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Cranes Turn Away Country Day Again
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2016
KALAMAZOO — On his seventh match point at No. 1 singles, Benji Jacobson smashed an overhead winner and had a feeling this was an important victory.
It was.
With just two matches left on Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium courts, Jacobson’s win gave Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood a one-point win over perennial nemesis Detroit Country Day to clinch the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship for the second year in a row.
Cranbrook tallied 34 points to Country Day’s 33.
St. Joseph, with two flight champions, tied with East Grand Rapids for third (20 points) and Ada Forest Hills Eastern was fifth with 18.
The title chase was so close that after the doubles semifinals and before any singles semis finished, Cranbrook and Country Day were tied at 28 points each, prompting tournament director Paul Ballard to comment, “This is the first time I can remember that there were two perfect team scores by this time.”
Jacobson, the top seed who was Division 3 champ at No. 2 last year, defeated the second seed, Holland Christian senior Ryan Rhoades, 6-3, 6-4.
“I won on the seventh match point,” Jacobson said. “March 7 is my birthday, so I guess that’s kind of a lucky number.
“I knew in the back of my head my team needed me. It’s the team. It’s all about the team. That’s what I do it for.”
He said when he realized his match could be the clincher, “I was just like, get to net. That’s my game.
“I came to net and hit an overhead winner. That’s the best feeling in the world, being a state champion.”
Cranbrook coach Jeff Etterbeek said he wasn’t surprised Jacobson won the clincher.
“He’s been our anchor all year,” Etterbeek said. “He’s just a class act, a great player. It’s nice to have that in our stable, that thoroughbred in our stable.”
Etterbeek expected a tough tournament from Country Day.
“They beat us 5-3 in the dual, we beat them 5-3 in the Regional,” he said. “There were a lot of three sets so we knew it was going to be nip and tuck at the states.
“We were down the first set in all four doubles matches and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, man.’ The fact that we could win two of those meant everything.”
Country Day coach Brian DeVirgilio said it came down to nerves.
“The difference was just a couple matches here or there,” he said. “It was just a matter of nerves when you get down to it at the last minute.
“It’s just whoever can get a few more balls in the court. It’s so close right down the line. It’s just a matter of who can get a few more balls in at the end.”
Rhoades lost in the semifinals at No. 2 singles last year.
“Last year at 2 I had a good season but I had things to work on and that’s what I worked on to get better,” he said. “That resulted in me going up to No. 1 and making the finals instead of the semifinals.
“Today (Jacobson) got up 4-0 in the second set and that put a lot of pressure on me to get going. It’s kinda hard to come back from 4-0, especially on him because he’s a good player. I gave it all I had there and he still won. I tip my head to him.”
The No. 2 singles finals featured the only female, second-seeded St. Joseph senior Ahmeir Kyle, pulling out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Country Day freshman Nick Gruskin, the top seed, in the last match on court.
“He started playing a lot better in the second set and it was getting in my head,” Kyle said. “I just had to pull it together.
“I just stayed focused and had to get back to how I was playing in the first set. Just stay consistent and keep pressing.”
Kyle played on the boys team as a freshman, losing in the MHSAA Final at No. 4 singles. She said she opted to do so again this year so she can run track in the spring.
She said she has had no problems competing against boys, but “some of them, it gets to their ego, but most of them think it’s cool.”
Gruskin was devastated at not getting the point for his team.
“I just worked hard, tried to help my teammates as much as I could,” he said. “I couldn’t get it done today.
“I didn’t expect to be the last match on. She was really good, she really was. I gotta give credit to her. She hit the ball really hard. She made a lot of balls.”
DeVirgilio said having Gruskin get to the final was a surprise.
“He really played well for us all year,” the coach said. “He’s done really well. He’s had a great year at No. 2.
“We didn’t really expect him to be as successful as he has. He did a really, really good job.”
At No. 3 singles, freshman Will Page, the top seed, gave St. Joseph its second champ with a 6-1, 6-2 win over second-seeded Justin Luo, a Cranbrook sophomore.
