Different Team, Same Result for Country Day

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

October 19, 2013

KALAMAZOO — Behind his blistering serve, senior Garrett Goldman accomplished a tennis hat trick at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championships, moved inside at Kalamazoo College’s Markin Racquet Center because of rain Saturday.

The East Grand Rapids senior won an MHSAA title at No. 1 singles, clinched second place for his team and kept Detroit Country Day from scoring a perfect 40 points.

Paul Ballard, tournament chairman, said this was an unusually competitive tournament.

“We had three teams with nearly perfect scores: Detroit Country Day up through the semifinals was perfect, East Grand Rapids and St. Joe were one point each from perfect,” he said. “It made for a very tight race up at the top.”

Goldman’s win gave EGR 27 points, one better than St. Joseph. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood was fourth with 20 points.

With just three seniors on the championship team, coach Josh Molino said he’s excited for the future of Country Day tennis.

“Last year, we had a senior-loaded team that did a phenomenal job,” Molino said. “We were one set away from getting 40 (points). This season, it’s a different team: a lot of new guys, a lot of young guys. 

“These guys play in the offseason. Each year we come back with a new set of goals of getting better each practice. I think that translates to getting better each match, and hopefully, we’re playing the best tennis come October toward the state tournament.”

The top-seeded Goldman, who defeated Country Day senior Rishi Patel, the third seed, 7-5, 6-4, knew his win would give his team sole possession of second place.

“I did know and that’s why I tried my best,” Goldman said. “I went out there expecting a tough match and I played my heart out and I got it done.

“I played him earlier in the season in a meet in EGR and won 6-2, 6-4. It did give me some confidence. I also beat (second seed Thomas Bellio, St. Joe); he played in the semis, so I went into this tournament pretty confident, expecting to win.”

Goldman took his first lead of the second set at 4-3.

“I sort of came to the realization that I needed to win and I needed to close it out,” he said. “I wasn’t about to let it go to a third set. I tried my hardest.”

Patel, who moved up from No. 3 singles last year, said he’s never faced a serve as hard as Goldman’s.

“He was probably serving above 110 mph and when it went in, it was hard to get back,” Patel said. “It was pretty hard to return indoors.

“It made a little bit of a difference (playing indoors) just because he hits a bigger ball than me. Outdoors, I can use the wind to my advantage and play more defense.”

Although Patel has two MHSAA titles at No. 3 singles, “This (third consecutive team championship) is more important, even though I lost, because I’m a senior.”

Molino credits Patel with the team’s success.

“He stepped up and really led this group of young guys,” the coach said. “We filled six or seven guys into the lineup and we worked hard all year. We had a goal of winning state again.”

EGR junior Grant Bailey gave Country Day sophomore Noah Karoub a battle at No. 2 singles with Karoub, the top seed, winning 7-5, 6-4, in one of the last matches on court.

“I liked being one of the last (on court),” Karoub said. “The (very loud) crowd is really important. It gives you confidence and makes you play better. I was grinding it out.”

Bailey said it was the second time this season he’s lost to Karoub. The first time was in a third-set tiebreak.

“Noah’s a great player,” Bailey said. “Congrats to him. I know he’s just going to scrap it out. I don’t think he missed a ball the whole match.

Bailey was playing on the court next to Goldman.

“I was watching Garrett’s match the whole time,” Bailey said. “I’m so happy for him. The team did fine. I’m really excited for us.”

Being one of the final matches, “I had the whole place watching,” an exuberant Bailey said after learning his team finished second. “Garrett just won, so we have the best player in the state. I’ve got the whole team cheering me on. It was a great experience.

“I love my team, what can I say. I’m really proud of our doubles. They were a big question mark coming in and they stepped up.”

EGR coach Mickey Mikesell had no idea his team finished second.

“I don’t follow that stuff,” he said. “I get out here in the trenches and watch the matches. I don’t really sit back there and count too much because I’d rather stay focused on these guys.

“Garrett is a personal student of mine at MVP, Grand Rapids, so it’s a pretty special day for me as his high school coach and his personal coach.”

Mikesell said his team is designed for tournament play.

“For example, we played Cranbrook earlier and lost three matches to five,” he said. “We played St. Joseph earlier and lost two matches to six.

“We’re all good teams, but from top to bottom, we have a lot of depth. And when you go to tournament play, you can have success that way.”

At No. 3 singles, second-seeded Jakob Gahn, a Country Day sophomore, defeated St. Joseph’s top seed, Kenny Garstecki, 7-6(4), 6-1.

“(Gahn) could pull off the winning shot,” Garstecki, a senior, said. “Other players couldn’t hit that winning shot. It’s just inches that separate wins from losses. In the first set, it was a tiebreaker, so it was pretty tight. He just played a little bit better in that tiebreaker.”

Brendan Childress and Andrew Joslyn, the top seeds on Country Day’s No. 4 doubles team, defeated second seeds Steven Meng and Alex Hubers, Cranbrook-Kingswood, 6-4, 6-3, to clinch the team title, even though they were the first finals match to finish.

Gahn said knowing the team already clinched didn’t make a difference in the way he played.

