4/14/09 Lakewood Varsity at Williamston, JV at Lakewood
4/21/09 Corunna Varsity at Williamston, JV at Corunna (checking JV numbers)
4/23/09 Varsity at Lansing Catholic, JV at Williamston
4/28/09 Portland Varsity at Williamston, JV at Portland
5/5/09 BYE
5/7/09 CAAC at Lansing Catholic
Archive
The Williamston Hornets hosted the girls’ tennis team from Charlotte on Monday, March 30, 2009, and extended their record to 2-0 with an 8-0 victory. “Our girls were real ambassadors for the game of tennis today,” said Coach Steve Stanley. “The Charlotte squad was composed of 9 players from Charlotte new to the game and our players were very considerate as they played the matches. We have a very classy group of girls on our squad,” he added.
The results of the CAAC crossover competition were: Singles: Ash (W) d, Sisco 6-0, 6-0; Cooper (W) d. Sloan 6-0, 6-0; Meijer (W) d. Fulton 6-1, 6-1; E. Krantz (W) d. Burke 6-2, 6-0
Doubles: Nelson-Nikolai (W) d. Tripplet-Czarnecki 6-0, 6-0; Donovan-Porter (W) d. Woodbeck/Adams 6-1, 6-0; Barton-Graham (W) d. Keverne/Ridge 6-0, 6-0; Steinberg-Vargovich (W) d. Christenson-Smith 6-1, 6-1.
Winning junior varsity matches for the Hornets were Gilly Cobb at one singles 6-1; Annie McGoff at two singles 6-0, and at number one doubles Andrea Krantz and Amber Wilson-Daeschlein 6-1.
The match against East Lansing has been postponed from April 1, to April 22nd. Also, the locations have switched, Varsity will now play in Williamston and JV in East Lansing. Lastly, the Charlotte team only has four JV players so only 1 and 2 singles and number 1 doubles from JV will play on Monday.
The Williamston high school girls’ tennis team began their defense of the Division 4 championship with a solid 6-2 victory over the DeWitt Panthers on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at DeWitt. “It was a good start,” said sophomore Leah Vargovich, who along with her doubles partner, Cara Steinberg, won their number four doubles match 6-3, 6-2.
“I think we were all eager to get the season underway,” said Aubree Barton, “We were getting tired of practicing and playing points against each other. She and Erin Graham are playing number three doubles this season after reaching the finals at the state championships last year at number four doubles. They won their match 6-3, 6-3.
Anya Nikolai and Mattie Nelson won their number one doubles match 6-3, 6-0. “One of the DeWitt girls had a really big serve and that took a little getting used to, but once we found our rhythm I knew we were going to be okay,” said Anya.
Tiffany Ash, returning for her third straight season as the number one singles player cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win. “It was really windy out there today, but I just played my game and came away with a victory.”
Freshman Claire Cooper made an impressive debut at number two singles by defeating her opponent 6-1, 6-2. “It was fun playing tennis as a member of team,” she said. “I play USTA matches and there isn’t any coaching in those so it is different. I think it will be a great season.”
“I was very pleased with everyone’s effort today,” said varsity coach Steve Stanley. “I was especially impressed with Gabby’s (Meijer) comeback win at number three singles.” Gabby lost the first set 6-1, then came back to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-4. “It was windy and I struggled with my serve but I figured out what I was doing and fixed it, she said. “Then I realized I wasn’t volleying to a corner when I was at the net. Instead I just hit it right back to my opponent and she either passed me or lobbed over my head. Once I fixed those two things I was able to turn the match around,” she concluded.
Erin Donovan and Audrey Porter lost their number two doubles match in three sets. “The girls we played against were very consistent and we just struggled with our serves,” said Erin. Erica Krantz lost her number four singles match 6-3, 6-4.
The Lady Hornets are home for a scrimmage against Grand Ledge on Thursday and play Charlotte also at home on Monday, March 30th.
The girls tennis junior varsity hosted DeWitt on the same day and came away with the same result, a hard fought, 6-2 victory. “So far, so good,” said junior varsity coach Phil Brillantes. “Five of the eight matches went three sets, which is like going into overtime in other sports,” he added. “The girls fought hard and pulled out victories in four of those five three set matches. Our number one doubles team of Amber Wilson-Daeschlein and Andrea Krantz were behind 0-5 in the second set and fought back to win that set 7-5 and then win the third set 6-3. That was a great effort.” he concluded.
The results were: 1st Singles – Gill Cobb won 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4); 2nd Singles – Annie McGoff won 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3; 3rd Singles – Ali Wallace won 6-2, 6-0; 4th Singles – Bri O’Toole lost 2-6, 0-6.
