Bloomfield Hills' Pierce Shaya Playing for 4th Flight Title, 3rd Team Championship
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2024
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Pierce Shaya’s career thus far at the MHSAA Boys Tennis Finals has been akin to eating at a buffet line, with there being a lot of variety that satisfies an appetite.
In his case, the appetite that’s been satisfied has been individual championships won in an unusual variety of ways.
When Shaya was a freshman, he won the Lower Peninsula Division 1 title at No. 3 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Noah Vogel of Ann Arbor Pioneer.
As a sophomore, Shaya won another Finals title, but this time it wasn’t as an individual. He played No. 1 doubles alongside Merrick Chernett, and that duo won it all over Troy’s tandem of Srihari Ananthalwan and Rushil Kagithala.
Last year, Shaya went back to singles but was the team’s No. 2 player behind sophomore Jonah Chernett. Shaya controlled what he could control, winning the crown at No. 2 singles with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Chad Anderson of Rochester.
Three years, three different flights and three LPD1 Finals championships is certainly not a traditional resume for a high school tennis player. But that is the route Shaya has taken.
“I didn’t go into high school thinking I would play three different spots,” he said. “But I guess it’s very cool to be able to win it and now attempt to go 4-for-4.”
Indeed, Shaya this weekend will have a chance to add another highlight to his championship-laden career.
With Chernett not on the team this year because he moved to Florida, Shaya finally got the chance to play at No. 1 singles in his final year of high school and has taken full advantage of the opportunity.
Shaya is 20-1 on the season and seeded No. 1 at No. 1 singles for the Division 1 tournament taking place at Byron Center West Sports Complex and Grand Rapids South Christian.
His only loss came to Rochester Hills Stoney Creek’s Andrew Vincler, who is seeded second at No. 1 singles.
“Obviously everyone is gunning for me,” Shaya said. “It doesn’t really matter to me because I still have to go through everyone to win it. But the seeding is nice to show my season’s work paid off.”
Shaya also will be looking to help lead Bloomfield Hills to a third-straight team title.
Bloomfield Hills head coach Greg Burks had no doubt that Shaya would be able to handle the role as the team’s top man this year, and he has seen Shaya save his best for his last high school season.
“I would say his biggest improvements over the past year have been his forehand and serve,” Burks said. “They are both much bigger and heavier and at this level and the level he wants to get to, having both of those is a must. His volleys have also improved significantly.”
Shaya also hopes to have another title double with his younger brother, Connor, a junior.
Connor won at No. 3 singles last year with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Northville’s Josh Kim, and he is the second seed at No. 2 singles this weekend.
“I think our parents would love that,” Pierce Shaya said. “We trained a lot from (ages) 10 to 13.”
Shaya has a future in tennis beyond this weekend, as he has committed to play for the University of Michigan.
When he gets to Ann Arbor, he hopes his unique high school journey will have included four Finals titles in four different flights.
“It’s a very cool situation, I think,” Shaya said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills Pierce Shaya takes a photo last season after receiving his championship medal. (Photo courtesy of State Champs Sports Network.)
West Catholic Youth is Served, and so is Liggett's Experience
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
KALAMAZOO – Simon Caldwell was the top seed at No. 1 singles at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Boys Tennis Finals, but he had to survive a three-set semifinal nailbiter before clinching the title with a two-set championship match victory.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, sparked by three individual winners, went home with the team championship trophy earning 30 points, Hudsonville Unity Christian was second with 27 points, Traverse City St. Francis third with 22, Big Rapids fourth with 18 and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep fifth with 17. It was Liggett's fourth team title since 2016.
The singles semifinals were played indoors while several family members and fans from Unity Christian helped dry the outdoor courts.
Caldwell, who is just a freshman at Grand Rapids West Catholic, qualified individually for this weekend. In a semifinal match that lasted 2½ hours with numerous long rallies, he defeated junior Daniel Pero, the fourth seed from Brooklyn Columbia Central, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
In the final, Caldwell bested the second seed, Liggett junior Sebastian Courtright, 6-3, 6-0.
“Both of those guys are great players, and I played really well in both (matches),” Caldwell said.
Leading 4-1 in the third semifinal set, Caldwell started cramping. He lost two match points at 5-3, then started serving underhand.
Once he won the match, fans – crammed in the stands – gave him a standing ovation.
“It happens to the best of us,” the freshman said of cramping. “Daniel is a great player and started to come back on me. Anyone could have won that match.