“Both things are important: the team victory and the individual victory,” he said. “I feel good that we won as a team and I feel good that I won as an individual.

“(Garstecki) played some great tennis. I feel like I was more consistent and more aggressive in the second. I came to the net more. In the first set, I was too passive and let him dictate the point, which he did remarkably well, as I learned.”

A pair of freshmen battled it out at No. 4 singles with top-seeded Davis Wong, Country Day, defeating No. 2 Ahmeir Kyle, St. Joseph, 6-0, 6-4.

Wong said he knew a week before that he could be facing a girl in the final.

“I know she’s a good player,” he said. “I looked up her records and she has really good statistics. I knew coming in, it would be a hard match whoever I played in the finals.

“In the second set, her game rose a lot and we had a battle. She played really well. She changed up her tactics and I just had to adapt to them.”

Garstecki said Kyle is a good addition to the team.

“She’s really good,” he said. “It’s good to play against her (in practice). She hits the ball really hard.”

Said St. Joe coach Pat Hoffman:  “Ahmeir has played in our summer program for years and has been on USTA teams, so she seemed to be a natural fit.”

Kyle didn’t lose a set until the finals.

“I was giving away points in the first set,” she said. “In the second set I started serving and volleying more and I was a little more consistent.”

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: Detroit Country Day doubles player Blake Burstein (left), coach Josh Molino (center) and No. 1 singles player Rishi Patel pose with their Division 3 championship trophy. (Photo courtesy of Detroit Country Day boys tennis.)

Negaunee, Olivier Cap 4-Year Title Runs

May 30, 2019

By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half

KINGSFORD - Negaunee won its fourth straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals trophy Wednesday, but Marquette's Alec Olivier also left quite a legacy.

Olivier finished his high school tennis career with an unblemished 63-0 record and capped it with his fourth UP title at No. 1 singles.

While going undefeated through high school wasn't a goal when Olivier started out as a freshman, he said, the quest to maintain a perfect record brought more pressure as he played over the seasons.

"I'm happy it's over. Very stressful trying to go undefeated my whole career," Olivier said. "Really glad I was able to stay undefeated. I think my first year I was the only person to make it in the finals. Now we've got five people in the finals. Really looking forward to what comes of Marquette tennis."

Negaunee took the team win with 21 points. The Miners won all but two flights. Olivier and teammate Benjamin Sternschuss were the only ones to thwart the Miners in the finals.

Kingsford's Tyler Beauchamp and Reece Fortner nearly thwarted Negaunee at No. 1 doubles.

Down by two points in the second set, the Miners duo of Jakson Sager and Drew Lindberg rallied back to win 6-2, 7-5. The comeback underscored Negaunee's ability to overcome adversity to win its fourth consecutive UP title and eighth of the last 10.

"It's a belief. I think the biggest time that's evident is when you end up in a pressure situation," Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari said of the team's resilience. "If it's 5-4 or if you end up getting into a third set, you see people do it before or if you've done it before yourself, you don't feel the pressure – you can apply the pressure."

Saari said the team's winning culture has centered on a team-first approach – a win in any flight is embraced by each player in every flight.

"We understand that most seasons we come in there's a pretty sizable target on our back," Saari said. "These kids, they kind of embrace that challenge and understand the tradition they've built to pass the game on to the next group that comes in. Back from the first day of practice, this is always one of the goals that we set. They work hard day in and day out and support each other. They definitely do it as a team sport. That's always the unique side of it is they embrace each other’s success, and that's what's most neat to be a part of."

Kingsford head coach Sarah Massie said she anticipated a strong bout at No. 1 doubles.

"Coming in we were the underdog because we had lost to them two times earlier this season," she said. "Winning (the Great Northern Conference tournament) last week, I was hoping we could pull it off. Negaunee has such a solid one doubles team, I knew it was going to be tough no matter which way it went. Last time we played them it went to three sets. We were right there with them."

Asked what's different about his tennis game in his senior year compared to his freshman year, Olivier ran his fingers through his beard.

"I've got a lot longer beard," he said with a smile. "I'm definitely a lot more mature. I've got a much better understanding of tennis. Playing a lot of matches you get a good understanding of how the game works and how your points play."

Marquette head coach Charlie Drury said Olivier's performance Wednesday typified his career. He ended with a straight-set win over Negaunee’s No. 1.

"Playing at No. 1 you're always facing the best players," Drury said. "To be able to do it for four years is just a remarkable feat. I don't think anyone has done that, at least not in the last 50 years that I'm aware. Alec's been solid. He's had a lot of pressure to keep that record going. He's done just a tremendous job and (I) couldn't be more proud of him."

Drury said he also liked his team's heady performance against Negaunee's depth.

"Couldn't be more pleased with the guys," Drury said. "I felt as though we were gaining ground going into this tournament. I really think that our guys learned something today to compete with a good team like Negaunee. You've gotta work hard, and today they really did. Negaunee edged us out, but they deserve the win."

Click for full finals flight results.

PHOTOS: (Top) A Negaunee player returns a volley during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Marquette’s Alec Olivier gets set to send back a shot during his run to the No. 1 singles championship. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)