Making his MHSAA Finals debut, Page said: “I expected to do pretty well in this tournament, but mainly I realized I had to get to the final and bring it home for my school.
“I just tried grinding out every point. Mainly I give it to God in that match, every point. I hit some great shots and I would say I just gave it to God in that match.”
Luo said he thinks Page was more prepared.
“I think he came out more ready than I was,” Luo said. “I was a little nervous; I was a little tight. I was hitting the ball short at the beginning.
“I was making too many errors. He stayed solid, hit the ball when he had to. I just wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t expect it.”
Luo said winning the team title this year was sweeter than last.
“Last year we kinda locked it up (winning the title with 38 points to Country Day’s 30). We were the best; there was no question.
“This year there were a lot of questions. This year we lost to DCD in the dual match. We barely pulled it out (Saturday).”
At No. 4 singles, Country Day’s top seed, Eric Wang, was leading 6-2, 2-3 when Cranbrook freshman Sohum Acharya, the second seed, retired after cramping.
“I didn’t want it to end this way, but I felt like he put out a good fight and I put out a good fight. It was a good match,” Wang said.
More surprising is that Wang was a reserve on the team last season.
“I felt like this year I really stepped up, and I’m really proud of how I performed,” he added. “The secret for me was putting a lot of time in the offseason. Also, determination and hard work and making sure that I wasn’t giving up on any points. I was going for the ball at all costs.”
Acharya said even the four bananas he ate didn’t help alleviate the leg cramps.
“I hope to use what I learned (in the tournament) and try to use it to get back here next year and hopefully win,” he said.
“I learned that sometimes you have to adjust your play style depending on how the other guy plays and, in my case, I had to be more consistent.”
The doubles finals were also hotly contested with loud cheers, hoots and hollers often erupting from the bleachers lining the back courts.
Cranbrook and Country Day fought for the title in every doubles final, with each school winning two.
At No. 1, Cranbrook’s top seeds, senior Michael Bian and junior Andrew Du, defeated second seeds, sophomore Rick Warnicke and junior Ryan Murakawa, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
At No. 2, Country Day’s top seeds, seniors Kavon Rahmani and Milind Rao defeated second seeds, junior Jacob Yellen and sophomore Joe Croskey, 7-5, 6-0.
At No. 3, Country Day’s second-seeded juniors Nate Thewes and Tommy Nardicchio upset top seeds, senior Blake Fisher and sophomore Nikhil Deenadayalu, 6-4, 6-2.
At No. 4, Cranbrook’s top seeds, junior Eshaan Kawira and sophomore Jack Trees, fought back after losing the first set, 1-6, to second seeds, junior Prathik Chukkapelli and sophomore Nick Sicilia, for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood’s Benji Jacobson returns a volley during a Saturday match at the Division 3 Final. (Middle) St. Joseph’s Ahmeir Kyle begins a serve during her championship win at No. 2 singles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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Final Match Decides UP D2 Champions
May 28, 2015
By Craig Remsburg
Special for Second Half
NEGAUNEE — It came down to the last match of the day.
Iron Mountain needed a win at No. 1 doubles to forge a tie with Westwood for the Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis title.
Coach Greg Stegall’s Mountaineers got what they wanted.
Iron Mountain’s Danny Willman and Jordan Wadge outlasted Munising’s Joel Werner and Nick Cercone in a grueling match, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, to compile 13 team points for a share of the division crown with defending champion Westwood.
“I’m really happy,” Stegall said. “We didn’t come in here as the favorite to win, but everything went well for us and other teams had some upsets.
“My No. 1 doubles had to win that match, my No. 4 doubles (Mark Koeschner and Jake LeFebre) winning was the biggest surprise and my No. 3 singles (Tyson Wadge) winning was huge for him. He had lost to his opponent (Brett Fredrickson of Westwood) twice this season and wasn’t looking forward to meeting him.”
