Yesterday the GRC Varsity girls tennis team competed at the 2023 Regional championships for Division 3 hosted at Portland and DeWitt, MI and your 2023 Varsity Eagles came out with the 1st place trophy! After starting the day getting some inspiration from Coach Rolls's hometown (De-What?), the Eagles finished the day getting all 8 flights in the championship matches. 7 of those 8 flights then went on to take 1st place! Here are results by flight: 1s Brynn Uchman: 1st place! Brynn only lost 1 total game on the whole day. Her domination improves her record to 26-0. According to tennis reporting, Brynn is currently ranked as the top player in the state across all divisions. Lets go Brynn!! 2s Natalie Poortenga: 1st place! Natalie is the one player on the team with back to back regional championships under her name. Natalie is now 20-4 on the season. 3s Alex Vermuelen: 2nd place! Alex had a really good comeback win against SC to get her into the finals and played a really tough FHE player that was the #1 seed and played her heart out. Alex is now 14-11 on the season. 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt: 1st place! Kaitlyn dominated on the day, only losing 4 games on the whole day. Kaitlyn is now 18-8 on the season. 1D Carolina Mignini/Hope Alvesteffer: 1st place! These girls had a battle in their last match against a strong SC team. The first two sets were as close as it could get, 7-6, 6-7, and these two had the resilience to outlast the team in the end, beating them in a 6-0 statement set to close the match. They are now 20-6 on the season. 2D Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe: 1st place! These girls also won in dominating fashion only losing 5 total games on the day. This brings their record to 22-4 on the season. 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke: 1st place! Another flight and another dominating showing, these girls only lost 1 total game on the day! They improved their season record to 18-7. 4d Alexia Meeuwsen/Betta Klein: 1st place! This team ran into a SC 4 dubs team that was playing out of their minds in the final match, but yet in the end proved who had the best all around 4 dubs game and grit in the state...by winning a 3 set thriller. These girls now have an astonishing 25-1 record on the season. I also want to give a special shoutout to our 5 dubs Grace Brandt and Frankie Volkema. It is always tough this time of season since 5 doubles isn't a flight at regionals/states but our team is only as good as how much everyone pushes each other at practice, and these two girls push everyone to be better every single day and is a big reason why we are as good as we are. When they are unable to play, they are then the teams biggest supporters and I can't thank them enough. This team's success has been a full team effort! This brings our team to a combined flight record of 163-41! What is also truly amazing is our combined record of our 1 singles and 4 dubs teams are 51-1. We are a legit full top to bottom team that is has been a force to be reckoned with at every flight and will be ready to make a big rumble at states. Finishing 1st place has officially qualified the Eagles for the MHSAA State championships for Division 3 in Ann Arbor that will take place on 6/2 and 6/3. Can't wait! 4+4! Go Eagles!! 

The GRC Varsity girls tennis team played at the end of season conference tournament last Thursday and Friday and the team as a whole had one of their most remarkable two day stretches of the season so far. The Eagles ended up finishing in 2nd place in conference! GRC was tied with FHC going into the tournament since they tied in the regular season, and GRC ended up beating FHC by 1 total team point to take the outright 2nd place finish! This is the 2nd time in 3 years that the Eagles have finished 2nd in conference. FHN finished first but the Eagles were competitive with them in every flight and this was the closest year yet to taking them down. We denied them at two flights for conference champs as well. Here are the results: 1s Brynn Uchman: Your conference tournament champion!! Brynn beat EGR, BC, and FHC to remain 23-0 on the season. She was also the last match on against FHC in the finals and by securing this victory she secured that last team point needed for GRC to become outright 2nd points. You are clutch Brynn!! 2s Natalie Poortenga: 2nd place! Lost to FHN in a really close 3 set battle in the finals. This player has now only lost 2 sets on the season, both to Natalie. Natalie played some remarkable tennis this week. 3s Alex Vermuelen: 3rd place! Alex got revenge against an earlier season loss by beating EGR in a 3 set battle for 3rd place. She played amazing. 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt: 3rd place! Beating EGR in the 3rd place finals and playing some of her best tennis of the season in the previous round to a really good FHC player. 1D Carolina Mignini/Hope Alvesteffer: 5th place! After an unfavorable draw the Eagles were the toughest opponent to FHN all season and the only team to take a set off of them. They then took care of business beating Lowell and NV. These two showed a lot of heart and passion this week. 2D Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe: 2nd place! These two also got revenge from an earlier EGR loss beating EGR in straight sets to make the finals. They lost to 3 sets against FHN in a really long impressive match. 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke: 2nd place! These two got revenge from an earlier lost to FHC by beating them in 3 sets to make the finals. They then had one of the longest matches of the day and lost in a match that was about as close as you can get to FHN in the finals. They played so well and were impressed with their grit! 4d Alexia Meeuwsen/Betta Klein: 4 dubs conference champs!! These two did not lose a set during their tourny run and had an impressive showing beating FHN in the finals. Betta and Alexia are now 23-1 on the season and tied for the most doubles wins in the state. 5d Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt: Went 2-2 on the day and were coming off one of their best showings of the season against FHN and played some great tennis at the tourny. 6d Rachel Larsen/Lucy Vandrunen: Were called up to play 6th dubs for the Eagles and went 4-0 on the day making them the 6th doubles conference champs! The Eagles will continue to build off this past success at their next competition which is the Regional playoff tournament on Thursday. This will be at Portland High School starting at 8:30am. The Eagles hold 7 out of the 8 #1 seeds of the tourny and look to take care of business so they can qualify for the state competition. Go Eagles!!

