Negaunee Wins Upper Peninsula Tennis Title The high school tennis season came to an end on Thursday as the MHSAA U.P. Division One state finals were held in Marquette. The Negaunee Miners edged the Kingsford Flivvers, 17-15, with Marquette finishing third with 13 points. Negaunee's Cody Tossava and Kevin Price both won U.P. singles titles, and the #4 doubles team of Tanner Uren and Tyler Beaumont won a U.P. title. The Escanaba Eskymos finished fourth, as the doubles team of John Brant and Jack Klim made it to the finals. Escanaba's other three doubles teams also made it to the semifinals before losing, and in singles, Luke Ogren and Tyler Myrick made it to the semifinals before falling. The only Gladstone boy to make the semifinals was freshman Pete Weyers. CLICK HERE to see all of the U.P. boys tennis finals results.

Eskymos Top West Iron County In Dual Finale The Escanaba High School tennis team topped the West Iron County Wykons, 5-3, Tuesday in Escanaba. It was the final dual meet of the season for the Eskymos, and the boys finish with a 5-5-2 record in dual meets. The Eskymos will compete in the MHSAA Division One U.P. Finals on Thursday in Marquette. The U.P. Finals were postponed from Wednesday because of a forecast of very high wind speeds. ESCANABA vs WEST IRON COUNTY BOX SCORE Singles Results  1---Luke Ogren E def. Austin Warra 6-3 2-6 7-5 2---Nolan McCarthy W def. Tyler Myrick 7-6 6-0 3---Caleb Pellizzer W def. Austin Martin 6-4 7-5 4---Mike Carlson E def. Ricky Pammasani 6-1 6-0 Doubles Results  1---Jake Eastin/Dave Fix E def. David Pellizzer/Ryan Rogers 6-2 6-3 2---Jack Klim/John Brant E def. Andrew Peterson/Adam Newby 6-2 6-1 3---TJ Myrick/Sean Corbett E def. Brandon Mitchell/Shawn Gustafson 7-5 6-2 4---Colton Powell/Aaron Newby W def. Mike Vazquez/Mike Shields 7-6 6-3. ESKYMO COACH JIM HANSEN COMMENTS: "West Iron is always good. They are probably the favorites to win the Division 2 Title again this year. We improved from the last meeting (4-4). Our kids battled through a tough wind today. It caused some strategic changes throughout everyone's match. I'm really happy withthe way our kids played. We've been having some good practices lately focusing on the mental aspects and strategies of the game and it is showing in the kids' play."

Kingsford Wins Tennis GNC; Eskymos Fourth                     Pictured at left: Marquette's Cody Wickstrom serves. He and his partner Nick Weston won the #2 doubles title. Pictured at right: T.J. Myrick and Seab Corbett chat during a recent match. They finished third at #3 doubles on Thursday.  The Kingsford Flivvers used their home-court advantage to win the Great Northern Conference tennis championship on Thursday. The Flivvers edged Marquette, 47-42, for the championship. West Iron County was third, and Escanaba finished fourth. GREAT NORTHERN CONFERENCE BOX SCORE Singles Results  1. Tyler Szabo, K, def. Connor Greer, Mqt, 7-5, 6-0; Third, Austin Waara, WIC. 2. Andrew Short, Mqt, def. Caleb Harrington, K, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-2; 3rd, Dan Williams, G. 3. Andy Ross, K, def. Brian Reckker, Mqt, 6-3, 6-3; Third, Caleb Pellizzer, WIC. 4. Matt Kadell, Mqt, def. Josh Fleming, K, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2; Third, Ricky Passamani, WIC. Doubles Results  1. Eric McAuliffe-Mike McAuliffe, Mqt, def. David Pellizzer-Ryan Rogers, WIC, 6-3, 6-0; Third, Jay Pietila-Brock Francis, K. 2. Cody Wickstrom-Nick Weston, Mqt, def. Kory Barglind-Kyle Barglind, K, 6-4, 7-5; Third, John Brant-Jack Klim, E. 3. Easton Viitala-Ryan Dahlstrom, Mqt, def. Derek Menard-Ben Hellman, K,  6-3, 7-6 (6); Third, Sean Corbett-TJ Myrick, E. 4. Mitch LeMire-Alex Shahbazi, Mqt, def. Trent Pacheco-Alec Tuchowski, K, 6-3, 7-5; Third, Josh Lawson-Mike Vasquez, E. GNC Finals @Kingsford 1. Marquette 2. Kingsford 3. West Iron County 4. Escanaba 5. Gladstone 6. Menominee --- 46 41 25 24 18 14 MPC @Negaunee 1. Negaunee 2. Iron Mountain 3. Norway 4. Munising --- 46 23 13 13

