The fourth and final state championship to be decided at the Greater Midland Tennis Center was Division 3, with the hardware awarded after play wrapped up on Saturday. With 34 points, Detroit Country Day secured the top prize for the third year in a row.
Country Day had been tabbed the favorite all year long, sporting the No. 1 ranking throughout the season, and lived up to it when it mattered most.
“I’m very proud of how they handled the situation and am glad we didn’t allow our nerves to overcome us,” Country Day head coach Nick Fiaschetti said.
Chloe Conniff led the charge for Country Day at No. 1 singles. Conniff took down Lilah Zaskowski from Ada Forest Hills Eastern in the final. Zaskowski played a marathon semifinal against Grand Rapids Christian’s Henley Honholt, winning 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1. Conniff only dropped seven games on her way to the title.
At No. 2 singles, Karishma Vakhariya provided Country Day with another flight championship. Vakhariya, the No. 3 singles winner a year ago, beat Farha Malviya from East Grand Rapids 6-2, 7-5 in the final.
Country Day added two more championships in the doubles lineup. No. 1 doubles pair Quinn Norlander and Helen Benjamin took down Birmingham Marian’s Allegra Curis and Bri Daood 6-3, 7-5 to win the championship. Benjamin won the No. 4 singles title last season. The Country Day duo of Jiya Gill and Zoe Grebinski defeated Marian’s Lizzie Plunkett and Clare Reaume in the final match at No. 4 doubles.
Marian tallied 30 points to secure second place. One of the three flight state championships won by Marian came at No. 4 singles thanks to Gwen Slapak, who beat Mia Owings from East Grand Rapids 6-4, 7-6 (2) to secure the championship. Emerson Turkot and Stella Glorio added a championship at No. 2 doubles with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 finals win over Country Day’s Grace Kalkanis and Zoe Bergg. Glorio won the No. 3 doubles flight last season with Lexa Hindo. Hindo, along with Emerson Villalba, won the No. 3 doubles flight this season by beating Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Ava Kouza and Julia Geisz.
The No. 3 singles flight was won by Evelyn Gingras from East Grand Rapids. Gingras beat Country Day’s Addie Grebinski in the final.
East Grand Rapids finished in third place with 28 points. Grand Rapids Christian (19 points) and Cranbrook Kingswood (17 points) rounded out the top five. Chelsea, Holland Christian, Grand Rapids South Christian, Hamilton, Parma Western and Sturgis made up the rest of the top 10.
Griffin Beers is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Country Day girls tennis completes Division 3 three-peat
Reporting by Griffin Beers, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Griffin Beers, Special to The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