“I just happened to pull through at the end.”
Courtright, who also played at No. 1 singles last year, said his rival played a good match: “I think he was ultimately more consistent and more experienced.”
Top seed Owen Jackson, a St. Francis sophomore, defeated sixth-seeded Grand Rapids South Christian junior Levi Yaffey, 6-0, 6-0, in the No. 2 final.
Jackson lost just four games during the entire tournament.
“It’s a lot of keeping yourself pumped up and keeping yourself moving and going and always supporting your teammates,” he said. “The work we put in this season really helped, and playing the big schools really helped, like (Midland) Dow, Forest Hill Northern, Forest Hills Central. All those matches help you to push forward and to always grow as a player and as a person.”
At No 3 singles, third seed Micah Riddering, a Unity Christian senior, defeated top seed Chris Bobrowski, a junior from St. Francis, 6-3, 6-1.
Riddering lost in the first round of No. 3 singles last year and credits his grandfather, Click Groot, with helping him go from worst to first.
“It’s overall consistency,” Riddering said. “I just kept the ball in and waited for him to miss, kept it deep.”
Bobrowski said both played their hardest but “he just had a good day today and a great mindset. He was able to push past me a little bit further.”
Learning from the experience, “It teaches me I might need a little bit stronger mindset during the matches and that it only comes down to one match at the end when you make it to the Finals, so you’ve got to play your best and your hardest.”
After dropping the first set at No. 4 singles, Liggett sophomore Charlie Cooksey, the third seed, defeated Allegan junior Jackson Morrie, the top seed, 2-6, 6-1 6-2.
In the first set, “I was hitting the ball too hard and not putting it in,” Cooksey said. “In the second set, I told myself to reset, brought myself together and pulled it through.”
Jackson went from playing No. 4 doubles his freshman year to No. 2 doubles last year, making it to the quarterfinals both times.
This season, “I put in some hard work and some effort,” he said, noting that his strength is his quickness on the court.
While Liggett’s No. 3 doubles team, top seeds Steve Wheatley and Griffin Marchal, won their Finals match, 6-0, 6-3, against third seeds Carson Poole and David Ansley of St. Francis, their semifinals victory clinched the team championship for Liggett.
“Ever since the start of the year, we started off 18-0 and just clicked right away,” Wheatley said. “We knew coming into this it was our tournament to win.”
Liggett coach Mark Sobieralski said the pair had some great wins over teams in higher divisions.
“They’re both hockey players as their first sport; they’re just athletes,” Sobieralski said. “Stevie (a senior) is the guy at the net. He’s all over. He’s got incredible hands.
“Griffin, the freshman, we had him back, keep the ball in play, set up Stevie. They were like a match made in heaven.”
Sobieralski was especially proud of his No. 1 doubles team of senior Campbell Marchal and junior Tommy Ugval.
“They struggled so much during the beginning of the year,” he said. “They had a hard time and weren’t really together. They were the No. 4 seed and had a below .500 record on the season
“We play a really difficult schedule, but they were so together all weekend and pulled the whole thing out from being the fourth seed.”
The pair defeated top seeds Charlie King and Derek Berta of St. Francis, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, in the semifinal before besting second seeds Jacob Lanning and Will Anama, from Unity Christian, 7-5, 6-1, in the final.
Unity Christian coach Bradley Miedema figured his team was headed for third place but was thrilled with the second -place trophy.
“I told the guys if we all just take care of what we can do seed-wise and pull some upsets, there’s a chance we can win it,” he said.
Seniors Andrew Miller and Dominic Hop listened to their coach.
“They were the No. 5 seeds (at No. 2 doubles) and now they (won) their Final,” Miedema said. “That’s one I’m most proud of this year.”
Unity Christian loses eight seniors from his varsity, but Miedema said with 24 junior varsity players, “I think we’ll be able to slot in some good players next year.”
At No. 4 doubles, second seeds Elijah Haynes and Ari Ziska of Big Rapids defeated top seeds Ryan King and Niko Cooksey from Liggett, 6-3, 6-4.
St. Francis coach Dane Fosgard said this year’s team included six players who had never been to the Finals.
“It was definitely a new experience for them,” he said. “They did great, but a couple of our flights lost in the first round, so I think they’re going to be hungry for some wins next year.
“Third place isn’t all that bad, even though we expected first or second.”
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.