Escanaba, Gladstone Play To 4-4 Tennis Draw The Gladstone Braves and Escanaba Eskymos played to a 4-4 tie Thursday in Gladstone. The Braves won three singles matches, while Escanaba won three in doubles.  Left photo: Braves' Danny Williams won his singles match over Tyler Myrick, 6-2, 6-2. Right photo: the Eskymos' Luke Ogren lost a three-set match to Aaron Parmet. ESCANABA VS GLADSTONE BOX SCORE Singles Results  1--Aaron Parmet G def. Luke Ogren 6-4 4-6 6-4 2--Danny Williams G def. Tyler Myrick 6-2 6-2 3--Austin Martin E def. Neil Sabin 2-6 6-2 7-6 4--Pete Weyers G def. Mike Carlson 6-2 6-2   Doubles Results  1--Jake Eastin-Dave Fix E def. Andy Jensen-Jake Gartland 6-1 6-1 2--Preston Caron-Cody Frazer G def. Jack Klim-John Brant 6-4 6-4 3--Sean Corbett-TJ Myrick E def. Bryce Wolf-Josh Devet 6-0 6-7 6-3 4--Mike Shields-Steve Wood E def. John Hammer-Drew Griebel 6-0 6-1

Eskymos Battle Flivvers But Fall At Home, 6-2  The Escanaba High School boys tennis team lost to the Kingsford Flivvers, 6-2, Tuesday in Escanaba. But Coach Jim Hansen was encouraged because it was an improvement over last week's 8-0 loss to the Flivvers. "We played Kingsford a lot tougher this time. Many of the sets were tight. Many of the games were deuce," Hansen said. "We're young, and by young I'm talking about experience. Every single one of our doubles players has one year experience or less. They are playing their hearts out for the team and they should be proud." Hansen was especially happy with Tyler Myrick's win over Kingsford's Andy Ross. "Both kids were complimenting each other during the match and every point was contested," Hansen said. "It was awesome to see. We should have charged admission. Tyler is a great kid. He is a perfect role model and leader as a tennis player. He listens to coaching, he plays year round, he goes to Denny Lueneberg's camps. Our kids should not get discourged by the loss. We can play with the top teams in the U.P." Singles Results  1--Tyler Szabo K def. Luke Ogren 6-4 6-3 2--Tyler Myrick E def. Andy Ross 7-5 3-6 7-5 3--Brock Francis K def. Austin Martin 4-6 6-2 6-2 4--TJ Myrick E def. Alec Tuchowski 6-3 6-2   Doubles Results  1--Harrington-Pietila K def. Eastin/Fix 6-1 6-2 2--Barglund/Barglund K def. Brant/Klim 6-3 6-3 3--Menard/Hellman K def. Corbett/Lawson 6-3 6-2 4--Pacheco/Allen K def. Vazquez/Shields 6-2 6-2 Marquette Sweeps Past Eskymos In Tennis, 8-0                         The Marquette Redmen swept all four singles and all four doubles matches and beat the Escanaba Eskymos, 8-0, Monday at the Escanaba High School tennis courts. "Marquette has a great team. They have a bunch of upperclassmen that have played together for years," Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen said. "They don't make many mistakes. We are still playing without our full line-up. We played 7 underclassmen today and they played really well. In the end, we fell just a little short, mostly due to lack of experience and shot mistakes. They will gain a huge benefit from playing high level competition in the long run." Pictured above: Eskymo Tyler Myrick at #1 singles. Pictured below: Marquette's Nick Weston (left) laughs and Escanaba's Sean Corbett (right) concentrates on his serve during doubles competition. Pictured bottom right: Marquette's Connor Greer serves.                       WATCH ESKYMOS vs REDMEN TENNIS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS CLICK HERE  to see Escanaba's Sean Corbett and John Brant battle Marquette's Nick Weston and Cody Wickstrom. CLICK HERE  to see another point between Corbett/Brant and Weston/Wickstrom. CLICK HERE  to see a point between Esky's David Fix and Jake Eastin, and Marquette's Mike and Eric McAuliffe. CLICK HERE  to see Esky's Tyler Myrick and Marquette's Connor Greer. CLICK HERE  to see another point in the Myrick-Greer match. ESCANABA VS MARQUETTE TENNIS BOX SCORE Singles Results 1-Connor Greer M def. Tyler Myrick 6-2 7-6 2-Andrew Short M def. TJ Myrick 6-2 6-1 3-Brian Reckker M def. Steve Wood 6-1 6-1 4-Matt Kadello M def. Steve Prica 6-2 6-2 Doubles Results 1-McAuliffe/McAuliffe M def. Fix/Eastin 6-1 6-1 2-Wickstrom/Weston M def. Brant/Corbett 6-1 7-5 3-Vitala/Dahlstrom M def. Lawson/Shields 6-1 6-4 4-Shabazi/Lemire M def. Vazquez/Pinozek 6-1 6-1

