FHN Earns 3rd Finals Championship in 4 Seasons, Dow's King Crowned Again
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
KALAMAZOO – Another Lower Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis championship trophy will be added to the showcase at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
After finishing as Finals runners-up two of the last three seasons, Steve Olson's Huskies totaled 26 points to win Saturday at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
Forest Hills Northern narrowly edged co-runners-up Midland Dow and Birmingham Seaholm, which tied at 24 points followed by Byron Center and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in fourth place with 21 and Mattawan sixth with 12 points.
Olson, who took over last year as head coach replacing the legendary Dave Sukup, guided Forest Hills Northern to its first Finals title since 2020. The Huskies had finished runners-up in 2021 and 2022.
"Tennis is a big sport at our school. We put a lot of time into this sport ,and we take it very seriously,” Olson said. “Our goal every season is to win a state championship, but there are a lot of great teams out there that make that a tough thing to do. We knew the tournament was going to be a close one.”
Olson pointed to the success of the Huskies' doubles flights as critical. All four of made the semifinal round.
"Our success in doubles was huge. Our No. 4 doubles team of Markus Bernard and Will Hernly were unseeded and played above that. I'm very proud of how they stepped up for us," Olson said.
Junior Sebastian Madlangbayan was the only Forest Hills Northern player to win his respective flight. Madlangbayan captured the crown at No. 2 singles with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win over Dylan Hodgman from Mattawan.
"There were a lot of ups and downs. I was just focused on opening up the angles on the court against him (Hodgman),” Madlangbayan said. “I can control court position with my forehand and give myself the chance to volley at the net."
Olson praised Madlangbayan's performance.
"Sebastian came in as the top seed, and he had some tight moments but he really dominated this tournament. But the reality is that our whole team contributed. To have six flights reach the semifinals, get those first-round byes and win a lot of early-round matches were also big for us," Olsen said. "We are senior and freshman heavy, but we have a good nucleus returning to build upon in the future."
Midland Dow senior Austin King completed his season unbeaten at 38-0 after earning the No. 1 singles crown with his 6-4, 7-5 win over Portage Central sophomore Sam Schumacher. King breezed through his morning semifinal with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nolan Ackerman of Mattawan.
"I had already played (Schumacher) a couple times this year, so I knew he'd be one of my tougher opponents. I made sure I got a good warmup in before I got out there, but it turned out to be quite a battle. My ability to not give up was key. I was down twice today, once in each set, so I knew I could do this, especially after winning the title last year," said King, who despite receiving Division I full-ride scholarship offers from several schools, including Villanova, has decided to forgo playing at the next level to concentrate on his pre-medical studies at Michigan or Michigan State.
Schumacher complimented King on his performance.
"It just means a great deal to me to be able to share the court with a player like Austin. I have to give him a ton of credit. I really hung in there and played my best match of the season," Schumacher said.
North Farmington senior Jack Weingarden came into the tournament unseeded, but won the No. 3 singles flight on a 5-3 injury default by Mattawan's Connor Schultz in the first set. Weingarden had defeated Forest Hills northern freshman Vikram Krishnan in the semifinals 6-4, 6-3.
"My consistency helped me get through the semifinals and finals. I was definitely playing my best tennis of the season this weekend," Weingarden said.
Seaholm fourth seed Alex Ting topped Dow's Siddarth Venkatesan 6-2, 6-3 to win at No. 4 singles.
"My semifinals match went almost three hours. I started cramping up in both my legs, but I persevered through it. My team and family supported me through the whole day, and that really helps my mindset," Ting said.
Forest Hills Central's Willem Knoester and his partner Austin Rowland knocked off Forest Hills Northern's tandem of Tanav Shenov and Matthew Chan in the No. 1 doubles finale 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, FHC's Hayden Tanner and Joseph Song defeated Byron Center's duo of Rylan Vandenberger and Casey Schans 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).
Seaholm's No. 3 tandem of Britton Leo and Aarvan Senthilvanan disposed of FHC’s No. 3 tandem of James Notarnicola and Sawyer Jordan in the finals 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. The No. 4 doubles crown was also claimed by Seaholm's tandem of Connor Champion and Andrew Wachowicz with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Forest Hills Northern's Benard and Hernly.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland Dow's Austin King hits a backhand during an early No. 1 singles match Friday at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) Forest Hills Northern's Vikram Krishnan sends a forehand at No. 3 singles. (Below) North Farmington's Jack Weingarden volleys during his first match at No. 3 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Cranbrook Kingswood Wins 6 Flights to Regain LPD3 Championship Reign
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2023
KALAMAZOO – By winning six of the eight flights, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood can once again call itself the Michigan Lower Peninsula Division 3 boys tennis champion.