1st Doubles – Amber Wilson-Daeschlein/ Andrea Krantz won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; 2nd Doubles – Kelsey Ellsworth/ Caitlin Geyer won 6-4, 6-0; 3rd Doubles – Carrie Donohoe/Mallory Hoffman won 4-6, 6-4, 6-0; 4th Doubles – Callie Risch/ Amy Paruk lost 6-4, 6-7 (4), 3-6,
Winning exhibition matches for the Hornets were Ruby Smith in singles 6-2 and Rebecca Kost and Georgia Bayerl in doubles 6-2. Also playing for the Hornets in exhibition losses were Caroline Lupine, Calli Campbell and Amber Smith.
Please take time to attend the boys’ basketball game on January 9, 2009. At halftime the tennis community is going to be recognized and the last year’s Girl’s Tennis Varsity Squad will be introduced. The banner and the state championship trophy will be presented.
Ann Arbor Greenhills- 30 pts.
Lansing Catholic – 28 pts.
Lumen Christi – 26 pts
Williamston – 24 pts.
4th PLACE FINISH!
A Few great notes:
1. Highest Williamston Boy’s Tennis team has ever placed at a state meet!
2. Highest ranked public school in Division 4!!
3. Had 4 flights in the semi-finals! Most ever by a boy’s team!
4. Had 3 flights in the finals!! First time we ever had a flight in the finals, and this time we had 3!!
5. First state champ at a flight for the first time in Williamston history! Ian Sheet at #2 singles!!
We knew going into this tournament it was going to be a 4 team state meet. Between the top 4, we all have a very close head to head record. Lots of ties between the top four teams!! Unfortunately, the other 3 teams had that extra edge in points and extra wins to come up ahead of us. All our doubles teams lost in very close matches with most of them going 3 sets. While 3 of our singles flights got to the finals!!
For once, I can honestly say we played like champions to the end. Everybody raised their game for this tournament. Everybody played tough the entire tournament. Even when we lost, the players held their head up and knew they played their best. As their coach, I was very proud of their performance as we did not make it easy for anybody, win or lose! This was their first time I felt that we played strong top to bottom, match to match! We were a few close matches away from possibly winning it all!
Individual Results:
1st Singles – Peter Sienko lost in the finals to Ann Arbor Greenhills. He won a fantastic 3 set match against Elk Rapids in the semi-finals to advance!
2nd Singles – Ian Sheets won it all, playing against Lumen Christi in the finals.
3rd Singles – Brett Graham lost in the finals to Lumen Christi, he won a very tough match in the semi-finals to Lansing Catholic, a player he lost to twice before at Regionals and Leagues.
4th Singles- Nathan Fedewa lost in the Quarterfinals in a very close 3 set match against Ann Arbor Greenhills.
1st Doubles- Bartrem/Taylor lost in the Quarterfinals in 3 sets to North Muskegon
2nd Doubles- Frenzel/Bennet lost a very close two set match in the Quarterfinals to a Greenhills team.
3rd Doubles – Hall/Johnson lost a very close 3 set match in the Quarterfinals to a Lumen Christi team.
4th Doubles- Pueppke/McGuire- Being the only team not seeded for Williamston, they actually got the farthest of all the doubles teams. They reached the semi-finals beating the #6 seed from North Muskegon, then the #3 seed from Liggett. Their semi final match was against Ann Arbor Greenhills which they lost in a very close 3 set match.
As you can see, all our loses were very close and respectable. It could have gone in many directions for us, but in the end it is what it is, and we were all proud of our team, and how we played all weekend!
Coach Phil
Portland, MI. The Williamston tennis team traveled to Portland on Thursday, October 2, 2008, to compete in the CAAC White Division Tournament. The team results by points were Lansing Catholic 38, Williamston 33, Portland 25, Lakewood 15, and Corunna 9.
“We were tied with Lansing Catholic going into the championships because of our 4-4 dual match against them last month,” said Coach Phil Brillantes. “The dual match results count for half of the league title and the League Tournament the other half. Seeing that Lansing Catholic won the Tournament, they rightfully won Leagues this year,” he added.
Individual Results:
1st Singles- Peter Sienko- 1st place
2nd Singles- Ian Sheets – 1st place
3rd Singles – Brett Graham- 2nd place, lost to Lansing Catholic in 3 sets. Brett previously beat him in our dual match.
4th Singles – Nathan Fedewa – 2nd place, lost to Lansing Catholic
1st Doubles- Bartrem/Taylor- 3rd place, lost to Portland 1st round, and beat Lakewood for 3rd place.
2nd Doubles- Frenzel/Bennett- 2nd place, lost to Lansing Catholic
3rd Doubles- Hall/Johnson -2nd place, lost to Lansing Catholic
4th Doubles- McGuire/Pueppke- 2nd place, lost to Lansing Catholic.
