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.)
St. Francis Finishes 1st Finals Title Run in Dominating Fashion
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
October 17, 2021
ANN ARBOR — Minutes after his team clinched its first-ever boy tennis Finals championship, Tommy Puetz was still processing the accomplishment.
“It’s somewhat surreal,” he said. “I was with the team my freshman year, and we finished second that year. It’s pretty surreal to see it all come together, all our hard work in the offseason.”
That it did, and in its 14th try, Traverse City St. Francis went home with a championship trophy after a rain-soaked weekend at the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Pioneer tennis courts.
St. Francis, the top-ranked team entering the weekend, finished with 34 points, besting 2020 champion Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which had 27. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian was third, with 19.
The Gladiators entered with No. 1 seeds in six flights.
“It’s tough being the top seed, especially for high school kids, but they handled the pressure very well,” St. Francis coach Dane Fosgard said. “It's definitely very exciting. This team has worked very hard. For some of them, they've been at it for four years. It’s definitely a huge accomplishment for myself and the team.”
A near all-day rain Friday got the tournament off to a slow start, and Saturday’s matches didn’t begin until almost noon at both Pioneer and U-M, where the tournament was played on the outdoor courts before it was moved inside after dark.
“It’s my 40th year of coaching, and I’ve never had a tournament where on the first day we didn’t get at least to the semifinals,” Liggett coach Mark Sobieralski said. “It’s crazy.”
Liggett kept it close until the final rounds.
"Our goal was to get everyone into the semifinals, and see what happens from there,” Sobieralski said, “We got everyone into the semis, and lost a couple of close ones.”
But in the end, St. Francis, which topped the state coaches poll all season, was not to be denied.
“They were just ready,” Liggett senior captain Jake Tomlinson said. “They were hungry to win that state title, because they really wanted it last year and we beat them. They were really upset about it, and all year they were grinding to get to this point.”
The Gladiators got into a groove when No. 1 singles player Grant Hedley returned from an injury.
“When he came back, our team really turned it around,” said Puetz. “We played a lot of good competition through September, a lot of D-1 and D-2 schools, which really prepares us a lot for the state meet.”
Puetz, who started playing tennis in middle school, is the Gladiator whose primary sport isn’t tennis. (It’s golf).
“All of these guys put in so much work in the offseason to reach this point,” he said., “It all pays off.
“I started playing because I got free candy for winning,” he recalled, smiling. “And now here I am, a state champion.”
And, Puetz said, despite a long day Saturday, the wait was worth it.
“Ten thousand percent,” he said.
At No. 1 singles, Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Andrew Solarewicz took the final step with his first championship after finishing runner-up at the top flight in 2020. He defeated Liggett’s Sebastian Courtright 6-1, 6-2, in the final. Solarewicz gave up only eight games total this weekend over eight sets and fourth wins.
St. Francis benefitted from championships at No. 2 singles from Tristan Bonanni, No. 3 from Owen Jackson, and No. 4 from Chris Bobrowski; and from doubles flights at No. 1 from Cody Richards and Ben Schmude, No. 2 from Jack Britten and Anthony Spranger, and No. 3 from Charlie King and Derek Berta.
Hudsonville Unity Christian’s Cam Dykstra and Cory Mitchell were the title winners at No. 4.
PHOTOS Traverse City St. Francis’ Chris Bobrowski celebrates as his team moves toward clinching its first Finals team championship. (Middle) Unity Christian serves during Saturday’s final rounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)