Black Hawks Soar Again in Division 1, while Kumar Repeats with Top-Flight Title

By Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com

October 15, 2022

HOLLAND – While Bloomfield Hills boys tennis coach Greg Burks was being interviewed late Saturday afternoon at Hope College’s Etheridge Tennis Complex, the Black Hawks’ team canopy lifted in a gust of wind and toppled onto the court.

That was about the only thing that went wrong for Bloomfield Hills this weekend. The Black Hawks used their supreme depth to run away with the MHSAA Division 1 boys tennis championship, the program’s third in six years and fourth in eight seasons – and also their first since 2018.

Bloomfield Hills capped the chilly, two-day tournament by capturing titles in five of eight flights and finishing runner-up in two others. The top-ranked Black Hawks tallied 35 points to win going away.

Northville was runner-up with 25 points, followed by Troy with 24. Novi was fourth with 17 points.

Each of the top four teams was ranked in the top four of the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association poll.

“We had a lot of depth. We had a couple kids come in – a couple freshman, Jonah Chernett and Connor Shaya – and they kind of extended that lineup even further to where we were just very, very deep,” said Burks, who also guided the Black Hawks to Division 1 titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

“To be honest, everybody just worked very hard in the offseason. They knew that we were getting those couple of guys and we only graduated one from last year, so they just knew – these are the stakes, and we knew that Troy and Northville and Novi were going to be tough. Yeah, it was great.”

Bloomfield Hills settled for a Finals runner-up finish last season behind Troy. This time, championships at two of the four singles flights and three of the four doubles flights helped push the Black Hawks over the top.

Bloomfield Hills senior Daniel Stojanov repeated at No. 2 singles with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s Patrick Cretu. At No. 4 singles, the spunky Shaya defeated Troy’s Dhruv Gupta in the Finals match, 6-2, 6-3.

The doubles teams of Pierce Shaya-Merrick Chernett (No. 1), Michael Dillon-Ryan Rose (No. 2) and Kierth Lingam-Dominic Pascarella (No. 4) earned big points for Bloomfield Hills with flight championships.

Bloomfield Hills’ Aaron Rose was runner-up to Detroit Catholic Central’s Alec Maynard at No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-4). The Black Hawks’ Drew Davis and Toni Vasile finished second at No. 3 doubles, falling to Ann Arbor Huron’s Warren Gunnar and Hassan Hejazi in the final.

Northville junior Sachiv Kumar fires a backhand during his No. 1 singles final. Northville junior Sachiv Kumar repeated at No. 1 singles winning a championship rematch against Rochester junior Clayton Anderson, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. Kumar defeated Anderson in last year’s title match, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5). Kumar finished 34-1 this season with his lone loss coming against Anderson during a dual meet.

It was a different Finals experience for Kumar this time around. Last year’s Division 1 Finals in Kalamazoo was moved indoors because of rain.

“The conditions – just way too cold outside, and (too) windy to play tennis, but somehow I didn’t cramp and the conditions didn’t get to me,” the even-keel Kumar said with a smile, alluding to temperatures hovering at or just below 50 degrees.

“It’s really, really nice, especially to say I won it once and I won it again – won it twice in a row.”

Stojanov knows the pressure of attempting to repeat as well.

It wasn’t easy for him Saturday, but the reward was well worth it, especially since his teammates also can call themselves state champions.

“It was great to get it done as a team. Fell short last year, so getting it done as a team was great this year,” Stojanov said.

“Down a set, I had to raise my level, I had to raise my game. I played a great player, so everything had to align for me to get the win. I want to give credit to my coaches and my teammates for cheering me on. It was great overall.”

Burks recalled how the 2018 Division 1 title team also displayed superior depth and won six of eight flights.

He considers that a “fantastic year,” but said what differentiates this group is that every single person on the team held his own and played an important role.

This Black Hawks squad is relatively young, so the future looks bright, too.

“It felt amazing because, like, I was really nervous because early in the season. I barely beat (Gupta) in the third set, but I really felt in that third set (Saturday), I knew his game. When I came here to play him today, I felt great,” said Shaya, who goes by the nickname “Cosmo.”

“It’s amazing (to win the team title) because we all just feel like champions. It was the perfect season.”

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PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills senior Daniel Stojanov sends a volley on the way to repeating at No. 2 singles. (Middle) Northville junior Sachiv Kumar fires a backhand during his No. 1 singles final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)

Performance of the Week: Cranbrook Kingswood's Owen DeMuth

October 20, 2022

Owen DeMuthOwen DeMuth ♦ Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Tennis ♦ Senior

Owen DeMuth had been on the cusp of an MHSAA Finals No. 1 singles championship the last two years. On Saturday, he completed his high school career by taking that final step. DeMuth, after finishing top flight runner-up in Lower Peninsula Division 3 as a sophomore and junior, defeated Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Chakor Rajendra 6-1, 6-4, to claim his first title.

DeMuth – who will continue his career at Georgia Tech – finished this season 22-3, his only losses to Rajendra twice and Bloomfield Hills’ Jonah Chernett in August. DeMuth won all four of his Finals matches last weekend in straight sets, and also had an early win this season over eventual LPD2 No. 1 champion Connor Stafford from Grosse Pointe South. DeMuth played No. 1 singles all four seasons at Cranbrook and finished the last three a combined 60-13 while leading the Cranes to two team championships and two runner-up finishes during his career.

@mhsaasports 🎾POW: Owen DeMuth #performanceoftheweek #tennis #1singles #champion #statechamp #congrats #cranes #cranbrookkingswood #cranbrook #MHSAA #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #TikTok#mistudentaid #fyp ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral - WZ Beat

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2022-23 Honorees

Oct. 13: Mia Melendez, Ann Arbor Greenhills golf - Report
Oct. 6:
Shawn Foster, Grand Ledge football - Report
Sept. 30:
Hannah Smith, Temperance Bedford swimming - Report
Sept. 22:
Helen Sachs, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Sept. 15:
Nina Horning, Lake Orion volleyball - Report
Sept 8:
Arturo Romero, Muskegon Oakridge soccer - Report
Sept. 1:
Austin King, Midland Dow tennis - Report
Aug. 25:
Olivia Hemmila, Troy Athens golf - Report

(Photos courtesy of the DeMuth family.)