The Varsity Eagles took on one of the top conference foes in Byron Center yesterday who had only 1 conference lost on the season, and the Eagles took them down 8-0. Last night was also senior night and it was astonishing to see our players come out with this big win on such a special and emotional night. Here are the scores from yesterday: 1s Brynn Uchman 6-0, 6-1 2s Natalie Poortenga 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 (winning a comeback 3 set thriller.) 3s Alex Vermeulen 7-5,6-2 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt 6-2, 6-4 1D Carolina Mignini/Hope Alvesteffer 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 (taking home a big 3 hour long match dub) 2d Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe 6-1, 6-3 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke 6-2, 6-2 4d Lex Meeuwsen/Betta Klein 6-2, 6-3 The Eagles improved to 5-0-1 in conference play and face the last remaining undefeated conference opponent, FHN, in a big match for the regular season conference title tonight at Gainey at 4:15pm. Come out and support your varsity Eagles tennis team as they look to seek their first conference title in many years! Lastly, I would like to give a special congratulations to our 2023 senior tennis queens: Ashley Wolfe, Marissa Sullivan, Hope Alvesteffer, Lex Meeuwsen, and Grace Brandt. We are all so proud of everything you five have accomplished on and off the court. Your impacts on this program will be forever lasting and never forgotten, I will miss you 5 a lot. Go Eagles!!    

The Eagles Varsity tennis team took their talents to Bloomfield Hills this past weekend and faced off against #5 ranked Division 3 opponent, Bloomfield Hills Marian and #4 ranked in division 2 opponent, Mattawan. The Eagles played some very inspired tennis and came out on top in both matches! The Eagles beat Mattawan in their first match 7-1 and then beat Marian in their second match 6-2. These were some very convincing wins to add to the team's season resume. GRC now has an astonishing 8-0-3 record on the season head to head and 2 tournament wins on their resume. Here are the results of the weekend by flight: 1s Brynn Uchman: 2-0 (now 18-0 on the year). Had an epic come from behind victory against Mattawan! 2s Natalie Poortenga: 2-0 (14-2 now on the year). Took care of business winning in straight sets both matches. 3s Alex Vermeulen: 1-1 (9-8 now the on the year).  Played some of her best tennis of the season in a the match against Marian. 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt: 2-0 (12-6 now on the year). Had an impressive 3 set victory over Marian. 1D Hope Alvesteffer/Carolina Mignini 2-0 (14-4 now on the year). Things really clicked for these two in a 3 set win over Marian playing their best match of the season. 2D Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe 1-1 (16-2 now on the year).  3D Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke 1-0 (13-4 now on the year). 4D Betta Klein/Lex Meeuwsen 2-0 (17-1 now the year). Also played a strong 3 set match against Marian to where they came back to win when down the 1st set. 5D Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt 0-2. Had an inspired comeback against Mattawan when down a set and forced a 3 set tiebreak where they come up just short but played phenomenal tennis to bring them back in it. The Eagles will bring their undefeated conference record against Byron Center today. The match is at home at 4:15pm. It is also Senior Night. Please come out and support our team and our seniors if you can. Go Eagles!!

