eliisa Doney.
"I was also impressed with No. 3 doubles," Zindler said. "Emerson and Samiah have continually gotten better this season and they looked great.
"Samiah did a great job of placing the ball throughout the match and Emerson moved great at the net.
"Eliisa Doney also played one of her best matches at No. 2 singles. Having played doubles for two years, Eliisa had to adjust to singles at the start of the season and find her game.
"She has continued to grow and has a great competitive attitude against every opponent she faces. She has only gotten better as the season has progressed."
Thomsen was quite pleased with his No. 4 doubles tandem of Grace Jandreau and Brynn Helman winning 6-4, 7-5 over Westwood's Jenna Marana and Brie Mahaffey.
"I was super proud of Grace ... and Brynn," the Sentinels coach said. "These two girls have shown growth each and every match this season.
"Today it was their fight in the second set that highlighted the victory. They found themselves down 4-1 and were able to right the ship.
"With tournaments coming up soon, this is exactly what us coaches are looking for from each one of our players."
Both schools return to action on Monday, Westwood traveling to Escanaba at 1 p.m. and Marquette at Negaunee at 3:30 p.m.
The Sentinels and Patriots have a rematch in west Ishpeming at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, then finish off their weeks on Thursday -- Marquette hosts Menominee at 3:30 p.m., while Westwood goes to Iron Mountain for a 4:30 p.m. EDT meet.
Miners sweeps at home
Negaunee hosted both Iron Mountain and Norway on Thursday, winning each meet 8-0.
NHS head coach Megan Kerkela had the same lineup for each meet, meaning a dozen players all chalked up two wins in one day, though technically No. 2 singles player Addie Chapman only got one win on the court as Norway didn't field a player at that flight.
"As a team, I feel like we are hitting our stride and improving with each meet," Kerkela said in an email detailing the result after the Miners improved to 9-1.
"Paige O'Donnell and Olivia Richards have been a dominant force for us at No. 1 doubles and (Thursday) was no exception," their coach said. "They came out a little slow against Iron Mountain, but quickly adjusted and went 6-0, 6-0 against Norway.
"It's been a lot of fun watching them learn to work as a unit and use each others strengths to their advantage.
"Lucy Rogers had the best performance, ... only giving up three games for the entire day.
"In the last few weeks her consistency and confidence has improved significantly. She's been able to hold her mistakes to a minimum and is willing to do whatever it takes to win."
O'Donnell and Richards won 6-3, 6-2 over IM's Olivia Geneva and Lindsey Lewandowski and 6-0, 6-0 over Norway's Myah Gilroy and Emily Carlson.
Rogers doubled up at No. 3 singles, taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over the Mountaineers' Grace Webb and 6-3, 6-0 past the Knights' Tori Trudeau.
Two matches went to three sets -- at No. 1 singles, Negaunee's Stella Lenten pulled out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over IM's Alysia Wood, while at No. 4 doubles, the Miners' Emme Niemi and Sydney Jarvi won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 over Norway's Amara Humphreys and Katie Reath.
Negaunee has a pair of home meets next week, taking on Marquette at 3:30 p.m. Monday and Munising at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Westwood 6, Marquette 2
Thursday at Marquette
SINGLES -- No. 1, Lyn Magnuson (W) def. Stella Dehlin 6-2, 6-4; No. 2, Eliisa Doney (W) def. Kirra Longtine 6-1, 6-2; No. 3, Emmi Carlson (W) def. Nora Skytta 6-3, 6-0; No. 4, Isabel Belpedio (W) def. Sydney Kuhl 6-0, 6-0
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Tessa Burke-Ella Stacy (W) def. Eva Kentala/Charlotte Thomsen 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; No. 2, Makenna Olson-Lauren Michaud-Richards (W) def. Eva Dewitt-Charlye Swajanen 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; No. 3, Samiah LaFreniere-Emerson Williams (W) def. Lola Rink-Morgan Downey 6-3, 6-2; No. 4, Grace Jandreau-Brynn Helman (M) def. Brie Mahaffey-Jenna Marana 6-4, 7-5
Negaunee 8, Iron Mt. 0
Thursday at Negaunee
SINGLES -- No. 1, Stella Lenten (N) def. Alysia Wood 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; No. 2, Addie Chapman (N) def. Ella Theisen 6-1, 6-2; No. 3, Lucy Rogers (N) def. Grace Webb 6-0, 6-0; No. 4, Katie Carlson (N) def. Rhiannon Johnson 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Paige O'Donnell-Olivia Richards (N) def. Olivia Geneva-Lindsey Lewandowski 6-3, 6-2; No. 2, Maia Brunette-Aubrey Harper (N) def. Nell Geneva-Jules Saldana 6-1, 6-4; No. 3, Bree Helppi-Audrey Hahn (N) def. Kailey Jayne-Lily Johnson 6-0, 6-0; No. 4, Emme Niemi-Sydney Jarvi (N) def. Meena Reynolds-Kaya Grassinger 6-0, 6-0
Negaunee 8, Norway 0
Thursday at Negaunee
SINGLES -- No. 1, Stella Lenten (N) def. Jordyn Moln 6-2, 6-3; No. 2, Addie Chapman (N) won by forfeit; No. 3, Lucy Rogers (N) def. Tori Trudeau 6-3, 6-0; No. 4, Katie Carlson (N) def. Myah Zeugner 6-0, 6-0
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Paige O'Donnell-Olivia Richards (N) def. Myah Gilroy-Emily Carlson 6-0, 6-0; No. 2, Maia Brunette-Aubrey Harper (N) def. Lilly Tomlanovich-Lyla Tomlanovich 6-4, 6-2; No. 3, Bree Helppi-Audrey Hahn (N) def. Chloe Mitchem-Marisa Pipp 6-1, 6-3; No. 4, Emme Niemi-Sydney Jarvi (N) def. Amara Humphreys-Katie Reath 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Story contents based on emails received from Marquette tennis coach Karl Thomsen, Westwood coach Sarah Zindler and Negaunee coach Megan Kerkela. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.