Eskymos Get Swept By Negaunee Miners, 8-0  The Escanaba Eskymos lost their second straight match on Thursday, falling to the Negaunee Miners, 8-0. Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen says boys did the best they could, given that several players were missing because of other school activities. "They are playing their hearts out right now. They are giving everything they have to each other and their team," Hansen said. "I am so proud of the way that we are competing. We had two seniors in the lineup today and seven underclassmen. They are just coming up short in some deuce games and situations. We're getting better." Hansen says the better team won on Thursday. Escanaba is now 3-2-1. "I give Negaunee tons of credit," Hansen said. "They are a very good team and they played excellent today. Take nothing away from them. We are still missing four to five guys out of our original lineup due to other extra curricular events. Negaunee is a tough enough team to play without missing anyone." ESCANABA VS NEGAUNEE TENNIS BOX SCORE Singles Results 1-Dave Terzaghi N def. Tyler Myrick 6-0 6-1 2-Cody Tassava N def. Austin Martin 6-1 6-1 3-Kevin Price N def. Mike Carlson 6-4 6-1 4-Rob Sertich N def. Steve Prica 6-1 6-1 Doubles Results 1-Kill-Christiansen N def. Fix-Eastin 6-0 6-4 2 Rice-Velmer N def. Brant-Myrick 6-3 6-3 3 Romback-McGrath N def. Wood-Lawson 6-3 7-5 4 Beaumont-Uren N def. Vazquez-Shields 6-3 6-1

Eskymos Get Swept By Kingsford Flivvers, 8-0  The Escanaba Eskymos lost for the first time in the 2011 season on Tuesday, losing to a talented Kingsford Flivvers team, 8-0, in Kingsford. Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen was realistic about his shorthanded team's chances heading into Tuesday's match. "We unfortunately were missing a handful of our normal varsity squad today," Hansen said. "It's good because it gives other guys a chance to play against some quality competition. It's bad because we end up moving people around to different spots and putting them with different partners, and sometimes, we can't put guys in the best possible position to be successful." Despite being swept, Hansen was not upset with the way the boys played. "I give our guys a lot of credit," Hansen said. "They fought as hard as they could. Kingsford has a very nice team. They are well-coached and they have some very good players. I think nine of their 12 guys are seniors. We are getting better as the season goes on, but we still have a lot to learn." ESCANABA VS KINGSFORD TENNIS BOX SCORE Singles Results 1-Tyler Szabo K def. Tyler Myrick 6-0 6-0 2-Andy Ross K def. Mike Carlson 6-1 6-2 3-Brock Francis K def. Steve Wood 6-3 6-4 4-Josh Fleming K def. Steve Prica 6-1 6-0 Doubles Results 1-Harrington Pietala K def. Fix Eastin  6-1 6-1 2-Barglund Barglund K def. Brant Myrick 6-3 6-3 3-Hellman Menard K def. Corbett Vazquez  6-2 6-2 4-Packecho Tushowski K def. Shields Lawson 6-3 7-5