The Mountaineers’ Willman said he and Wadge were “very consistent” in their match, save for the first set.
“(Munising) was returning everything and we knew we had to work harder,” Willman said.
Added Wadge: “Coach (Stegall) told us to take it slower, keep the ball in play and let them make mistakes.”
Like Iron Mountain, Westwood placed four flights in the finals. The Patriots won two of them.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” said Westwood coach Chris Jackson. “I didn’t know how things would pan out going in, but overall, the team did well.
“This was the most balanced division since I’ve been here (six years). Every flight had a definite favorite with no trend(s).
“Depth led us,” he added. “There was only one flight where we took a zero.”
Westwood has now won three of the last four division titles, two outright.
Jake Kerkela of Westwood captured the No. 4 singles crown, 6-1, 6-1, over Munising’s Jared Immel. It was the sophomore Kerkela’s first title in this, his first season, on the varsity.
“My serve was good today,” he said. “I tried to keep the ball alive and not get too crazy.”
Brandon Benda and Hunter Roose — who won last year’s No. 4 doubles championship — gave the Patriots their other triumph, at No. 3 doubles over West Iron County’s Kevin Ballinger and Tyler McCarthy, 6-3, 6-0.
“(West Iron) played the alleys well,” Roose said, “so we adjusted by moving toward the alleys more.”
Added Benda: “We took control in the second set. We placed our shots well, got to the net and spiked the ball.”
Claiming the No. 1 singles championship was Micah Heath of Gwinn. He beat Munising’s Joel Schramm, 6-3, 6-3; Schramm was trying to become the Mustangs’ third straight winner in the flight. Noah Ackerman had won two straight.
“From Day 1 (this season), my goal was to win the U.P.’s” Heath said Thursday. “I’ve been trying since my freshman year and now, I’ve reached my goal. This is icing on the cake.”
Heath said his strategy was to “be consistent and keep my head in the zone.”
“I get frustrated when things don’t go my way,” he said.
That wasn’t the case Thursday, as Heath overcame an early bout of nerves to largely control his match.
“I was a little nervous early, but then I hit a couple of points and some confidence set in,” he said.
“At the beginning of the second set, I won two straight games to go up 2-1, and the momentum started going my way.”
Gwinn coach Dan Turecky said Heath’s “control of the play” was the difference in the match.
“Micah was mentally tough and confident,” the coach said. “That was the difference in the match. I’m so proud of him.”
Said Munising coach Rod Gendron: “Micah’s the best player in the U.P. He played great today.”
Munising’s lone win came at No. 2 doubles, where Mikey Graves and Ian McInnis knocked off Jake Kierzek and Nathen Nelson of Westwood, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“We were down many times, but we stayed together,” Graves said. “We started playing with each other and not as individuals.
Added McInnis: “We weren’t really focused in the first set, but the last two sets, we were ready."
Munising placed four flights in the finals, but won just the one.
“I’m extremely happy with four flights in the finals,” Gendron commented. “My guys left it all on the court.”
Ishpeming picked up a win at No. 2 singles, where Cody Johnson beat Iron Mountain’s Luke Truscott, 6-2, 6-1.
“I was really nervous coming in,” Johnson said. “I started off slow, but took control the beginning of the second set. My serve has always been good.
“It’s crazy. (Winning a U.P. individual title) is not done very often at Ishpeming. It has been an exciting year.”
Said Ishpeming coach Erl Langness: “Cody has been consistent all year. Whether he wins or loses, he puts forth the same effort.”
Johnson has the distinction of participating in MHSAA Finals play in football, wrestling and tennis this school year.
"I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said.
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain's Tyson Wadge returns the ball to Westwood's Brett Fredrickson during the championship match at No. 3 singles at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final held at Negaunee High School on Thursday. Wadge prevailed, 6-0, 6-0. (Middle) Gwinn's Micah Heath earned the No. 1 singles flight championship at the U.P. Division 2 Final. (Photos by Elizabeth Bailey.)