GRC tennis faced a tough Division 2 conference foe yesterday in FHC and came away with a tie match 4-4. Both teams were undefeated in conference play going into this match and they both left undefeated.  1st Brynn Uchman (14-0) played another undefeated player (13-0) Lily Ohlman and ended up being the last one standing with an undefeated record as she played a great match battling some adversity to win 6-2, 6-3. 2s Natalie Poortenga improved to 11-2 on the season playing a great match from start to finish winning 6-0, 6-2 3s Alex Vermeulen and 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt played two players who were super consistent and rarely missed. They fought hard and battled for every point but both came up just short in their matches. 1d Hope Alvesteffer/Carolina Mignini played a really solid 1 doubles team and played a close 1st set but FHC came away with the victory in the end. 2d Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe were very close to getting a double bagel and played a fantastic match from start to finish winning 6-0. 6-1. Improving their record to 14-1 on the season 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke played a tough team and did their best to make a comeback run in the 2nd set but FHC got the victory in the end. 4d Alexis Meeuwsen/Betta Klein had a strong day winning 6-4, 6-1 and played some really good tennis against a solid team. In the end we were proud of our players for pushing through a stressful week and still going out and competing hard against a tough team. The Eagles play another conference opponent in Lowell today at home at 4:30pm. Go Eagles!!  

The Eagles varsity tennis team took down conference opponent Lowell 8-0 yesterday. This improves their conference record to 4-0-1. As a team, we only lost 6 games in total and every match won in straight sets. Props were given to senior Grace Brandt who filled in at 3 singles and played a great match to get the W. Only her and Carolina Mignini now have a win at singles and doubles in conference play. The Eagles travel to Bloomfield Hills this weekend to face top 5 division 3 opponent, Bloomfield Hills Marion and top 5 division 2 opponent, Mattawan. Wish the Eagles luck this weekend. Go Eagles!!

What a big week for the GRC girls varsity tennis program. Beating EGR in a dual match on Wednesday for the first time since 2016 and standing toe to toe with the top ranked teams of Division 3 tennis yesterday. Heading into Saturday, Chelsea was ranked 2nd in the state and Cranbrook was ranked 1st in the state for Dvision 3, so tying them both were huge ties for the team! The team totals at the end of the day consisted of: Cranbrook finishing with 16 total pts, GRC finishing with 15 pts, Chelsea finishing with 13 pts, and FHE finishing with 4pts. These results should bump us up from 4th in the state to 2nd. This was a big statement day for Eagles tennis. Special props were given to Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe at #2 doubles for winning close matches in scenarios where they were the last match on and in both cases we needed them to win to secure the ties against Chelsea and Cranbrook. Props were also given to Grace Brandt for filling in for Natalie who was injured in the last match against Cheslea. She played one of the top 2 singles players in the state and made her WORK very hard for each point and I could tell the Chelsea player was very frustrated and tired at several points during that match. Grace stepped up and made us proud as coaches for the way she fought. Flight results were: 1s Brynn Uchman (3-0): 1st place and tournament champion! (remains undefeated on the season) 2s Natalie Poortenga (1-1): 3rd place 3s Alex Vermeulen (1-2): 3rd place 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt (1-2): 3rd place 1d Hope Alvesteffer/Carolina Mignini (2-1): 2nd place 2d Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe (3-0): 1st place 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke (2-1): 2nd place 4d Lex Meeuwsen/Betta Klein (2-1): 2nd place 5d Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt (1-1): 2nd place 6d Charlene Dahu/Janie Mills (1-1): 3rd place The Eagles will have their next match against a tough conference opponent in FHC on Wednesday. This will be at FHC at 4:15pm. Both teams are undefeated in conference play. Come out and support the #2 ranked team in the state! Go Eagles!!

GRC girls varsity tennis beat conference foe Greenville last night 8-0. This brings their record to 3-0 in conference. Every match but one match, one in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Good win for the Eagles! Our next match day is this Saturday at the FHE quad. FHE, Chelsea, and Cranbrook will be the other 3 teams there. GRC is currently ranked #4 in the state, Chelsea is ranked #2, Cranbrook is ranked #1, and FHE is ranked #7. So this will be a big day for the Eagles with 4 top 8 teams playing. Matches will begin at 9am and will be held at FHE and Gainey. Please come out and support this team that is working so hard if you can this Saturday! GO EAGLES!!

