But in high school tennis, depth is needed to win because all singles and doubles victories count the same as another. In other words, the No. 1 singles player’s win counts the same as the No. 4 doubles team’s victory.

The West Iron County Wykons proved that a complete tennis team is a dangerous tennis team Wednesday as they captured their second straight MHSAA Division 2 U.P. Tennis Finals victory.

In the event hosted by Iron Mountain and played at the Kingsford High School tennis courts, the Wykons won the No. 1 doubles match but also picked up victories from their No. 3 and No. 4 singles players as well as their No. 4 doubles team to compile 17 points, three more than runner-up Munising.

Ishpeming finished third with 13 points, the Mountaineers placed fourth with 11 and Gwinn wound up fifth with one point.

West Iron's Jackson Strom competes at the MHSAA Division 2 U.P. Tennis championships. The event, hosted by Iron Mountain, was Wednesday at the Kingsford High School tennis courts. (Terry Raiche photo)

West Iron’s victorious players included James White at No. 3 singles, Casey Clisch at No. 4 singles, Elijah Oberlin and Jackson Strom at No. 1 doubles and Cayden Holm and Carson Aldegarie at No. 4 doubles.

“I’m so proud of the kids and proud of their commitment,” said WIC coach Jim Anderson. “And it’s a thrill to be here again. This was our goal, just like last year, to get to this point and accomplish this again.”

West Iron’s eye-catching flight victory came in the top doubles match where Oberlin and Strom knocked off top-seeded Oskar Kangas and Evan Copley of Iron Mountain 6-2, 6-4.

The final pitted three tall basketball players and a shorter tennis specialist. Specifically, Oberlin was West Iron’s top hoops player the past four seasons, while Kangas is a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh recruit and Copley contributed heavily to this season’s Mountaineers’ Division 3 district basketball title as well.

Oberlin and Strom jumped on the IM duo and won the first five games of the match. Kangas and Copley got their footing and won two straight but the West Iron pair recovered in the following game to take the opening set.

Iron Mountain's Malakai Broersma placed second in No. 1 singles at the U.P. tennis finals. (Terry Raiche photo)

Strom talked about his strategy as the match went along.

“I found that if I could get a sharp forehand off a second serve, hit it really wide cross court, that worked plenty of times,” he said. “And every once in a while, I hit a forehand slice short and that worked also.

“And being able to take big shots when you’ve got the opportunity.”

The second set was much tighter as the team’s traded service breaks. But in the 10th game of the match, West Iron broke serve for the final time to win 6-4 and seal their championship.

It was a special moment for both Wykons, especially Oberlin.

“I really haven’t won much in my high school career,” Oberlin said, alluding to West Iron’s recent struggles in football and boys basketball. “So for me, this was a really good way for me to end it.”

At No. 3 singles, White emerged victorious in a match that was a test of wills, defeating IM’s Seth Greenleaf 3-6, 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-5). The grueling match featured two tiebreakers, one that went 22 points, before White stayed alive to push the match to a decisive third set.

“I didn’t think it was ever going to end,” Anderson joked. “But again, I give credit to James because anybody else could have tuned out in that match and really got tired of playing and just gave up on it. But he kept his focus and kept his eye on the prize.”

In the No. 4 singles title match, Clisch battled through a first-set tiebreaker and went on to win his first U.P. title, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 over Gideon Krook of Ishpeming.

“He’s a freshman this year and there’s lot of potential in him,” Anderson said of Clisch. “He had a great record and a great seed coming into this, so it wasn’t a real surprise, his performance today.”

Holm and Aldegarie also came up with a crucial 6-3, 6-2 win over Ishpeming’s Ethan DeMarios and Davis Hyatt in the No. 4 doubles title match.

“That’s the kind of flight that can seal a win for you,” Anderson said. “And we’ve seen that a couple of times over our season, that maybe we weren’t sure we were going to win a meet as a team overall but one of those lower (flights) got a win and we did.”

The Wykons also received important team points from No. 2 singles Dominick Brunswick, who finished second after a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Munising’s Danny Goss.

For the Mountaineers, it was a star-crossed day. Coach Keith Huotari’s squad could have competed for the team crown but instead suffered two ill-timed injuries and three defeats in the final three matches of the day — at No. 1 doubles, No. 2 doubles and No. 3 singles.