“Even though we tied Lansing Catholic in our dual match, and won 4 flights to their 4 flights at the Dewitt Invitational, they got the best of us today with a 6-2 when we compare head to head at Leagues”, said Coach Brillantes. “Our guys did work hard, but in the end, when it comes to the big tournaments, the big moments, experience and mental toughness wins,” he continued. “Are we just as good as them physically and talent wise? Yes, I think we are just as good as anybody else in the state. Can we pull the big wins when needed? Unfortunately as a team, not today, but we still have two more weeks with time to improve and make a bigger name for our selves. Bottom line: Right now, we just don’t have the experience in big time situations. Hopefully, we can find it!!!” he concluded.
DeWitt, MI. “We knew going into this DeWitt Invitational that it was going to be a tough day. Some of the tops teams there were Lansing Catholic, Parma Western, St. Johns, and DeWitt,” said varsity coach Phil Brillantes. “We had tied Lansing Catholic in our dual league match, lost to Parma at their invitational, and knew St. Johns and Dewitt had strong teams,” he added.
The Hornets finished a very close second with 38 points behind Lansing Catholic with 40. DeWitt finished third with 25 points and Parma Western finished fourth with 24. “Our second place finish seems to be a theme this season. We are close but just can’t quite seem to get there,” Coach Brillantes said. “We had 6 flights in the finals: 1-3 singles and 1-3 doubles. Lansing Catholic had 5 flights in the finals. Unfortunately, the ones that we needed to win, went in their favor. We ended up winning 4 of the flights. 1-3 singles won, and #3 doubles. Lansing Catholic took the rest, 4 singles, and 1,2, and 4 doubles. So match wise, we won just as many flights but due to overall points, and an early lost at #4 singles, LCC beat us by one match, or two points,” he concluded.
Individual Results:
1st singles:
Peter Sienko-1st place
2nd singles:
Ian Sheets- 1st place
3rd Singles:
Brett Graham -1st place
4th Singles
Nathan Fedewa -5th place
1st Doubles
Bartrem/Taylor -2nd place
2nd Doubles
Frenzel/Bennett- 2nd place
3rd Doubles
Hall/Johnson- 1st place
4th Doubles-
Pueppke/McGuire- 3rd place
Williamston, MI. The number six ranked Hornets matched up against the number three ranked Griphons from Ann Arbor Greenhills on Thursday, September 18, 2008. The result was a tie 4-4.
The match results were 1st Singles, Chris Song (G) def. Peter Sienko (W) 7-6(0), 6-3;
2nd Singles, Ian Sheets (W) def. Connor Tremper (G) 6-2, 6-1; 3rd Singles Brett Graham (W) def. John Adams (G) 6-4, 6-1; 4th Singles Nathan Fedewa (W) def. George Tam (G) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6); 1st Doubles Engers/Prabhu (G) def. Bartrem/Taylor (W) 6-2, 6-2; 2nd Doubles Bennett/Frenzel (W) def. Steinhoff/Sackett (G) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; 3rd DoublesGay/Goldfarb (G) def. Hall/Johnson (W) 7-6 (4), 6-4; 4th Doubles Weinberg/Chung (G) def. Pueppke/McGuire (W) 6-0, 6-1.
“Peter Sienko lost for the first time this season, said Coach Phil Brillantes, fortunately, the rest of the singles line-up won against a very reputable singles line-up. Doubles fought better then in the past. The mental toughness and working to get better was lot more evident during this match than in past. The boys really saw the potential today and hopefully the spark plug needed to get even better,” he concluded.
Photo credit: Marianne Frenzel
Williamston tennis team celebrates runner up finish at DeWitt Invitational
Corunna, MI. Both the Williamston tennis varsity and junior varsity teams traveled to Corunna for a CAAC White Division match up. The Hornets returned without losing a single match at either level. “This was the first victory for our shorthanded junior varsity squad,” said Coach Steve Stanley. “It feels good to finally get a win under our belts,” he continued, “It is even more impressive that the guys are starting to really learn the game. The doubles players are in the right position, picking the right targets and the singles guys are starting to construct their points rather than just hit it back and hope for the best,” he concluded. Winning at number one singles was Billy Schlenke 8-0; Richard Kerley at number two singles and Matt Silverthorn at number three singles 8-0. The number two doubles team of Ian Campbell and Drew Payton also posted a solid win 8-0. The number one doubles team of Alex Mullen and Nathan Clark won by forfeit. They lost to Corunna’s number one varsity doubles team 8-6.
The varsity also swept the Corunna squad 8-0. Posting wins for the Hornets were Ian Sheets at number one singles, Brett Graham at number two, Nathan Fedewa at number three, and Benno Pueppke at number four. Bringing home victories in the doubles flights were Ben Taylor and Kyle Bartrem at number one, Zach Frenzel and Scott Bennett at number two, Andrew Hall and Andy Johnson at number three and Ryan McGuire and Scott Evans at number four.