Eskymos Whip Menominee On The Road, 7-1  The Escanaba Eskymos won all four doubles matches and cruised past the Menominee Maroons, 7-1, Monday in Menominee. Freshman Steve Wood was the only singles player to lose, and Steve Prica rallied from a set down to win. The doubles team of Sean Corbett and Mike Vazquez also rallied to win in three sets. "Menominee has a nice team of athletes," Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen said. "Their new coach is a great guy and will do well with those kids and that program. There was a lot of good tennis being played today. We are missing three or four guys out of our regular varsity lineup from a band trip to New York. I'm proud of the way our guys step up and compete." Pictured: Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen (right) talks with his doubles team of Jake Eastin (with a hat) and Dave Fix. The Escanaba boys travel to Kingsford on Tuesday. ESCANABA VS MENOMINEE TENNIS BOX SCORE Singles Results 1-Tyler Myrick E def. Brett Anderson 7-6 6-4 2-Austin Martin E def. Jordan Miller 7-6 6-4 3-James Fonder M def. Steve Wood 7-6 6-2 4-Steve Prica E def. James Evans 6-7 6-4 7-6 Doubles Results 1-Dave Fix Jake Eastin E def. Adam MacCormack Adam Saucier 6-2 6-2 2-John Brant TJ Myrick E def. Ryan Zimanek Ryan Tetzlaff 6-4 6-2 3-Sean Corbett Mike Vazquez E def. Ryan Woods Chad Schulke 2-6 6-2 6-2 4-Mike Shields Josh Lawson E def. Austin White Jeff Muccelli 6-3 6-4. MONDAY'S OTHER U.P. TENNIS SCORES Gladstone 5, Ishpeming 3 Norway 5, Westwood 3 Negaunee 8, West Iron County 0

Eskymos Outlast Braves In Boys Tennis, 5-3                    The Escanaba Eskymos won three of four doubles matches and beat the Gladstone Braves, 5-3, Monday at the Eskymo Tennis Complex. Luke Ogren and T.J. Myrick added singles victories to win their first match-up of the season with Braves. Pictured above: Gladstone's Dan Williams (left) and Escanaba's Tyler Myrick (right) did battle at #2 singles, with Williams winning, 6-0, 6-3. Pictured below: Escanaba's #1 doubles team of Jake Eastin (left) and David Fix chat after losing a point Monday evening. But they won their match over Gladstone's Jake Gartland and Andy Jensen.                     WATCH ESCANABA vs GLADSTONE TENNIS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS CLICK HERE to see Gladstone's Dan Williams and Escanaba's Tyler Myrick #1. CLICK HERE  to see Gladstone's Dan Williams and Escanaba's Tyler Myrick #2. CLICK HERE to see Escanaba's Luke Ogren and Gladstone's Aaron Parmet #1. CLICK HERE  to see Escanaba's Luke Ogren and Gladstone's Aaron Parmet #2. ESCANABA VS GLADSTONE TENNIS BOX SCORE Singles Results 1- Luke Ogren E def. Aaron Parmet 6-2 2-6 7-5 2- Dan Williams G def. Tyler Myrick 6-0 6-3 3- Neil Sabin G def. Austin Martin 6-4 6-2 4- TJ Myrick E def. Pete Weyers 7-6 6-7 7-6   Doubles Results 1- Dave Fix/Jake Eastin E def. Zac Lewis/Nick Rogal 6-2 6-4 2- John Brant/Jack Klim E def. John McClain/Nick Robinson 6-0 6-1 3- Josh Devet/Bryce Wolf G def. Sean Corbett/Mike Vazquez 6-4 6-3 4- Josh Lawson/Steve Wood E def. Jordan Eldrige/Shane Cahill 6-4 6-2 ESKYMO COACH JIM HANSEN COMMENTS: "Gladstone has some solid kids on their squad. They battled hard all day," he said. "We always have competitive matches with them. I was proud of the way that we played today in less than ideal conditions. We had some great effort and great responses to adversity in some tough matches." "Luke Ogren played solid. We have some great athletes playing doubles as well. TJ Myrick fought hard all day to pull through in three sets. We made lots of mistakes but we fought through them and got better as the match went on. We still have a lot of work to do, but it was nice to learn some lessons and have some success."                       Escanaba's Luke Ogren (left) and Gladstone's Aaron Parmet (right) had quite a battle Monday, with Ogren winning in three tough sets, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

Escanaba Tennis Team Opens With 8-0 Win   The Escanaba High School boys tennis team opened the 2011 season Tuesday with an 8-0 win over the Marinette (Wis.) Marines inside the warm Dome in Marinette. Luke Ogren, Tyler Myrick, Kyle Pinozek, and T.J. Myrick all had straight-set wins in singles. The doubles teams of Dave Fix and Jake Eastin; John Brant and Jack Klim; Sean Corbett and Mike Vazquez; and Mike Carlson and Steve Wood also posted straight set wins. "Marinette has a nice team of seniors," Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen said. "They battled hard all day. I was proud of the way that we played today. The kids responded to the coaching, and were very supportive of each other. These kids are fun to be around. We made lots of mistakes, but we fought through them." Pictured: Luke Ogren during a match in 2010. NORWAY AT GLADSTONE---The match was cancelled because of cold weather. No make-up date was announced.