The GRC Varsity girls tennis team played in their last tournament of the season this past weekend which was the 2024 Division 3 State finals in Kalamazoo. There were about 25 schools that qualified for the state finals and they were all teams that finished top 2 or 3 in their regions across the state. This meant every match would be a competitive one whether it was a seeded or unseeded team. After two days of play, the GRC varsity girls tennis team finished in 6th place! The team needed every point gained to earn this finals finish. The team finished with 11 points. Close behind them was Holland Christian at 10 points and then Parma Western with 9 points. In the end, with FHE coming in 5th place, GRC proved to be the 2nd best team from the west side of the state and we are very proud of the girls performance this weekend and for the season. A lot of growth happened throughout the year and to finish top 10 after only returning 6 players from last year is very remarkable. I know the team is going to work hard this offseason and come back better and stronger than ever. DCD and Cranbrooks run at the top will be coming to an end soon. Here are the flight by flight results one last time:

1S Natalie Poortenga: Lost in the 2nd round to a player from Battle Creek Harper Creek. This girl ended up making it to the semifinals and was a very strong player.

2S Alex Vermeulen: Lost in the 2nd round to the #1 seed DCD. She lost 2-6, 5-7 and player her very competitively especially in the 2nd set and was this close to upsetting her. This girl went on to win the finals too and shows how great of a player Alex is to almost get a set off of her and make a comeback.

3S Kaitlyn Schmitt: Lost in the semifinals. Kaitlyn has now made three straight semifinals in her career. To get there she dominated a Chelsea player 6-1, 6-2 and this was a player she lost to last year. This shows how much she has grown in a year. She lost to DCD in the semifinals but gave her a fight until the end and it was a very close match. Kaitlyn also saved the team by making it to day 2 and extending the GRC “making it to day 2” streak to 4 straight years.

4s Avah Jerke: Lost in the quarterfinals to FHE. Avah played super well and it was a long and close match the whole time. The other girl was a determined senior who would not miss a shot and Avah gave it her all until the very end.

1D Frankie Volkema/Anna Jacobsen: Lost in the 2nd round. They played a strong unseeded Gross Ille team and played some of their best tennis of the year in their last match. I am proud of both of these girls unwaivering fight and heart they showed all season.

2D Betta Klein/Gwyn Artz: Lost in the 2nd round. They played the #4 seed Cranbrook in the 2nd round who was a very strong team that ended up winning the whole flight. These girls played this team very strong and was proud of their fight until the very end.

3D Rachel Larsen/Lucy VanDrunen: Lost in the quarterfinals. They dominated a Mason team to get to the quarters and then faced the #2 seed Marion who was a very strong team that ending up making it to the finals. 

4D Charline Dahu/Anneka Vermeulen: Lost in the quarterfinals. They played the #4 ranked Chelsea team and was very close to upsetting them. After losing a 1st set they bounced back to win the 2nd set and came up just a little short in the 3rd set. We were proud of this young pairing of how they kept fighting, adjusting, and gave it their all until the end.

Lastly, I would like to thank one last time to our graduating seniors: Natalie Poortenga, Alex Vermeulen, Frankie Volkema, Betta Klein, and Rachel Larsen. Your leadership, kindness, work ethic, character, and heart has left a lasting impact on myself and the whole program. Thank you for everything.

Go Eagles,

Coach Rolls