The Eagles take down conference rival East Grand Rapids 5-3! This is the first dual victory against EGR since 2016. Huge win for this team. This brings the Eagles to 2-0 in conference. 1s Brynn Uchman, 2s Natalie Poortenga, and 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt all take care of business in straight sets. For doubles, 3 dubs Avah Jerke/Olivia Cook got the double bagel and won 6-0, 6-0. 4 dubs Betta Klein/Lex Meeuwsen win in straight sets to remain undefeated on the season, and 5 dubs Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt won in straight sets too. 1 dubs Hope Alvesteffer/Carolina Mignini and 2 dubs Ashley Wolfe/Marissa Sullivan both lost in two really close matches that came down to the wire.  The Eagles take on Greenville away tomorrow for their 3rd conference match of the season. Go Eagles!!

On Saturday the Eagles hosted their 1st annual Gainey Invite which consisted of 8 teams from all around the state. The teams that participated were Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, West Catholic, Jenison, Holland Christian, Grand Haven, Grand Ledge, Portland, and Grand Rapids Christian. There were some very high quality teams and play at the tournament yesterday. However, GRC proved their spot among some of the states best by taking home 1st place! HC came in 2nd, Jenison 3rd, NDP 4th, and GH at 5th rounding out the top 5. The team not only played their hearts out but they also did so while also finishing on time to make it to their senior banquet. Congrats to the Eagles on their 2nd tournament win on the season so far. Congrats to the following individual finishers: 1st Singles Brynn Uchman: Tournament Singles Champion. Making a statement win against last year semi finalist from ND Prep in the finals. 2s Natalie Poortenga: 2nd place (also a clutch win against ND Prep in the semis). 3s Alex Vermeulen: 2nd place (had a strong score against Jenison that will help her for seeding). 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt: Consolation bracket champion! 1d Carolina Mignini /Hope Alvesteffer: 1st place (beating a very solid ND Prep team in the finals even through some adversity) 2d Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe: 1st place to remain undefeated on the season 3d Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke: 2nd place playing a strong HC well in the finals and never gave up. 4d Betta Klein/Lex Meeuwsen: 1st place to remain undefeated on the season 5d Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt: 2nd place and playing a strong HC team well. The Eagles had one day off yesterday and now will be ready to take on our rival EGR in a big conference dual match today at 4:15pm at Gainey is the start time. Come out and support! Go Eagles!!

The GRC Varsity Eagles tennis team traveled to Northview High School yesterday and came out with a 8-0 victory. This was their first conference opponent of the season. The players did a good job battling the cooler and windier conditions. Every single player and team won in straight sets as well. Props to senior Grace Brandt, junior Frankie Volkema, and Junior Carolina Mignini who stepped up and helped get us some key wins at 1 and 3 doubles and at 2 singles.  The team's next competition is this Saturday where will be hosting our 1st Annual Gainey Inv. There will be 8 highly competitive teams with some state seeding implications on the line. Teams will be coming from all over the state (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Grand Ledge, Portland, Grand Haven, Holland Christian, and Jenison). Matches start at 8:30am and will be held at Gainey and EGR tennis courts. They will be going on for most of the day so please come out and support the team if you are able to! Go Eagles!

The GRC girls varsity tennis team faced one of the best teams in the state across all divisions in FHN and fought their hearts out but came up just short in a 2-6 loss. From top to bottom every single match was very competitive and every player never gave up until the end. Props to 1 doubles Hope/Carolina and 2 singles Natalie Poortenga for overcoming some adversity to play an amazing 3 set match, and props to Kaitlyn for being the last match on and giving us a 3.5 hour thriling match to watch. I am very proud of this team for their integrity and heart. Here are the results: 1s Brynn Uchman 6-2, 6-0 W (improves to 20-0 on the season) 2s Natalie Poortenga 1-6, 6-2 3-6 L (giving this player their first set loss on the season) 3s Alex Vermeulen 4-6, 2-6 L 4s Kaitlyn Schmitt 2-6, 7-6, 3-6 L 1D Carolina Mignini/Hope Alvesteffer 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 L (giving this team their first set loss on the season) 2D Ashley Wolfe/Marissa Sullivan 4-6, 2-6 L 3D Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke 3-6, 4-6 L 4D Lex Meeuwsen/Betta Klein 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 W (winning in a long epic battle) 5d Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt 5-7, 6-4 The Eagles finished up regular season conference play with a 5-1-1 record and tied for 2nd place with FHC. They will have a chance to improve their overall conference standing spot today and tomorrow at the OK White conference tournament. Play starts at 3:30pm today and 8:30am tomorrow. Singles are at Byron Central and doubles are at South Christian. Friday all matches are at BC. Come out and support your varsity girls tennis players! Go Eagles!!

The Eagles girls varsity tennis team took home 1st place at the Allegan Invite for the second straight season. Last season they tied for first, but this season the team ended up with 6 more team points then the 2nd place finishers Allegan/West Ottawa, which is a big gap. Us coaches were very proud of our team's performance and mental strength throughout the whole day, especially with the adversity of the rain delay. The Eagles won all of our tiebreaks played too, something that was a main focus at practice this past week and that showed how well our team handled pressure and stress. They had high 1st serve percentages, minimal double faults, and got serve returns in...those are key little things to do in tie-breaks that can go a long way to winning them. Match tie-breaks of the day goes to 3rd doubles Avah Jerke/Olivia Cook. These two overcame being down in a 2nd set 7 pt tiebreak and had several match points against them in the 3rd set 10 point tiebreak and these two never wavered and acted like season vets handling this pressure to continue fighting back and eventually winning both tie breaks and sets! That is some good headstrong and lockedin tennis right there!! Congrats to the following finishes at their respective flights: 1S Brynn Uchman: 1st place 2S Natalie Poortenga: 1st place 3S Alex Vermeulen: 2nd place 4S Kaitlyn Schmitt: 3rd place 1D Carolina Mignini/Hope Alvesteffer: 5th place 2D Marissa Sullivan/Ashley Wolfe: 1st place 3D Avah Jerke/Olivia Cook: 1st place 4D Betta Klein/Lex Meeuwsen: 1st place 5D Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt: 2nd place All top 5 finishes on the day! GRC will play two conference matches against FHN and Northview this week along with a big tournament this Saturday that we are hosting at Gainey. Teams from Detroit area, Lansing area, and West Michigan area...across all divisions will be there. All the fan support we can get will go a long way! Matchplay starts at 8:30am and will go the whole day. Go Eagles!

The Eagles varsity girls tennis team started off with a strong 2-0 record to begin the season on Friday. The Eagles proceeded to beat Holland Christian 7-2 and West Ottawa 7-2 at the WO Inv. At #1 singles freshman Brynn Uchman cruised to her first two high school victories beating both opponents 6-0, 6-0 in convincing fashion. At #2 singles Junior leader Natalie Poortenga came out firing, beating HC 6-1, 6-2 and then had a closer 2nd match against WO to where she squeaked it out in a close 3rd set 10 point tie break. Props to Natalie as she was down 2-7 in the tiebreak and had the perseverance to come back and take the W even being one of the last matches on and everyone watching. At #3 singles Junior leader Alex Vermeulen improved throughout the match in an opening loss to WO and continued this improving and confidence mindset into beating HC 6-4, 6-2 in a very strong showing by Alex. At #4 singles Kaitlyn Schmitt played a good first match coming up just short to WO 4-6, 4-6 but then had an epic comeback against HC this time winning a close match 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 and got the W as the last match on court. At #1 doubles Senior leader Hope Alvesteffer/Carolina Mignini utilized each other's strengths really well and played some really good tennis and beat HC in a close 7-5, 7-6. Then they took care of business against WO in convincing fashion. #2 doubles 2 senior leaders Ashley Wolfe/Marissa Sullivan barely broke a sweat beating both teams and only losing 6 total games on the day. #3 doubles Olivia Cook/Avah Jerke had a strong first match showing against WO winning 6-4, 6-3 and were beasts at the net. They then lost a close match against HC but after letting HC get control of the 2nd they proceeded to battle them back into a close 10-12 match 3rd set tiebreak loss but never gave up. At #4 doubles Betta Klein/Alexia Meeuwsen revenged their last season opening close loses by playing inspired tennis and winning two down to the wire matches. They beat WO 6-2, 7-6 and HC 6-3, 6-7, 10-6 in probably one of the longer matches on the day. At #5 doubles Frankie Volkema/Grace Brandt played two very close and competitive matches as well. Beating WO in comeback fashion 5-7, 7-6, 11-9 and also almost made another great comeback attemt but came up just short against HC 2-6, 7-6. The Eagles had a strong showing to the start the season but have a lot of work to do and many practices to continue that growth in our game, as their next match day won't be until after spring break on 4/15 at the Allegan Inv. Go Eagles!