Cranes Write Championship Finish Again
October 21, 2017
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – This year’s MHSAA Division 3 Boys Tennis Finals featured a familiar storyline and an equally familiar ending.
For the third straight season, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood came away with the Lower Peninsula Division 3 title – and for a third straight season the Cranes held off a familiar foe in longtime rival Detroit Country Day.
Led by outstanding singles players and clutch doubles play, top-ranked Cranbrook Kingswood totaled 36 points while Detroit Country Day placed second with 28. East Grand Rapids and Ada Forest Hills Eastern tied for third place with 20 points.
Cranbrook Kingswood did have a twist to this year’s winning plot. The Cranes were led by a new coach this season in Steve Herdoiza. Although in his first season with the boys, Herdoiza is no stranger to the tennis program as he has coached the Cranbrook Kingswood girls team the past four years.
“With this group of guys, I thought that winning a third state title was very attainable,” Herdoiza said. “I knew a lot of these guys. As a new coach it’s important that everyone buys into the system, and all these boys did. This is a team with a lot of depth and a lot of talent. When you put those two things together, and everyone is working hard, you can accomplish big things.”
Cranbrook Kingswood’s depth and talent proved key. Two years ago, the Cranes won the title by eight points over second-place Country Day, and last year the margin was just one point over the Yellowjackets. At the Regional leading up to this year’s Finals, Cranbrook Kingswood defeated Country Day, ranked second in LPD3, by two points.
Strong play in the singles flights proved a key for Cranbrook Kingswood. At No. 1 singles, senior Benji Jacobson came into the tournament as the top seed. A two-time individual Finals champion and last year’s winner at No. 1 singles, Jacobson claimed this year’s title with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Jack Dausman of Coopersville. Dausman was a familiar foe for Jacobson, as Jacobson defeated Dausman in last year’s semifinals.
After a slow start to the season, Jacobson came into the tournament on a roll the last few weeks.
“At the beginning of the year I struggled a little bit,” Jacobson said. “I changed my grip and it took a while to get used to it. A few weeks ago, it started to click and it made a big difference this year.”
Jacobson, who will continue his tennis career at Tulane University next season, capped his career at Cranbrook Kingswood as a three-time individual and three-time team Finals champion. While the individual titles are nice, the team title is by far more special for Jacobson.
“Winning the team title easily feels better,” Jacobson said. “For the past three months we’ve been on the court grinding and having fun off the court. These guys are like my brothers. We are more like a family, and winning three in a row is unbelievable.”
While Jacobson won his third individual singles title, his teammate, sophomore Lucas Bosch, claimed his first. Seeded first at No. 2 singles, Bosh defeated Ricky Warnicke, the second seed from Detroit Country Day, 6-4, 6-0.
“Words can’t describe this feeling,” Bosch said. “Being here last year helped me because I was not as nervous as last year. Winning the team title is great, especially for our seniors. This was their last matches in high school, and to send them out with a third title is amazing.”
Cranbrook Kingswood also came away with the championship at No. 3 singles. Justin Luo, the top seed, turned in an efficient performance in the finals with a 6-0, 6-0 win against second-seed Kody Harrington of Allegan.
At No. 4 singles, Detroit Country Day senior Eric Wang, the top seed, defeated a familiar foe in Cranbrook Kingswood’s Sohum Archarya. Wang held off Archarya 7-6 (7), 6-2 in a tight match.
“The first set was real close,” Wang said. “It went to a tie breaker and I won it 9-7, so it definitely was real close. It feels good to end my senior year with a win.”
In doubles play, Cranbrook Kingswood won at No. 2 as the top-seeded duo of Joseph Croskey and Nikhil Deenadayalu defeated Connor Smith and Kole Butterer of East Grand Rapids 6-4, 6-2.
Detroit Country Day claimed a pair of titles in double competition. At No. 3, Country Day’s team of Tom Nardicchio and Eric Liu held off Cranbrook Kingswood’s Eshaan Kawira and Jack Trees 7-5, 6-3.
At No. 4 doubles, the Country Day team of junior Nick Sicilia and senior Justin Lee defeated Cranbrook Kingswood’s Hayes Bradley and David Hermelin 7-6 (2), 6-4.
“To win the last match of your high school career is pretty awesome,” Lee said.
“It’s pretty special,” Sicilia said. “This is the third time we beat them this year. The first time it was 6-0, 6-3 and the second time it was 6-4, 6-1. This time the first set went to a tie breaker, so it was closer this time.”
One of the bigger surprises of the tournament came at No. 1 doubles, where Forest Hills Eastern’s Nick Hakken and Anish Premkumar, the three seed, defeated Cranbrook Kingswood top seeds Andrew Du and Jacob Yellen 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
“To finally win it is amazing,” Premkumar said. “It’s always been a goal of ours to win state.”
The win also helped Eastern finish in third place, the best finish the Hawks have ever posted at the Finals.
“We were just really focused,” Hakken said. “We had Country Day in the semifinals so we had to be real focused for that match also. To help the team to its best finish ever is really cool.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood celebrates its third straight LPD3 championship. (Middle) Anish Premkumar and Nick Hakken led Forest Hills Eastern to its highest Finals finish. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Return of Traditional Finals Format Joined by Return of Annual Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 14, 2021
What’s old is new again at the Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals, but with plenty of what we’re used to expected this weekend as well.
After a format switch to a head-to-head team championship tournament last year due to COVID-19 precautions, the traditional format has returned with team and individual qualifiers at four sites – Division 1 playing on Thursday and Friday and the other three divisions Friday and Saturday.
Many of the usual favorites are expected to push for championships again. Okemos is the top-ranked team in Division 2 after winning Division 1 a year ago, while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood is top-ranked and the reigning champion in Division 3. A number of other recent champs should be in the mixes again as well.
See below for a look at many of those contenders, and check out the MHSAA Website for brackets and more (Final rounds will be played at sites listed first below):
LP Division 1 at Kalamazoo College & Western Michigan University
Top-ranked: T-1. Bloomfield Hills, T-1. Troy, 3. Novi.
Bloomfield Hills and Troy have been tied for the top spot since the second set of rankings were posted in mid-September, and there are good stories accompanying both being in contention. Bloomfield Hills won outright or tied for the championship three of four seasons from 2015-18, while Troy’s only top-two finish came to the Black Hawks in 2017. Bloomfield Hills, Troy and Novi all won their Regionals, Novi against the toughest field finishing a point ahead of No. 8 Northville and eight points better than No. 9 Detroit Catholic Central. Bloomfield Hills and Troy did face off Sept. 9, with Troy winning 5-4 playing a fifth doubles flight, and Bloomfield Hills was first and Troy second at a quad Oct. 2.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks are seeded at seven flights with the top seeds at all four singles – Noah Roslin at No. 1, Daniel Stojanov at No. 2, Pierce Shaya at No. 3 and Aaron Rose at No. 4. Roslin advanced to the No. 1 semifinals last season and is the lone senior in the starting lineup – he has wins over the second and third seeds at his flight this season. Stojanov is one of only three juniors in the starting lineup, so Bloomfield HIlls could make a run at team championships over at least the next two seasons.
Troy: The Colts have found the same success as the Black Hawks but thanks to different strengths, with seven seniors and a junior anchoring the lineup and the top seeds at all four doubles flights – Andrew Wang and Nikhil Tatineni at No. 1, Srihari Ananthalwan and Aryan Gupta at No. 2, Pranav Bellad and Zach Saad at No. 3 and Dhruv Gupta and Rushil Kagithala at No. 4. Three singles flights also are seeded, including Haresh Anand second at No. 4 singles.
Novi: The Wildcats also have seven seeded flights, led by second seeds Cole Anderson at No. 2 singles and Rohit Saripelle and Nikhil Daniel at No. 4 doubles. Novi had four flight champions at its strong Regional and will be making a run at its first team Finals title since sharing with Bloomfield Hills in 2015.
Dimitri Moriarty, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice: After a solid season at No. 2 singles last fall, Moriarty moved up to No. 1 and is 16-4 and seeded second as a junior.
Anthony Van Oyen, Ann Arbor Skyline: Van Oyen, also a junior, made the No. 1 singles bracket in 2020 as the eighth seed and returns to the Finals this weekend third at No. 1 singles.
LP Division 2 at Hope College and Holland Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Okemos, 2. Mattawan, 3. Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Okemos is back in Division 2 after winning last season’s Division 1 team championship, which combined with Division 2 titles in 2017 and 2018 was the program’s third in four years. Mattawan is seeking its first Finals championship in this sport and was the Division 2 team runner-up a year ago, while Jesuit twice has been runner-up – most recently in 2019 – and also is seeking its first Finals championship. These three in order have been ranked the top three since the Sept. 20 poll.
Okemos: Despite almost an entirely new lineup from last year’s team championship run, Okemos has five flights seeded and all four singles seeded first or second. Ethan Portnoy is seeded second at No. 1 singles after playing No. 2 doubles last season as a freshman, and junior George Fan is the top seed at No. 2 singles and played No. 4 a year ago. Hannah Letzer is the second seed at No. 3, and Suchir Nagisetty is the top seed at No. 4.
Mattawan: The Wildcats are chasing a historic finish with a strong singles lineup featuring three of the team’s four seeded flights. Luke Hodgman at No. 2 and Andrew Williams at No. 4 singles are both third seeded, as is the No. 2 doubles pair of Garrett Cheng and Brady Sullivan.
Detroit U-D Jesuit: Doubles drove the team’s runner-up finish in 2019, and that could be the scenario again this weekend. Five seeded flights total are expected to lead the Cubs into contention, with Sam Owens and Stephen Cibulas the top-seeded pair at No. 4 doubles and Alex Kuplicki and Luke Padilla the second seed at No. 2.
