• Marquette, Munising at Great Northern Conference meet at Escanaba and Gladstone on Tuesday

• Negaunee, Westwood, Ishpeming, Gwinn, Manistique at Mid-Peninsula Conference meet at Iron Mountain on Thursday

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NEGAUNEE — Preparations for the MHS

AA Upper Peninsula Finals in boys tennis remained on track for the Negaunee High School team on Saturday after the Miners won its Negaunee Invitational title handily.

Marquette’s Chase Thomsen serves during the No. 1 singles championship match against Negaunee’s Gavin Saunders at the Negaunee Invitational boys tennis meet held Saturday at the Miners’ courts. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

They were led by No. 1 singles player Gavin Saunders, who remains undefeated this season.

Negaunee won with 55 points as Marquette was runner-up with 44 and Kingsford won a tight race for third with 33. West Iron County was right behind the Flivvers with 32 as Escanaba had 31.

Westwood finished sixth with 8 points, then came Munising with 7 and Gladstone 5.

“Anytime that you have eight teams together, you’ve got to be able to play your best and the goal is to do that at each individual flight for us today,” Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari at the conclusion of the meet. “It’s one of those days where it was a total team effort once again.”

Saunders defeated Marquette’s Chase Thomsen in the championship of his flight, 6-3, 6-4, continuing without a loss this season.

Marquette’s Chase Thomsen hits a return during the No. 1 singles championship match against Negaunee’s Gavin Saunders at the Negaunee Invitational boys tennis meet held Saturday at the Miners’ courts. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

“Saunders was really gritty today,” Saari said. “He battled a variety of stuff, and we’re really proud of how he played. It’s not always going to be pretty and it rarely is in this sport. Sometimes it’s about survival, and he has some time to recharge for the stretch run now.”

Marquette head coach Karl Thomsen was proud, especially with his team being a bit shorthanded.

“I am extremely pleased with how well the boys played today,” he said. “In the singles draw, all our guys had to step up a flight due to an illness and all four guys played some great tennis, with Chase Thomsen reaching the finals at No. 1 singles.”

“I thought Chase played a solid championship match,” Coach Thomsen said. “I’m sure Chase would probably like to have a few shots back, but at the end of the day he should be proud of his effort.”

James Thompson and Brady Johnson also have become a dangerous duo who brought the Miners another title at No. 1 doubles. The NHS tandem dropped Billy Krebs and Lucas Belkawski for Marquette in their final.

The Negaunee High School boys tennis team stands together with medals after they won the team title at the Negaunee Invitational and multiple individuals were flight champions on Saturday. (Journal courtesy Kyle Saari)

“They’ve been steady for us all year long and their chemistry has kind of grown throughout and they complement each other really well,” Saari said about Thompson and Johnson. “So, it’s cool to see them get a championship.”

Negaunee finished by winning championships at seven of the eight flights. In addition to Saunders at No. 1, titles were also posted by three other singles players — No. 2 Tyler Lajimodiere, No. 3 Mick Kumpula and No. 4 Ethan Harris.

And the Miners captured wins in two doubles flights in addition to Thompson and Johnson at No. 1 — No. 3 Easton Guenette and Nolan O’Dovero and No. 4 Kolten Store and Quinn Walters.

Marquette picked up the lone championship that Negaunee didn’t grab, and that was at No. 2 doubles with Abe Kentala and Connor Stade taking a 7-6, 6-4 victory over the Miners’ Blake Holmgren and Carson Lajimodiere in the final.

“These two set the example in practice with their work ethic and willingness to try things, so was nice to see their hard work pay off,” Karl Thomsen said about Kentala and Stade.

The Sentinels were runners-up with Chase Thomsen at No. 1 singles and in the three doubles flights they didn’t win, which included No. 1 Billy Krebs and Lucas Belkowski, No. 3 Grady Schumann and Brady Janofski, and No. 4 Bode Helman and Conner Henry.

Marquette will host the MHSAA Division 1 U.P. Finals on Wednesday, May 29, that will also include Negaunee, Westwood, Escanaba, Gladstone and Kingsford, while Iron Mountain hosts Division 2 the same day to include the Mountaineers, Munising, Ishpeming, Gwinn and West Iron County.

Before that, Westwood hosts WIC at 3:30 p.m. today, while Marquette and Munising will be at the Great Northern Conference championships at Escanaba and Gladstone at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Also Tuesday, Westwood hosts Ishpeming in a dual meet.

On Wednesday, Munising is at Kingsford, while on Thursday, IM hosts the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet that will include the Miners, Patriots, Hematites, Modeltowners and Manistique, along with Gladstone and IM.

Then on Friday, Munising is scheduled for a dual meet at Ishpeming at 2 p.m.

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu.