2011 ALL-AREA GIRLS TENNIS: These players made quite the racquet

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Another exceptional season of girls tennis in the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area finished with four teams playing at the Division 1 state finals, three finishing in the top 10 and another winning its first-ever state championship.

Clarkston rang the bell as the state’s premier team this season, beginning the campaign ranked third on potential and ended up winning the state title while being ranked No.1 in Division 1 the final month of the campaign.

Rochester participated in the state finals for the fourth straight year, the first time in school history that has occurred, and Troy Athens and Troy were state qualifiers as well with Troy making a late push to enter the state’s top 10 at the D-1 finals, tying Rochester for ninth.

It is no surprise that those schools dominate the 2011 All-Area Girls Tennis Team.

Made up of eight singles players and four doubles teams, all had fine seasons in their own right to lead their respective teams to success. There were a total of 10 local players on the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association All-State teams, all which landed a spot on the All-Area First team.

The All-Area squad was selected by area coaches in conjunction with NOS staff.

Below is a brief profile of each first team selection:

SINGLES

KELSEY DIETERS, Rochester: The most dominant No. 1 singles player to come through the state in some time, Dieters spent her entire career at the top spot and claimed two state titles with two other state semifinalist appearances in her career, which saw her rack up an eye-catching 107-5 record. A four-time All-State First Team selection who is headed for Ohio State, Dieters finished 28-0 this season and 81-1 in her final three years, losing only in the state semifinals her junior year in that span. This year she won the Rochester and Troy Athens tournaments, the Rochester regional and the D-1 state title. She was named Miss Tennis unanimously this year.

“She had as good of career as anybody in the past several years, much like (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s) Shannon Matthews did a few years back. She only lost five matches her entire career and always played No. 1 singles,” said coach Jerry Murphy.”

GABRIELLE SPINDLER, Clarkston: A junior in her third varsity season, Spindler returned to the No. 1 singles slot and posted a fine 24-3 record. Two of her losses were to state champion Kelsey Dieters of Rochester while the other was to Alix Thurman of Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, the state runner-up in Division 1. This year Spindler reached the state semifinals and won the Holly Red & White Invitational, Ann Arbor Pioneer Tournament and Grand Blanc Invitational. She was the Rochester regional runner-up and earned a spot on the All-OAA Red Division and All-State First Team.

“She had the toughest job, playing No. 1 singles in Division 1 and she went out there and played great competition and did a fantastic job,” said coach Becky Freeman. “Her only losses were to the top players in the state and they both graduate. We’re hoping she can back next season and go after it.”

LEXI BAYLIS, Clarkston: A freshman, Baylis came into the high school scene with a lot of accolades and lived up to them. Playing No. 2 singles for the Wolves, she finished the year a perfect 28-0, winning tournaments at Grand Blanc, Holly and Ann Arbor Pioneer to go along with wins at the regional and D-1 state finals.

“Lexi’s a very good player but she’s nice to have around on the team because she’s very emotional. She really gets into it,” said Freeman. “When she won her match at states and when we won the title, she was there pumping her fist and shouting. She really helped get the girls excited.”

KATIE BROZOVICH, Clarkston: Brozovich dropped down from No. 2 to No. 3 singles this season and became even more dominant, running the tables to win her flight at the state finals and joining Baylis with a perfect 28-0 ledger. She was also champion at the Holly, Grand Blanc and Pioneer tournaments to go along with a regional title.

“She’s a very cerebral-type player,” noted Freeman. “All her emotion is kept inside of her. She’s very calm on the court and just goes about her business and wins matches. She just wears people down.”

KRISTINA LUCAS, Clarkston: Just one of two senior starters on the Wolves’ entire roster, Lucas played No. 4 singles in her encore prep campaign and helped her team win a state title. Headed for Grand Valley State on a tennis scholarship, Lucas was able to avenge her only regular season loss by topping Midland Dow’s Katie Close in the state finals match after losing to Close in the finals at the Holly tournament. Lucas was 27-1 on the year with wins at the Pioneer and Grand Blanc tournaments to go along with the regional and state title.

“She was a great leader for this team,” said Freeman. “As a senior she played No. 4 singles and went out there and helped the team win. She got a chance to defeat the only girl that beat her in the regular season in the state tournament. It was a perfect ending for her.”

