TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City Central will be seeded No. 1 in six of the eight flights today in the Division I tennis regional at Midland.
But, as Trojan coach Larry Nykerk knows, upsets can be common at this stage.
"Last year we had five No. 1 seeds, but we only won two flights," Nykerk said. "We had a hard time closing in the finals."
Earning No. 1 seeds for Central were Erin Chadwell (29-2) at No. 1 singles, Emily Burke (26-7) at No. 3 singles, Ali Gribi and Laura Spencer (34-0) at No. 1 doubles, Emily Lelandais and Jillian Bergsma (32-2) at No. 2 doubles, Maggie Milliken and Amanda Street (33-1) at No. 3 doubles and Kayla Casciano and Jenna Boullion (33-1) at No. 4 doubles.
Not only are Gribi and Spencer undefeated, but they have not lost a set this season.
If seeds hold, Central and Traverse City West could collide in the semifinals in all four doubles flights. The Titans are the No. 4 seeds in the four doubles flights -- Lydia Lovejoy and Lisa Watson at No. 1, Morgan Johnson and Ellen Walczak at No. 2, Kelly Robinson and Aria Jelinek at No. 3 and Allison Christopherson and Danika Baker at No. 4.
Central's Sarah Malone and West's Jordan Davenport could meet in the semifinals at No. 2 singles. Malone is the No. 2 seed, Davenport is a No. 3 seed.
The Trojans' Adela Fedor is a No. 3 seed at No. 4 singles.
Midland Dow players are seeded No. 1 in the other two singles flights, but the Chargers will be without their No. 1 singles player.
Central won the regional last season at Holland.
Two other Traverse City teams, St. Francis and Christian, will compete in the 12-team Division 4 regional at Big Rapids.
St. Francis picked up six seeds, including a No. 1 for Kristen Marsh at No. 1 singles.
Drawing No. 3 seeds were Megan Olm and Lauren Currie at No. 2 doubles, Chelsea Merrifield and Elizabeth Stayman at No. 3 doubles and Ashley Broering and Casey Droste at No. 4 doubles. Alyssa Bergman at No. 2 singles and Lauren Heimburger and Erin Cecchi at No. 1 doubles are the No. 4 seeds.
The Gladiators, coached by Jeff Hughes, are 7-2.
Christian, 7-2-2, comes into the regional seeded at four flights -- Meghan Terpstra at No. 4 singles and Katie VanVreede and Alisha Bultsma at No. 2 doubles are No. 4 seeds while Kate Johnson at No. 3 singles and Lindsay Kostrzewa and Jenna Finney at No. 1 doubles are No. 5 seeds.
This is Christian's first year for girls tennis.
"In my 25 years of coaching tennis, to have a team do this well their first year is a tremendous credit to the athletic talent and work ethic of the girls," coach Tim Sutherland said. "They bought into being successful. Inexperience was not an excuse."
St. Francis, North Muskegon and Whitehall are considered the favorites.
The top two teams in each regional automatically advance.
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