Congratulations to all the state champions - both individual and teams - Saturday from across the state. I made my way up to Grand Blanc (Genesys) and had a chance to see some great tennis, including perhaps the best match I've seen all year.
Lahser's Mollie Fox outlasted Richland Gull Lake's Sara Remynse in three sets to win the No. 1 singles title. Top-notch tennis on both sides of the net. Gutsy effort by Fox, who finally broke through and can now call herself a state champion.
And Marian left no doubt who was the best team on Saturday. The Mustangs started the 2nd day a little rough, but rebounded well thanks to their singles (Lauren Dietz, Breann Lunghamer and Catherine Yaldoo) and the 2-doubles team of Tatyanna Dadabbo and Sally Thoresen.
In all, there were six Oakland County champions in Grand Blanc (Fox, Lunghamer, Meryl Reams, Nancy Benda-Jackie Meier, Dadabbo-Thoresen and Lauren Benderoff-Sam Lareau).
Cranbrook won seven flight championships in Division 3, Sacred Heart won five in Division 4 and Clarkston and Mercy had one each in Division 1, giving Oakland County 20 overall. That's nearly 2/3 of the total flight championship in the state (32).
Again, congrats.

I'll be back to blog more after I get some rest. So check back. For now, click on the links below for stories on each of the four division championships Saturday.

DIVISION 1

DIVISION 2

DIVISION 3

DIVISION 4

STORY ON MOLLIE FOX

TENNIS HOME PAGE ON MIPREPZONE

Seeing snowflakes hit my windshield Saturday afternoon didn't exactly give me thrills as spring season continues to cruise along - in theory that is. The last 2-3 days have been miserable.
But earlier in the week, the weather broke for everyone and I was pretty excited to see how much tennis was played Monday and Tuesday. I was even more excited to see how many coaches took the time to get their results to us.
Our prep coordinator - Keith Dunlap - commented on all the calls we received on Tuesday. I'm looking at the scoreboard now and 10 matches were sent our way. That's great. They can all be found in Tuesday's prep roundup. We had six matches in Monday's prep roundup.
Much like I expect for much of the season, there were some great matches played.

• I had a chance to make it out to Clarkston on Monday to see the host Wolves narrowly beat Birmingham Seaholm, 5-4. Clarkston really flexed its muscles in singles. Lexi Baylis, Isabella Spindler and Dana Olsen proved their going to be tough for anyone to handle. I can't wait for their matchup against Cranbrook - the only school with a better 1-2-3 punch in the state. Seaholm's doubles came to play as well, getting the Maples their four wins on the day. Both teams have room to improve and should be at the top at the end of the OAA Red season.
• Also in the OAA Red, Seaholm beat Andover 7-2 and Troy beat West Bloomfield 5-4. I've told a few coaches that the division is very balanced this year and there will be more than a few 5-4 outcomes as the season plays on.
• One team that played extremely well last weekend and into this past week was Marian. The Mustangs had their way with Andover, Groves and Forest Hills Northern at their own quad last weekend, then proceeded to beat Sacred Heart (8-0) and Lahser (7-1). Lauren Dietz, Breann Lunghamer and Catherine Yaldoo have really played well at 2-3-4 singles so far, as have all the doubles. This is one team I underestimated entering the season.
• Thank you to Walled Lake Western and Walled Lake Northern. I asked for more KLAA results called in, and coaches Bob Young and Bill Wahlstrom have delivered early on. Western beat Central, head-to-head, Monday afternoon, 6-3. Natalie Holland, Emily Wang and Allie Lewin led the way at 1-3-4 singles for the Warriors.
• On Tuesday, I had the chance to witness history at Oxford High School. The host Wildcats played the first match in school history, defeating Southfield-Lathrup, 7-1. I followed that match up with a feature story on coach Gayle Bailey's team.
• And this weekend, North Farmington beat out Grosse Pointe North, Pinckney and Farmington to win its own invitational, while Port Huron Northern best a field which consisted of Notre Dame Prep, Rochester and Grand Blanc at Rochester.

Because of the poor weather, I did not include my weekly rankings with Friday's feature story. But I'll throw some out here. They should regularly appear with each Friday's tennis feature on MIPrepZone and in The Oakland Press.
1. Cranbrook
2. Clarkston
3. Birmingham Seaholm
4. Birmingham Marian
5. Farmington Hills Mercy
6. Troy
7. West Bloomfield
8. Bloomfield Hills Andover
9. Country Day
10. Novi

Remember, please call in your scores after each match (or appoint a parent or captain). You can call our phone crew at (248) 745-4775 or email them to prepsports@oakpress.com. Please read off the names slowly, as tennis tends to have some tricky names. Thank you so much for sending us your results. It means a lot to me.