One year after relinquishing its title to Ann Arbor Greenhills, Cranbrook totaled 37 points to finish first Saturday in completing the two-day tournament at Kalamazoo College.
Detroit Country Day took the runner-up honor with 28 followed by East Grand Rapids (20), Holland Christian (17) and St. Joseph (15) to round out the top five.
The top-ranked Cranes earned titles at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles and won three of the four doubles flights to clinch their second team championship in three seasons.
"Last year's Finals came down to the wire, and Greenhills ended up getting us by a point. That was an absolute gut-wrencher,” said Cranbrook head coach Steve Herdoiza. “All the flights we lost last year were ones we came back and won this time. I'm really proud of our boys. All of them found a way to play their best tennis on the last day of the season when it mattered the most."
After Friday's matches were suspended around midnight, play resumed at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with No. 3 and No. 4 singles at the Portage YMCA and a few doubles matches at Stowe Stadium on the K-College campus.
Rain, however, chased all those flights playing outdoors back inside shortly after to the Markin Racquet Center for the remainder of the day.
Play in all four singles flights picked up again Saturday in the quarterfinal round.
Top-seeded Saahitth Reddy, Detroit Country Day's junior and No. 1 singles player, outlasted Cranbrook junior Ryan Michaels 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the finals.
The match fell just a few minutes short of taking three hours to complete.
Reddy also defeated Michaels in straight sets in a regular-season dual between the two schools this fall.
Cranbrook won that match with Country Day 5-3.
There were moments in Saturday's match when it looked like Michaels would best Reddy this time around.
"Saahitth is a such a great player. You do what you can to win, and sometimes it just doesn't work out for you," Michaels said.
Michaels held a 4-1 lead at one point during the second set.
"I should've won that set comfortably. We were holding serve and then I broke to love. A real turning point for him in the third was when he broke me and then he had serve after going up 4-3," Michaels added.
Reddy said it was the emotional support of his teammates during the match that carried him through.
"I just didn't want to give up. When my teammates started cheering me on, I kind've got emotional and that usually helps me. My forehand and down-the-line shots are my biggest weapons. (Michaels) was playing really well in that third set, so I just had to stick it out," Reddy said.
Herdoiza commended Michaels for his effort.
"The heart and tenacity that he showed is Ryan in a nutshell. You are never going to find an ounce of effort missing from that young man's game. It's all just will power and desire," Herdoiza said.
Cranbrook senior Caden Che defeated top-seeded Dan Marin from Country Day 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2.
Top-seeded Jace Bernard from Cranbrook lived up to his pre-tournament seed with a 6-3, 6-4, win over East Grand Rapids' Mikey Beusse in the No. 3 finale.
No. 1 seeded junior Amaan Khan from Cranbrook downed St. Joseph freshman Eeshaan Ale 6-2, 6-1 in the final at No. 4 singles.
Herdoiza also praised Khan's performance.
"I haven't seen Amaan's stats or anything yet, but he might've had one of the more dominant seasons. He wasn't just winning matches, but in some of those he was giving up only 10 points or less. That's real dominance," Herdoiza said.
Devin Kozal and Jace Konwinski from Ada Forest Hills Eastern defeated Country Day's No. 1 doubles unit of Achyut Reddy and Charlie Khaghany 6-3, 6-3.
"Country Day had good ground strokes and are kind've shifty, but Devin and I stuck together and got it done," Konwinski said.
Kozal and Konwinksi, who are cousins and live next door to one another, controlled the net throughout the match.
"We do drills in practice where our No. 1 and No. 2 singles players hit with us, and that really helps us prepare for matches like these," Kozal said.
Cranbrook sophomores Cole Kirschenbaum and Kenneth Hu pulled off a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 finals win over East Grand Rapids' No. 2 tandem of Charlie Lentz and Luke Lentz. The Cranes' No. 3 doubles unit of freshman Ryan VanDyke and senior Ben Stevenson were champions at No. 3 doubles. Stevenson and VanDyke were victorious over Country Day's Thomas Bresson and John McKany 6-1, 6-3.
"In the first set we played very smart by getting to short balls, the net and by finishing off points," Stevenson said.
VanDyke felt it was him and Stevenson's aggression from the onset of the match that was the difference.
"I thought we attacked early and asserted our dominance at the net," VanDyke said.
Cranbrook seniors Ketan Swami and Kevin Guo defeated Joe Mulder and Tommy Rosmarin from East Grand Rapids 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 doubles.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)