TRAVERSE CITY — Thursday’s Division 4 tennis regional basically turned into a dual meet between Glen Lake and Traverse City St. Francis.
The Lakers and Gladiators faced off against each other in seven of the eight flights, with six of the event’s nine teams able to depart well before things were over.
Glen Lake won three of four singles championships to win the Lakers’ first regional championship since 2002.
“I am so, so proud of our team for all they accomplished today,” first-year head coach Johnny Voss said. “I loved watching them show such class while battling out close matches. I’m extremely proud of my two singles Hawthorn (Sutherland), a sophomore who I could just tell wanted to win regionals more than anyone else there. He did such a good job of preparing for this tournament on his own, from working on his serve even after team practice ends, to his mental toughness and willingness to learn and get better. It all paid off as he won in a third set against St. Francis and essentially won us the tournament.”
Both No. 4-ranked Glen Lake and No. 3 St. Francis qualify for the state championships at the Midland Tennis Center on Oct. 21-22, the only division that isn’t Oct. 18-19.
“The wins are fun, but you learn more from the losses is what I always say,” St. Francis sixth-year coach Dane Fosgard said. “Credit to Glen Lake players and coaches for great tennis today. We will move on and look forward to states next.”
SF had won regionals every year since at least 2014.
Aside from the Glads and Glen Lake, only Saginaw Nouvel produced a finals entrant in Thursday’s Division 4 boys tennis regional at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School in Traverse City. With nine teams in attendance, some matches were played across the street at Traverse City East Middle School.
The Lakers finished with 29 points to St. Francis’ 26, with both qualifying for the state finals.
Owen Jackson (31-5) won No. 1 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Glen Lake’s Colebrook Sutherland to go 3-0 against Sutherland this season. Jackson won his first two matches by 6-0, 6-0 counts.
Jackson and Sutherland (16-11) have played frequently over the years, facing off since they were age 8. Jackson said he has videos of the two squaring off at age 10.
“He’s a super athletic guy,” Jackson said of Sutherland. “He gets to every ball. Super tall. He’s a wild card, and it’s never easy against him.”
Jackson appears likely to draw either the first or second second in the state finals, with Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Oliver Caldwell — whose family went to St. Francis before moving to Grand Rapids — the other contender for the top spot. Seeding meetings take place Monday.
“We’re both looking forward to the state finals,” said Jackson, who is 1-1 against Caldwell this season. “I’m looking to go out with a bang and give it everything I’ve got.”
Jackson verbally committed to Hope College less than two weeks ago, looking to join one of the top teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association that doesn’t graduate anyone from its starting lineup.
Nouvel’s Ty Iamurri spoiled what would otherwise be a straight-up Glads-Lakers matchup across the board. The third-seeded Iamurri upset No. 2 seed Carson Poole of St. Francis in the No. 3 singles semifinals 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, but he was then swept in the finals by Glen Lake’s Michael Houtteman 6-0, 6-0. Houtteman improved to 21-4 this season.
Glen Lake’s Ben Selby won No. 4 singles 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against TCSF’s Luke Davis in the championship match.
Hawthorn Sutherland won No. 2 singles with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over SF’s Eli Schmude after the two split a pair of regular-season matches. The Glen Lake sophomore (22-8) cruised through his first two opponents, dropping only two points.
Glen Lake’s Ben Romzek and Oliver Mitchell won No. 1 doubles with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 win over St. Francis duo of Max King and David Ansley.
“I couldn’t ask for a better group of players to coach as all of them are so coachable and love the game so much,” Voss said. “Also a huge shoutout to my No. 1 doubles team Oliver Mitchell and Ben Romzek. They showed so much character out on the courts today during their final match against St Francis, a doubles team they haven’t beaten all year long. The match was intense, as they won the first set 6-4, lost the second after being up 5-4, and then took the third set to a final 7-point tiebreaker. They ended up crushing St Francis in front of the whole crowd 7-0 in the tiebreak.”
St. Francis’ William Gibbons and Will Sutton (20-16) got past Bryce Cundiff and Andrew Schopieray 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 2 doubles finals after losing only two points in their first two matches.
At No. 3 doubles, St. Francis’ Casey Jackson and Brady Thelen (26-11) won 6-4, 6-3 against the Lakers’ Porter Martin and William Krusel. The Glads duo cruised through the first two rounds with 6-2, 6-2 and 6-0, 6-0 wins.
Glen Lake won No. 4 doubles with Kyra Lamb and Owen Pierce (18-12) posting a 6-3, 7-5 win over TCSF’s Tristan Durkin and Joel LaDuke. They advanced to the final with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 victories.
St. Francis just got past Glen Lake 5-3 in a dual match not long ago, swapping spots in the Division 4 rankings with the Lakers.
The MHSAA switched up the tennis playoffs this year, consolidating to six regions per division, with three teams from each qualifying for the state finals instead of two.
Nouvel was the TC event’s third team qualifier with 13 points. Harbor Springs placed fifth with seven points, and Elk Rapids sixth at six.
St. Francis hosted regionals every year since 2018, aside from the 2020 campaign, when the playoffs were set up differently as bracket-style team dual matches, not regional tournaments by flight.