Hey West Ottawa Tennis Family, This was a historic State Finals for the girls. For a couple decades, we've been planning/working as coaches, parents, and players to create a program that can compete with the best teams in Michigan. The first step was to become a team that could qualify to make the State Tournament. That started happening regularly about 20 years ago. After that, the goal was to figure out how to consistently earn top 10 finishes. We made some changes, and by 2018 we were consistently finishing somewhere between 7th and 10th place. Then, 4 years ago, we came up with a plan to start working into the top 5. To do this, we would start putting an outsized focus in the offseason on our incoming 6th graders, getting them acclimated to the sport, and teaching them how top players train. These girls are now working their way into the varsity team, and to put it simply, the plan is working. Not only did the girls finish in 5th place this weekend, but the team is young! Nine of the 12 girls will return next spring, and 7 of the 12 girls are either freshman or sophomores. There's plenty of reason to believe that this is the start of something, and not just the culmination of something. But now let's take a closer look at the amazing young women who made this happen... Starting with the Seniors. We have 3 incredible seniors on this roster, Maggie Rothstein, Kallyn Gaul, and Lovelle Kim. All three of them made key contributions towards our great weekend. At 4 singles, Maggie earned a 5 seed in the draw and played to her seed, beating Rochester Adams. Her incredible shotmaking earned her a quarterfinal finish and 2 important points for our team. Kallyn and Lovelle earned two points for us as well, but they took the hard road to get there. Going in unseeded, they needed to push through a tough draw. Like Maggie, they started their journey with a win over Adams. After that, they drew into the 5th seeded Bloomfield Hills. This team beat Kallyn/Maggie earlier in the year, but today we came out on top! In the Quarters they battled Eisenhower tough, who ended up finishing as the state champ at 1 doubles. On top of that, our seniors did a phenomenal job modeling the headspace our younger players needed to be in to compete at their best throughout the weekend. Now let's move on to our other non-seeded flights... At one singles, Evie Price drew into Ann Arbor Skyline, who she beat 6-0, 6-0. However, her best match was actually her loss. In the round of 16, she had to play one of the best players in the tournament, Allison Doka. She had lost previously to Doka, a talented power play who can hit the felt off the ball. Evie was unfazed. After dropping the first set, she stormed back to take the second before falling in a third set superbreaker. Like she so often does, Evie saved her best tennis for the biggest moments, capping off an incredible season. Our 2 doubles team of Haylee Geerlings and Hope Hughes definitely had the toughest draw of the tournament. For their first match, they had to play Eisenhower, the team that finished as team state runner-up. The winner of that match drew straight into Northville, who ended up as team state champion. On top of that, Hope Hughes had been battling illness for the past week straight. That said, they put up their very best effort from start to finish. While not resulting the win, they played with the same resolve and grit that they've showed throughout their very successful season. At 4th doubles, Mallory Paff and Hope Hughes started off with a bang, beating Okemos 6-1, 6-0. In their second round, they faced 3rd seeded Ann Arbor Pioneer. Their games were on and they were prepared with their best tennis, but ultimately fell to Pioneer, whose team finished 3rd on the day. Before moving onto the seeded players, let's take a moment to recognized Paislee Hartman and Eden Slager. Playing 5th doubles for us this spring, the fight competes at pretty much every event except for the Regional and State Finals. But that doesn't mean they didn't make an impact. They were there the entire weekend bringing positivity to their teammates. After wins, they were always among the first to meet players with a celebratory hug. After losses, they were the first to console the girls. Paislee and Eden are two amazing young women for sure. Ok, onto the players who advanced to day 2 of the tournament, reaching at least the semifinals: At 3 doubles, Audrey Anderson and Olivia Smith went into the tournament as the 3 seed. Beating Troy Athens in the round of 16, they faced up against a very talented Eisenhower team in the quarters. Playing one of their best matches of the year, they beat Eisenhower to advance to the state semifinals, meaning they moved onto day 2! In the semifinals, they ran up against an in-form Northville team who would eventually go on to win the State Title. An incredible run for our team! At 2 Singles, Freshman Izzy Gitler also earned the 3 seed. In her round of 16 match she faced her first of two hard hitting players, taking on Novi. Novi's team finished tied for 3rd this weekend, so definitely not an easy matchup, but she made it look that way, winning 6-2, 6-0. In the Quarters she faced another state powerhouse Bloomfield Hills, this time winning 6-1, 6-1. Like with Evie at one singles though, Izzy's best match ended in a loss. Taking on a terrific defender and 2 seed from Okemos, Izzy took her to three grueling sets, a feat almost no one has been able to accomplish this spring. While Izzy ended with a semi-final loss, she showcased why she's one of Michigan's most promising young players. We will finish at 3 singles with freshman Sydney Shafer. Also seeded 3rd, her first match was a convincing win over Ann Arbor Skyline. In the quarterfinals, she faced a talented girl from Stoney Creek, who she beat in straight sets. Like Izzy at 2 singles and Audrey/Liv at 3 doubles, the win put Sydney into day two of the State Finals! In the semifinals, Sydney would have to face the two seed, an uber talented player who had beaten Sydney convincingly earlier in the season. Sydney fought so hard, and even more importantly, her focus never wavered no matter what was going on during the match. In the best match I've ever seen Sydney play, she won in straight sets to advance to the championship match! In the finals, she faced Portage Central, another girl who had beaten Sydney earlier that season. This time, we have to tip our hat to the opponent, as Sydney finished her year as the state runner-up at 3 singles! Other West Ottawa Firsts...Not only was this our first top 5 finish as a team, but other records were set as well. Prior to hit year, we've had three or four years where a player advanced to the semifinals, making day 2 of the event. And two years ago, we set a record by advancing TWO flights to the second day. However, this year, we sent a record THREE flights to the second day! This is what it will take moving forward to continue taking top 5 finishes, and I'm convinced we have the players to do it. This caps of an incredible season where we also won our 9th straight Conference Title and our 8th straight Regional. A special thanks to everyone who follows the program and supports our girls. They are a fantastic group of young women, and it's an absolute privilege to be their coach. This summer, we will continue to introduce another group of incoming 6th graders to the game, while continuing to train all the girls who are already committed to becoming great. What an exciting time to be part of this program! -Coach Pete