Negaunee claims 7th straight MPC boys tennis title
MPC Boys Tennis
MARQUETTE — The Negaunee boys tennis team added their seventh straight Mid-Peninsula Conference title to their dynasty Thursday, sweeping all eight finals in the process at Westwood high.
Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari said his program never takes a season for granted.
“We have two goals at the beginning of every year, and that’s to win the conference than win the U.P.s,” Saari said. “We have a young group of athletes who stepped up after we graduated some big contributors last year, and these guys picked up right where everyone else left off.
“To put together this strong of titles is great for the program’s present, but it also helps the future greatly as well.”
Westwood qualified for seven of the eight final rounds, with Iron Mountain earning the other spot in No. 1 singles.
Negaunee ran away with 46 points, with Westwood coming in second with 33. Iron Mountain finished fourth with 14 points, and Gwinn landed fifth with 10 points.
Negaunee’s Eric Hurst was tested early in the championship round of the No. 1 singles, falling in the first set 0-6 to Iron Mountain’s Tysen Wadge before grinding out a 6-4 second match, then ultimately taking the deciding set 7-5 (5).
In No. 2 singles, Luke Skewis defeated Westwood’s Jake Kerkela 6-2, 6-0, and Thomas Sertich downed Adam Hyttinen 6-1, 6-2 in No. 3 singles.
The Miners rounded out singles with Chas Kumpula defeating Anthony Coveau 6-1, 6-4.
In No. 1 doubles, Austin Pierpont and Dylan Willey got things started for the Miners with a three set win over Westwood’s Klay Ronn and Peyton Anderson by scores of 7-6 (5), 6-1 and 0-6.
In No. 2 doubles, Negaunee freshmen Brandon Sager and Drew Lindberg downed Jarod Anttila and Connor Traver 6-0, 6-7.
“They’re freshmen, but they haven’t played like it once this season,” Saari said. “I’ve been proud of their ability to step up and compete so well. They’ve been a huge part of this team’s success.”
Jacob Talaga and Darius Provost earned a win for the Miners in No. 3 doubles, defeating Jacob Adriano and Zachary Niemi 7-5, 6-1, and Negaunee swept the day with a No. 4 doubles win with Jacob Larson and Evan Hassell winning over Seth Smith and Matt LaFountain 6-4, 7-5.
Patriots head coach Chris Jackson said he was proud of his team’s effort to earn second place in points.
“Things went pretty much as planned looking back at the day overall,” Jackson said. “We played very hard throughout the day and had a lot of close matches in every round.
“Getting so many to the finals for another year is just a testament to just how good this team is.”
Up next for Negaunee will be the next stage in Saari’s goals, capturing the U.P. finals Wednesday on their home court.
Saari said his team’s entering the finals at the right time.
“It helps winning the conference title before the U.P. finals,” Saari said. “Anytime you are able to win a title it builds a lot of momentum. The emphasis now is to be mentally tough, keep getting balls to the net while having each other’s backs as a team, and hopefully that will be enough on the day.”
1. Negaunee, 46; 2. Westwood, 33; 4. Iron Mountain, 14; 5. Gwinn, 10.
SINGLES — No. 1 — Eric Hurst (N) def. Tysen Wadge (IM), 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5); No. 2 — Luke Skewis (N) def. Jake Kerkela (W), 6-2, 6-0; No. 3 — Thomas Sertich (N) def. Adam Hyttinen (W), 6-1, 6-2; No. 4 — Chas Kumpula (N) def. Anthony Coveau (W), 6-1, 6-4
DOUBLES — No. 1 — Austin Pierpont-Dylan Willey (W) def. Klay Ronn-Peyton Anderson (N), 7-6 (5), 6-1, 0-6; No. 2 — Brandon Sager-Drew Lindberg (N) def Jarod Antilla-Connor Traver (W), 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4; No. 3 — Jacob Talaga-Darius Provost (N) def. Jacob Adriano-Zachary Niemi, 7-5, 6-1; No. 4 — Jacob Larson-Evan Hassell (N) def. Seth Smith-Matthew LaFountain, 6-4, 7-5.