The West Ottawa girls tennis team had a stellar state finals, finishing fifth at the Division 1 tournament.
The Panthers scored 16 points to tie Portage Central for fifth place on Saturday, May 30, at the Midland Tennis Center.
Northville won the title with 27 points, followed by Utica Eisenhower (23), Novi (18) and Ann Arbor Pioneer (18).
West Ottawa freshman Sydney Shafer put together a breakthrough performance in her first state tournament, reaching the finals at No. 3 singles.
Shafer beat Ann Arbor Skyline’s Eden lee 6-0, 6-1, then Stoney Creek’s Addison Michalak 6-2, 7-5 and Northville’s Grace Xu 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the finals, she lost 7-5, 6-3 to Portage Central’s Aama Betala.
West Ottawa freshman Izzy Gitler reached the state semifinals at No. 2 singles. She beat Novi’s Rebecca Liu 6-2, 6-0 then Bloomfield Hills’ Sophia Tomina 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she lost to second-seeded Isabelle Hult of Okemos in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The Panthers reached the state semifinals at No. 3 doubles Audrey Anderson and Olivia Smith had a bye, beat Troy Athens 6-0, 6-3, and beat Utica Eisenhower 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals before falling 6-3, 6-1 to Northville in the semis.
At No. 4 singles, senior Maggie Rothstein reached the quarterfinals. After a bye, she beat Rochester Adams’ Ava Velilla 6-2, 6-1 before falling to Northville’s Sana Panchal, 6-2, 6-3.
Kallyn Gaul and Lovelle Kim reached the quarterfinals at No. 1 doubles, beating Rochester Adams 6-3, 6-1, then Bloomfield Hills 6-4, 7-6(2) before falling to Utica Eisenhower 7-5, 6-3.
At No. 4 doubles, Mallory Paff and Hope Sikorski beat Okemos 6-1, 6-0 in the first round before losing to third-seeded Ann Arbor Pioneer 6-2, 6-2 in the second round.
At No. 1 singles, Evie Price beat Ann Arbor Skyline 6-0, 6-0 in the first round, then lost a three-setter 7-5, 1-6, 10-3 to Stoney Creek’s Alison Doka in the second round.
At No. 2 doubles, Hope Hughes and Haylee Geerlings lost 6-1, 6-4 to Utica Eisenhower in the first round.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa girls tennis finishes fifth at D1 state, freshman reaches finals
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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