Sammy Yin, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The junior singles standout is seeded first at No. 1 after reaching the semifinals last season, and he has wins over the next two seeded players at his flight.
Connor Stafford, Grosse Pointe South: Stafford, also a junior, carries the third seed at No. 1 into this weekend and has played the top flight all three seasons.
LP Division 3 at Midland Tennis Center and Midland High School
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Ann Arbor Greenhills.
These three programs have taken turns winning the Division 3 title going back to 2008, with Greenhills entering the mix in 2019 after dominating Division 4 previously. Cranbrook Kingswood won last season’s Division 3 team title, with Greenhills the runner-up, and Greenhills was the 2019 champion with Cranbrook and Country Day tying for second place.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes moved into the top spot in the rankings this week after winning a Regional that included No. 6 St. Clair. All eight flights are seeded, including one top seed and five second seeds. No. 3 doubles pair Ryan Michaels and Andrew Fink earned that top spot, while Owen DeMuth at No. 1 singles, Patrick Tiwari at No. 3 and Caden Che at No. 4 are all second-seeded as are No. 2 doubles Jacob Coburn and Sebs Taubman and No. 4 Aryan Tiwari and Praneel Pillarisetty. DeMuth was the No. 1 singles runner-up last season.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets have finished Finals runners-up five of the last six seasons since concluding a four-year championship run in 2014, and they were Regional runners-up to Greenhills by two points last week. All eight flights are seeded as well, with doubles particularly powerful. No. 2 pair Aiden Khaghany and Clay Hartje and No. 4 Ramzi Nassif and Aayush Dagar are top seeds, and No. 1 Alex Pollak and Petros Kalabat and No. 3 Nick Kalkanis and Charlie Holman are second seeds. Hartje and Khaghany won No. 3 doubles in 2019.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons went from No. 1 to No. 3 in the team rankings despite the Regional win mentioned above, but they’ll no doubt remain in this weekend’s mix with seven seeded flights – including the top seeds at all four singles. Senior Mert Oral is the two-time reigning champion at No. 1 singles, with Rishi Verma slotted No. 2, Chakor Rajendra at No. 3 and Kabir Rajendra at No. 4. Verma won at No. 3 and Chakhor Rajendra at No. 4 in 2019.
Simon Volkema, Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles senior is the third seed at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals at the top flight last season.
Derek Distelrath, St. Clair: Also a senior, Distelrath is the fourth seed at No. 1 after also making the semifinals in 2020. He was the No. 1 singles runner-up in 2019.
Tanner Warners & Dream Kwon, Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles have three doubles pairs made up of seniors, and Warners and Kwon are the top seed at No. 1. Warners was part of the No. 1 runner-up with a different partner in 2019.
LP Division 4 at University of Michigan & Ann Arbor Pioneer
Top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 3. Hudsonville Unity Christian.
These three have been the top three in the rankings all season, and in this order since the second poll was posted. University Liggett is the reigning team champion and has claimed three of the last five Division 4 titles with victories as well in 2016 and 2017. St. Francis is a frequent contender and seeking its first championship, having come in runner-up for the first time in 2018. Unity Christian was the team runner-up a year ago, also its highest Finals finish.
Traverse City St. Francis: A singles lineup full of underclassmen and a doubles lineup packed with seven seniors or juniors will attempt to take the Gladiators the final step for the first time. All eight flights are seeded and six are top seeds: Tristan Bonanni at No. 2 singles, Owen Jackson at No. 3 and Chris Bobrowski at No. 4; and Cody Richards and Ben Schmude at No. 1 doubles, Charlie King and Derek Berta at No. 3 and Tommy Puetz and Eli Schmude at No. 4. Richards was the No. 3 singles champion in 2019, and Schmude was part of the champion No. 1 doubles that fall with a different partner.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights graduated a four-time No. 1 singles champion, but still have plenty of contenders among eight seeded flights. Sebastian Courtright at No. 2 singles and Gerry Sherer at No. 4 carry second seeds into the weekend; Sherer was the No. 4 runner-up in 2019.
Hudsonville Unity Christian: Five of the team’s six seeded flights are fourth-seeded or higher. Ben Timmermans at No. 4 singles leads the way with a second seed, and Ryan Broek is the fourth seed at No. 1 singles after entering as the fifth seed a year ago.
Andrew Solarewicz, Grand Rapids West Catholic: A senior and individual qualifier, Solarewicz is the top-flight favorite carrying the top seed after finishing runner-up at No. 1 a year ago.
Alberto Gonzalez-Perez, Grand Rapids South Christian: Gonzalez-Perez, a junior, is the top player for No. 7 South Christian and earned the fourth seed at No. 1 singles after claiming a Regional title without losing a set.
PHOTO Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Mert Oral steps into a backhand during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Team Final. Click for more from High School Sports Scene.