Zeeland West claims first ever girls tennis regional title in thrilling fashion
· Yahoo Sports
PORTAGE - When Harley Brown finished off match point, her Zeeland West teammates erupted in cheers and swarmed her on the court.
Brown was excited to be sure, but was a little surprised at the level of excitement in her Dux teammates.
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They told her the news: Zeeland West was regional champions and headed to the state tournament for the first time in program history.
The Dux needed Brown's final point at No. 2 singles to tie Mattawan for the Division 2 regional championship on Wednesday, May 13.
"I had no idea. I was told earlier in the day that we were close to Mattawan, but no one said anything before my match," Brown said. "Honestly, it means everything. We have never gone to state, and it was my dream to go. Winning regionals was huge. I had never made it past the semifinals. I never thought I would make it here. It is a dream come true."
Both teams scored 23 points to share the title. Gull Lake also qualified for the state tournament with 22 points. Zeeland East finished fourth with 11 points and Holland was fifth (10) in the field of 10.
"This season I knew we had a good opportunity to qualify for state. We had girls who put in time all year long. For our program, it shows the hard work pays off," Zeeland West coach Lance McKinney said. "Coming into today, making state was the goal. But to be regional champs on top of that is a testament to the players who set the path to where we were."
The Dux won three flights and made five finals. It was a long way from last year when the Dux finished sixth with seven points with a majority of the same lineup.
"One of the cool things started last year when we really loaded up our schedule with quality competition. We took it on the chin a little bit, but it helped get us to this point - and so did our conference," McKinney said. "Our conference is really strong and we are battle tested."
Brown won the No. 2 singles title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Mattawan's Valeria Vega in the finals, the top seed.
Zeeland West sophomore Aneliece Yin won the regional title at No. 4 singles with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Gull Lake's Taylor Dolbee.
"I am really excited for the whole team," Yin said. "It is really special to (reach our potential). This is a huge deal."
Zeeland West's No. 2 doubles team of Brailee Bursley and Molly Settlemyre defeated Zeeland East's Pippa Boerman and Olivia Grotenhuis 6-4, 6-0 in the finals.
"It is really special how much we all have improved this year," Bursley said. "It shows how much we were ready for it."
At No. 3 singles, West's Halle Reider finished runner-up in a 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 final. At No. 1 singles, West's Emily Haskill reached the finals with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win in the semifinals before losing to Mattawan's Ana Cheng 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
The Dux sent Elise Fobar and Alice Smead to the semifinals at No. 3 doubles and Abby TenBroeke and Natalie Lauritzen at No. 4.
"State is the cherry on top of a really amazing season, but I know that as we gear up in practice, the expectation will be to win some matches," McKinney said.
Zeeland East's Raeleigh Jones and Kiana Samora finished regional runner-up at No. 3 doubles.
Making the semifinals for the Chix were Mahalia Vis and Elizabeth Rogovich at No. 1 doubles and Elyana VanderKlok and Jaelynn Velderman at No. 4.
Holland's top finishes included several semifinal spots, including Ahava LeFebre at No. 1 singles, Mariah Geerts at No. 2, Imagyn VanVeen at No. 4 and the No. 1 doubles team of Kate Ferguson and Sophia Poretta.
The season ends for Zeeland East and Holland, while the Dux advance to the Division 2 state tournament June 3-4 at the Midland Tennis Center.
"We knew it was going to come down to the end," Settlemyre said. "I am hoping we keep playing as a team, cheer each other on and have fun."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West girls tennis wins Division 2 regional championship