BRITTANY BAXTER, Rochester: A four-year varsity veteran who played on four state qualifying teams, Baxter was a solid player at No. 2 singles for the Falcons, who tied for ninth overall at the D-1 state finals. Baxter finished the year 15-10 after playing a tough schedule and was a semifinalist at the Rochester regional and at both the Athens and Rochester tournaments. She went 1-1 at the D-1 state finals, topping Rosa Wu of Ann Arbor Huron in the first round before falling to second-seeded Christina Auyeung of Midland Dow in the Round of 16.

“Last year we were 12^th at the state finals and this year Brittany won a match at the state finals which helped us finish in the top 10,” said Murphy. “She was a solid player for us all four years, very competitive.”

KELLY FORMAN, Troy: A senior who moved up to No. 1 singles in her fourth varsity season, this OAA Red Division and All-State Honorable Mention Division 1 honoree finished the year 15-8 playing stiff competition. Among her more notable performances were runner-up finishes at the Ann Arbor Pioneer Invitational and Grosse Pointe South regional. At the D-1 state finals, she lost to fellow all-stater Courtney Lymburner of Pioneer in the first round. She will attend the University of Michigan, but will not play tennis for the school.

“Kelly was just a good all-around team leader,” said coach Eric Sturgis. “She did whatever it took to lead the team. Her record wasn’t the best, but we played about as tough of a schedule as anybody, so her losses were to all-state players.”

SHANNON WEN, Troy Athens: The Red Hawks No.1 singles player had a strong season leading Athens to the Division 1 state finals for the fourth straight time. The senior had several fine finishes at tournaments, including being a regional semifinal at the Grosse Pointe South regional. She finished up the campaign by reaching the Sweet 16 at the D-1 finals, falling to Livonia Franklin’s Angelica Woods in that round.

DOUBLES

PAIGE OLSEN-DANA OLSEN, Clarkston: At most schools, the Olsen twins, both freshman, would be in the singles lineup, but at Clarkston, already deep with singles players, they paired up to form quite a tandem this year in the No. 1 doubles slot. They finished the year 23-4, winning both the Grand Blanc and Pioneer tournaments and the Rochester regional and finished second at the Holly tournament. At the D-1 state finals, they reached the state semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Meghan Woody and Allie Vickery of Midland Dow.

“They haven’t played a lot of doubles before this year, but we were so deep at singles players that they decided to come together to play doubles,” said freeman. “They did a great job together. Once they got used to playing alongside one another, they were tough to beat. Being sisters, I didn’t think it would be too much of a problem.”

KARA COLLINS-HOPE KEATING, Troy: Troy’s roster had eight new players this season and the virtually all of the holdovers played in different flights compared to last year. This season the duo of Collins, a senior, and Keating, a sophomore, joined forces for a 17-8 record against brutally-tough competition at No. 1 doubles. They were named to the All-State First Team after finishing as the Grosse Pointe South regional finalist. They were also named to the All-OAA Red Division squad, finished second at the Ann Arbor Huron tournament and third at the Ann Arbor Pioneer tournament. At the D-1 state finals, they lost in the state quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Alexa Arvidson and Julia Rampton of Ann Arbor Pioneer.

“They really came on strong late in the season and helped us win a regional title and finish top 10 in the state,” said Sturgis. “They turned out to be a great fit together.”

KELLI WEATHERHOLD-JULIE MARKIEWICZ, Rochester: On a team of eight seniors, this duo put together a fine season despite going 1-6 overall in the league. They finished the season 13-10 playing tough competition and finished as the runner-up at the Rochester regional. At the D-1 state finals, the senior duo lost to above-mentioned duo of Troy’s Collins and Keating in the Round of 16.

“Our doubles players were all very close (in talent), so these two definitely earned it to be our No. 1 doubles team,” said Murphy. “They only won one league match, but in our league, it’s so tough. Everybody is good. They still had a lot of wins out of the league and in some tournaments.  Like our entire senior class, they were a joy to have on the team.”

MONICA MANCINI-KRISTIN HINCHMAN, Rochester Stoney Creek: This senior duo played extremely well together the past two years, posting winning records each season. This year, they placed in several tournaments and ended up as a regional semifinalist at the deep Rochester regional. The duo was named to the All-OAA White Division squad for the second straight season.