In the No. 2 doubles match, top-seeded Ben Truong and Dylan Lindgren lost the opening set 6-4 to Ishpeming’s Ethan Corp and Levi Nicholls, but leveled things with a 6-1 triumph in the second set.

However, Corp and Nicholls regained their momentum and defeated Truong and Lindgren 6-2 in the decisive third set.

“I really came into today thinking, “We can win this thing,” Huotari said. “I really geared myself today to this. But I also knew that we had to have certain things fall in line.”

Huotari said one of those was at the No. 4 singles flight where Phil Miziniak took the first set against Ishpeming’s Krook, but suffered a sprained ankle in the second and couldn’t continue, leading to an injury default.

Additionally, IM’s top singles player Malakai Broersma developed a blister problem on his foot during his impressive 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over last year’s No. 1 singles runner-up Zander Birmingham in the semifinals.

So, although he would have been an underdog against returning champion Carson Kienitz in the final anyway, he simply had no chance to compete and dropped all 12 games.

Afterward the matches were complete, Huotari talked philosophically about the 2025 boys tennis season.

“You know, it’s a long season,” he began. “I love my guys and they play hard and some days it’s your day and some days it’s not. I tip my cap to the people that we play. Sometimes the other guys are better than you are. So what do you need to get better?

“I always say success leaves clues. Watch what the good players do. I think these kids are confident, sometimes overconfident. I like hearing confidence, but I always tell them that the guy you’re playing wants to win, too. And right now, they’re holding the trophy and we’re not.”

That team holding the trophy continues to add to its history of success. With the 2025 title, the Wykons have won three of the last five D2 championships and have won 10 titles in the last 20 seasons.

Anderson was asked about the key to the WIC tennis program’s success.

“I think it’s putting the time in with the kids, keeping them engaged and the energy high. The whole idea with this is to keep it fun for kids so they will want to keep playing next year. That’s always our goal.”

Team standings: 1. West Iron County 17; 2. Munising 14; 3.Ishpeming 13; 4. Iron Mountain 11; 5. Gwinn 1

IRON MOUNTAIN

SINGLES

No. 1 – Malakai Broersma def. Zander Birmingham (WIC) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5); lost to Carson Kienitz (M) 6-0, 6-0

No. 2 – Lucian Breault def. Mason Kovarik (G) 6-0, 6-0; lost to Dominick Brunswick (WIC) 6-0, 6-4

No. 3 – Seth Greenleaf def. Michael Robinson (M) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; lost to James White (WIC) 3-6, 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-5)

No. 4 – Phil Miziniak lost to Gideon Krook (I) by injury default

DOUBLES

No. 1 – Oskar Kangas/Evan Copley def. Scout Linsenman/Jack Carlson 6-0, 6-2; lost to Elijah Oberlin/Jackson Strom 6-2, 6-4

No. 2 – Ben Truong/Dylan Lindgren def. Carter Rautanen/Caiden Curtis (M) 6-0, 6-0; lost to Ethan Corp/Levi Nicholls (I) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2

No. 3 – Jaqai Smith/Di’Angelo Saldana lost to Luke Laitinen/Dax Kakkuri (I) 6-1, 6-0

No. 4 – No entry

WEST IRON

SINGLES

No. 1 -Birmingham lost to Broersma (IM) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)

No. 2 -Brunswick def. Breault (IM) 6-0, 6-4; lost to Danny Goss (M) 6-3, 6-2

No. 3 – White def. Joseph Giroux (I) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1; def. Greenleaf (IM) 3-6, 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-5)

No. 4 – Clisch def. Dimetri Balko (M) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1; def. Gideon Krook (I) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

DOUBLES

No. 1 – Oberlin/J. Strom def. Caden Luoma/Grady Gauthier (I) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 7-5

No. 2 – Matthew Swenski/Keenan Dobson-Donati lost to Corp/Nicholls (I) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

No. 3 – Emmett Strom/Nick Perlongo lost to Nolan Dolaskie/Blake Tyner (M) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

No. 4 – Cayden Holm/Carson Aldegarie def. Faller Anderson/Jayden Holappa (G) 6-0, 6-0; def. Ethan DeMarios/Davis Hyatt (I) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)