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.

Forest Hills Northern's Vikram Krishnan sends a forehand at No. 3 singles."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.

North Farmington's Jack Weingarden volleys during his first match at No. 3 singles. "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.

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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.)

Greenhills, Cranbrook Singles Ace Finish Championship Climbs

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

October 15, 2022

MASON — Just like he had the last two years, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior Owen DeMuth advanced to the No. 1 singles championship match Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals, where on the opposite side was the top seed from Ann Arbor Greenhills.

The only difference is that this time it was a different top seed. 

Instead of current University of Michigan player and last year’s Mr. Tennis Award winner Mert Oral, this time the opponent was Greenhills senior Chakor Rajendra. 

DeMuth had lost to Oral the last two years, but didn’t want to think about those defeats against Rajendra as he tried to make the third time the charm. 

“I wanted to stay in the moment and enjoy it,” DeMuth said. “This being my last high school tennis match ever, I just try to stay in the moment and not think about that.”

Not only did DeMuth stay in the moment during the match, but he got to celebrate a championship moment when it was over after beating Rajendra 6-1, 6-4. 

DeMuth was seeded second after losing two of three matches to Rajendra during the regular season, which created a bit of motivation.

Cranbrook Kingswood tennis“Just played with an underdog mentality,” said DeMuth, who will play in college at Georgia Tech. “Knowing I was going to have to work for it, and it wasn’t going to be handed to me.”

Cranbrook coach Steve Herdoiza said DeMuth did a good job of making suggested adjustments for what was the fourth meeting of the season with Rajendra, but he didn’t want to get too much into specifics as to what those adjustments were.

“I can’t give away all the secrets,” Herdoiza said. “But I think he just got very clear and decisive on the strategy he wanted to use.”

While DeMuth celebrated the individual title at No. 1 singles, Rajendra and the rest of Greenhills did get the final laugh in the team portion. 

Greenhills won its first Finals championship since 2019 by scoring 35 points, finishing two points ahead of runner-up Cranbrook. Detroit Country Day was third with 23 points. 

After winning it all in 2019, Greenhills was second in 2020 and third last year, and those experiences helped beyond measure for a team with seven seniors. 

“This felt good,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said. “We’ve been there in that situation, so this time when they got in a similar situation, they were icy and ready to go. They pulled through and got it done.” 

Greenhills showcased its depth in winning the title, having finalists in seven of the eight flights. 

Rishi Verma at No. 2 singles, the team of Ismael Metwally and Lucas Nor at No. 1 doubles, the tandem of Arjun Prabhakar and Dylan Carvette at No. 3 doubles, and the team of Charles Branch and Ajay Purohit at No. 4 doubles all won flight championships for the Gryphons. 

“That’s what it takes to beat good teams,” Gajar said. “It’s to have a complete lineup. We did, and they all delivered. Every point mattered, and we got what we needed from them.”

The other flight winners were Clay Hartje of Detroit Country Day at No. 3 singles, Amaan Khan of Cranbrook at No. 4 singles, and Cranbrook’s team of Andrew Fink and Jace Bernard at No. 1 doubles. 

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PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.