COACH OF THE YEAR: BECKY FREEMAN, Clarkston: In her third season as head coach, Freeman, who also coached two seasons on the Wolves’ junior varsity the previous two years before that, was able to mold together quite a unit that captured the school’s first-ever Division 1 state title in tennis. Clarkston’s previous best had been fourth place in 2004. The Wolves were seventh last season.

This season, Clarkston amassed a perfect 7-0-0 dual match record in the OAA Red Division to win their first league title in that conference. They were 13-0-1 overall in duals with the only blemish a 4-4 tie under blistery conditions to state powerhouse Grosse Pointe South. Clarkston, which opened the year ranked third in Division 1, won the Ann Arbor Pioneer, Grand Blanc and Holly tournaments, the latter with a victory over then-top-ranked Midland Do, which vaulted the Wolves to the top spot of the rankings in early May.

Clarkston also captured it first-ever regional crown at Rochester in mid-May before collecting 27 points to outdistance the star-studded field at the D-1 finals, two points ahead of power Pioneer and four ahead of Midland Dow.

“We had a lot of depth, which is a nice problem to have, and I think that the girls competed for the team, not themselves, which is the main reason why we won it all this season,” said Freeman. “It’s not like we were the heavy favorites going into the season. I felt that we would be good and a top five team, but there are a lot of teams. It was very surreal. We were third, then second, then we took over No. 1 in the state and we held it to the end.

“We only lose two starters and we have some good players coming up, so next year it won’t be a surprise. We’ll have a target on us,” concluded Freeman.

ALL-AREA GIRLS TENNIS 2011

FIRST TEAM-SINGLES

Kelsey Dieters                        Rochester                     Senior

Brittany Baxter                      Rochester                     Senior

Gabriella Spindler                 Clarkston                      Junior

Katie Brozovich                     Clarkston                       Junior

Lexi Baylis                               Clarkston                       Freshman

Kristina Lucas                        Clarkston                        Senior

Shannon Wen                         Troy Athens                  Senior

Kelly Forman                          Troy                                 Senior

FIRST TEAM DOUBLES

Paige Olsen                               Clarkston                        Freshman

Dana Olsen                                Clarkston                       Freshman

Kara Collins                              Troy                                Senior

Hope Keating                           Troy                                Sophomore

Kelli Wetherhold                     Rochester                    Senior

Julie Markiewicz                     Rochester                    Senior

Monica Mancini                      Roch. Stoney Creek  Senior

Kristin Hinchman                  Roch. Stoney Creek   Senior

COACH OF THE YEAR

Becky Freeman                     Clarkston                         Third Season

HONORABLE MENTION-SINGLES

Auburn Hills Avondale: Mary Macguire, sr. (No. 1); Lake Orion: Amanda Leonard, jr. (No. 1); Abby Urlewicz, jr. (No. 3); Rochester: Anna Parker, sr (No. 3); Rochester Adams: Marla Seaver, fr. (No. 1); Victoria Morin, soph. (No. 2); Rochester Stoney Creek: Angela Shoenhals, soph. (No. 1); Alex Sekulovski, sr. (No. 2); Troy: Amanda Guo, fr. (No. 2); Allison Li, jr. (No. 3); Troy Athens: Nina Lu, sr. (No. 2); Iris Su, jr. (No. 3).

HONORABLE MENTION-DOUBLES

Auburn Hills Avondale: Cristina Sonu, soph., Amy Swanson, soph. (No. 1); Clarkston: Amy Wozniak, jr., Abbey Hubregsen, jr. (No. 2); Allie Wilson, jr., Olivia Dunn, jr. (No. 3); Rochester: Kate Berry, sr., Jen Chen, jr. (No. 2); Kirsten Byszkowski, sr., Leah Evanson, sr. (No. 3); Stephanie Handley, soph., Stephanie VonBrehen, soph. (No. 4); Rochester Stoney Creek: Amanda Freed, sr., Rachel Cannon, soph. (No. 2); Troy: Tonya Malyarenko, jr., Kalie Collins, soph. (No. 2); Sruthi Chandra, jr., Morgan Zander, jr. (No. 3); Troy Athens: Michelle Hwang, sr., Brenda Wu, sr. (No. 1).

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Tags: 2011 All-Area Girls Tennis Team 2011, featured, girls tennis, high school girls tennis, Prep Girls Tennis, tennis

Category: All Area Teams, Auburn Hills Avondale, Clarkston, Clarkston Everest Catholic, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy, Troy Athens, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes