Dow tennis team third at D1 state final
Garrett Turner ended his 14th year as Midland Dow High tennis coach extremely satisfied with what his team was able to achieve.
Dow’s final overall record was 8-1-1.
“We exceeded expectations,” Turner said. “Going into the state tournament we were ranked fifth. Four of our flights played beyond their seed and we ended up placing third in the state. With replacing seven positions from last year’s team, this was an outstanding finish for us.”
Another major accomplishment was “finishing in first place at the Ann Arbor tournament,” Turner said, “having five flights make it to the semi-finals, having four flights play beyond their seed and having our 2 and 4 singles players beat players in the semifinals they originally lost to during the season.”
Having the No/3 singles state champion was also a major moment for Dow with Laura Leiti (25-1).
Dow with 23 points, was five points from second-place Bloomfield Hills (28) and seven points from champion Grosse Pointe South (30).
Savannah Matuszewski (26-6) was second at No. 2 singles. Claire Earley (28-3) was second at No. 3 singles.
“The only challenge was dealing with Valleys and Regionals and my seniors who were doing IB testing,” Turner said. “This was the first time I have had an issue with it, and we had to forfeit some flights for my first time ever.
“No. 1 singles player Zoe Angell finished the year 22-6 and did a fantastic job moving from 2 singles up to 1 singles this year. She had big wins this season against Northville, Holly, Seaholm, Livonia Churchill and Heritage.
Prospects are bright for next year.
“We are losing one of our 1 doubles and our 2 doubles,” Turner said. “Anyone returning is a key returner. We have a lot of experience coming back.”