After winning Division II Regional Finals on May 19, the Seaholm girls’ varsity tennis team fell just short of winning their first state championship since 2004.
The team placed second at the state championships, which were held at the Jenison Courts, on June 3 and 4.“I was really happy that we placed second,” junior Katie Root said. “I didn't necessarily expect to beat [Forest Hills Northern] because they were such a strong team but I was excited that we were able to receive runner-up at the tournament.”
Sophomore Nancy Benda was also excited about receiving second place.
“It was so awesome to beat Marian and Andover after losing to both of them earlier in the season,” Benda said. “We couldn’t have done it without the hard work of every single player on the team.”
Seaholm put up a good fight.
“We buckled for our dust and it paid off,” Benda said.
The No.2 singles team, junior Ally Foreman, and the No.3 singles team, junior Arielle Williams, were both defeated
by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern on Friday. Forest Hills Northern went on to win states for the 6th year in a row.
Six of Seaholm’s eight flights made it to the second day.
Seaholm’s No. 1 singles player, sophomore Nancy Benda, lost to Lowell High School on Saturday in the semi finals (6-0, 6-1).
Two doubles flights also lost in the semi finals on Saturday.
No. 1 doubles senior Elizabeth Gunckle and freshman Labina Petrovska lost to Marian (6-2, 6-1). No. 2 doubles junior Meghan Dooley and junior Katie Root lost to Forest Hills Northern (6-0, 6-4).
Seaholm’s No. 3 and No. 4 doubles teams made it to the finals on Saturday, but were defeated in the end.
No. 3 doubles junior Annie Grier and senior Sammy Miller lost to Forest Hills Northern (6-1, 6-2). No. 4 doubles senior Katy Shook and junior Bella Lleva also lost to Forest Hills Northern (6-2, 4-6, 6-3).
Seaholm had one state champion this year- their No.4 singles player, freshman Lauren Frazier. Frazier beat the No. 4 single player at Forest Hills Northern (6-1, 1-6, 6-3).
“It felt really great beating FHN and becoming a state champ,” Frazier said.
In order to qualify for states, a team either had to obtain 18 points in wins from the season, win regionals, or be runner up at regionals. Seaholm won regionals, and were one of 22 teams to qualify for states.
Overall, Seaholm finished second in the state. Forest Hills Northern finished first, Marian finished third, and Andover finished in fourth place.
“States is always one of my favorite parts of the whole season,” Foreman said. “It’s when we really come together as a team and show what we’ve worked for.”
