Bloomfield Hills Returns to Top of D1
October 21, 2017
By Chris Stevens
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – All season long, the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks have had a target on their collective backs as the state’s top-ranked tennis team in Division 1.
They handled the pressure well during the fall’s regular season, but there was one big hurdle left to clear at this weekend’s MHSAA Finals at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.
Black Hawks coach Greg Burks kept the message to his team simple and clear: Don’t focus on the rankings; do your best and everything will take care of itself.
And that’s exactly what happened Saturday, as the Black Hawks won the school’s second Lower Peninsula Division 1 title in the past three years, edging Troy 30-28 in the two-day tournament. Ann Arbor Huron placed third with 22 points, Birmingham Brother Rice had 21 points and Ann Arbor Pioneer had 19 to round out the top-five scoring.
The Black Hawks, who finished second in LPD1 a year ago and tied for the title two years ago, started the season ranked No. 1 and finished the season that way, as well.
“I tried to not have the guys look at (the rankings) because there is a target on your back and you have to play completely different,” Burks said. “When you play somebody, they don’t have anything to lose. … It makes it a little tougher because they come out swinging.
“(My team) did a very good job of just working to get better.”
Burks said his team was motivated after falling short a year ago at the Finals.
“Everybody worked extremely hard in the offseason,” he said. “Every practice was intense and had a lot of energy. All the kids wanted it, and it showed. They worked really hard. I give my guys all the credit. They played unreal.”
Bloomfield Hills won fight titles at No. 3 singles, No. 1 doubles and No. 2 doubles. The No. 2 doubles team of Vik Chakrabortty and Chaz Blamo, seeded second in the flight, locked up the team title with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 win over top-seeded Niko Mamatas and Riley McNulty of Birmingham Brother Rice.
When that long match ended, Bloomfield Hills team members poured onto the court to celebrate.
Meanwhile, at No. 3 singles, Constantin Hemmrich of Bloomfield Hills posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Clarkston’s Jacob Burkett in the finals. At No. 1 doubles, Cade Burman and Sebastian Burman secured another title for the Black Hawks with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory against Sam Schwartz and Jack Brockhaus of Brother Rice.
At No. 1 singles, Troy senior Steve Forman was dominant as he captured a second straight championship. He lost only five games the entire tournament and did not lose a set.
Forman, who’s headed to the University of Michigan to play his college tennis, defeated Andrew Zhang of Bloomfield Hills 6-1, 6-1 in the finals. Both are hard-hitting left-handers.
“I really served well and hit my spots. That’s really what I was trying to do … and do what I could in (returning the ball),” Forman said of his keys to victory.
Even though he was defending his title, Forman said that was not a huge motivating factor for him. He wrapped up his senior season with a 13-0 record.
“It’s a new year and new people,” he said. “I definitely felt like I was the top player and I wanted to go out and win.”
Forman, who lost in the semifinals as a sophomore, enjoyed the success he had in high school.
“I really played my best tennis in high school,” Forman said. “I had some tough matches, but overall, I played well in a lot of big matches. I’m satisfied with what I was able to do here.”
At No. 2 singles, Troy’s Brennan Cimpeanu swept Ann Arbor Huron’s Kobie Mueller 7-6, 7-6 in their championship match. At No. 4 singles, Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Stanley Rhodes recorded a 7-6, 3-6, 6-0 win over Northville’s Samir Rajani, who was the flight’s top seed. Rhodes was seeded second.
At No. 3 doubles, Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Connor Streeter and Brendan Karsch swept Bloomfield Hills’ Adrian Wilen and Chris Sauer, 6-0, 6-4. Finally, at No. 4 doubles, Troy’s Marvin Jiang and Charlie Peng won in convincing fashion, topping T.J. Bai and Nick Grosh of Ann Arbor Huron, 6-2, 6-1.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills players rush the court to celebrate their Division 1 championship. (Middle) Troy's Steve Forman readies for a volley during his No. 1 singles match. (Top photo from HighSchoolSportsScene.com; middle photo by Chris Stevens.)
Northville's Kumar Eager to Prove 2021 Title Run Just the Start
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 13, 2022
NORTHVILLE – It might sound laughable that a reigning MHSAA Finals champion is out to prove people wrong.
But if there was ever an example where that is actually valid, it’s this year’s quest for Northville junior tennis player Sachiv Kumar.
Last year as a sophomore, Kumar stunned many in the tennis community when he won the No. 1 singles title at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
Kumar came somewhat out of nowhere, given he entered as the No. 5 seed and had seven losses going into the tournament.
None of that mattered though, as Kumar kept moving his way through the tournament and ended up topping Rochester’s Clayton Anderson in the championship match in a third-set tiebreaker.
Given it was such a surprise, the motivation has been obvious for Kumar since practice started in August.
“Just to say that I could win it again,” Kumar said. “That it wasn’t just luck last time.”
Going into this weekend’s Division 1 Final in Holland, it would be no surprise if Kumar repeated.
Seeded No. 2 going into the tournament, Kumar sports a 29-1 record and has taken his game to another level this fall.
The only loss came in the first match of the year to Anderson during a dual contest between Rochester and Northville.
Kumar had a match point, but ended up losing to Anderson in a tiebreaker to finish off a two-set match that took roughly three hours.
“I play with him a lot through USTA tournaments and other tournaments,” Kumar said. “I play with him like every week.”
Anderson deservedly is the No. 1 seed this weekend. In truth though, Kumar is more of a “1B” seed.
“He has all the shots that he needs,” Northville head coach Bob Young said. “Overhead, volleys, ground strokes. He can just do it all.”
There have been some specific areas where Kumar has improved from last year.
Kumar said his serve has gotten a lot better, while Young said Kumar’s enhanced conditioning has really stood out.
“Last year we struggled with him because of fatigue,” Young said. “There were two or three matches in tournaments in the beginning of the year where he had to forfeit in the third round just because he wasn’t in good enough shape. This year, that hasn’t been an issue at all. He’s been able to coast through everything.”
Success in tennis is certainly in Kumar’s blood, given his older sister, Shanoli, was named Miss Tennis in 2018.
The two have pushed each other constantly throughout their lives, and Shanoli was present at last year’s Final to watch Sachiv win the title.
“I always used to say I was better than her when I wasn’t,” Sachiv Kumar said. “When I was 8 or 9, we used to play like every day. She would coach me and stuff.”
Kumar said he hasn’t figured out his college future, but he will be busy once the high school season is over with traveling to junior tournaments during the winter, spring and summer.
“Every month, I’ll be going somewhere different around the country to play,” he said.
Before that though, he wants to finish his mission that he started in August.
Anderson could very well be waiting again in the final.
Regardless, the motivation is obvious for Kumar this weekend in Holland.
“It sounds nice to win it twice in a row,” he 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 Northville’s Sachiv Kumar prepares to serve during a match his sophomore season. (Photo courtesy of the Northville boys tennis program.)