Finals Preview: Pushing the Powers
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 18, 2012
Midland Dow has won three straight MHSAA tennis championships. Ann Arbor Greenhills has won four. And Detroit Country Day has finished among the top two in each of the last four seasons.
To find them as favorites again at this weekend's Lower Peninsula Finals is no surprise. But there could be a few.
Novi has never won an MHSAA team tennis title, but is ranked No. 1 in Division 1. And St. Joseph, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Portage Central are all looking to get back into the championship mix.
Click for links to Finals qualifiers in all four divisions. See below for some of what to expect at every tournament this weekend, and come back Saturday evening and Sunday for coverage from all four Finals.
Division 1 at Midland Community Tennis Center
Neither the top-ranked team going in nor the team with the reigning individual champion have won an MHSAA team title – which could mean an interesting shake-up at the top.
Novi: With every flight at least a number five seed, and five flights seeded No. 1, Novi is both considered the favorite and set up for contention. The Wildcats won a Regional featuring No. 4 Northville and 2010 champion Detroit Catholic Central.
Birmingham Brother Rice: The Warriors finished second by four points last season and last won in 2009, but come in with seeds at every flight but one and three of those top seeds. The only player not seeded for Brother Rice is No. 1 singles player Gunnar Peery, but he’s the reigning MHSAA champion at No. 2. Reigning No. 3 doubles champs Joey Hildebrand and George Hamaty also are back this weekend, but split up – Hamaty is at No. 2 with a new partner.
Ann Arbor Huron: The River Rats are always in the Division 1 conversation, with two titles and a runner-up finish over the last four seasons. They are the reigning champions and seeded in every flight – with five No. 2 seeds and none lower than No. 4.
Individuals of note: Northville’s Tyler Gardiner is the reigning No. 1 singles champion and seeded No. 1 in that flight. But Utica Eisenhower’s Ed Covalschi also is nationally recognized, and comes in as the second seed.
Division 2 at Holly/Fenton
This division has belonged to Midland Dow the last three seasons, and the Chargers are ranked No. 1 again after faring well this season against many of the top teams regardless of division.
Midland Dow: The reigning champions graduated the winningest player in MHSAA history in Jonathan Gurnee, but have seven top seeds including returning champions Austin Woody (No. 2 singles now, won at No. 3) and Juli Guerra (3 now, won at 4). Reigning No. 2 doubles champs Jason Chang and David Goslin also are back, with Chang playing No. 1 this weekend.
Portage Central: The Mustangs are seeking their first MHSAA championship since splitting the title in spring 2007, the last season before boys tennis moved to fall. They’re paced at the top by top-seeded No. 1 singles player Billy Heckman. He’s one of seven seeded flights, with three coming in as No. 2 seeds.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The Rangers finished runners-up last season and come in ranked No. 3. They’re seeded at all but No. 4 doubles – but that pair includes Joey McClure, who teamed with Greg Andrews to win the No. 3 doubles championship in 2011. Andrews is playing No. 1 doubles this weekend.
Individuals of note: Kalamazoo Loy Norrix’s Davis Crocker is the reigning champion and seeded second after falling to Portage Central’s Heckman at the Regional. Okemos’ Elan Dantus was part of the No. 1 doubles champion last season and is playing No. 1 singles. Reigning No. 4 doubles champions Andrew Murtland and Rob Chapekis of North Farmington are playing No. 1 doubles this weekend.
Division 3 at Holland Christian
Detroit Country Day has finished among the top two in this division nine of the last 10 seasons and is ranked No. 1 again heading into these Finals.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellow Jackets earned the top seed at every flight for this weekend. Rishi Patel will attempt to repeat as the champion at No. 3 singles, and four doubles players who were part of three championship pairs are back as well but with different partners. Sven Kranz was the No. 1 singles runner-up last season, and is playing No. 2 this weekend with teammate Max Fliegner – considered one of the top players his age in the nation – seeded first at No. 1.
St. Joseph: The reigning runner-up is lined up for another run with seven No. 2 seeds and a No. 3. Both members of the reigning No. 4 doubles champion, Sam Singler and Jared Kuntz, are back but at higher flights. St. Joseph last won the team title in fall 2007.
East Grand Rapids: The Pioneers are ranked No. 3 and seeking their first top-two finish since winning the 2007 spring championship and then finishing runner-up that fall. Garrett Goldman won the No. 2 singles title last season and is seeded third at No. 1. East Grand Rapids is seeded in all but one flight.
Division 4 at Kalamazoo College
Ann Arbor Greenhills is in the midst of a dynasty with four straight titles and five over the last six seasons. That only non-championship season, fall 2007, Greenhills finished second. Seven of the top 10 ranked teams have never won an MHSAA title.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons have six No. 1 seeds this weekend – three for singles and three for doubles. Reigning doubles champions Adhi Rajaprabhakaran (No. 3) and Nick Sandhu (No. 4) are paired up this fall and the top seed at No. 2.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights are ranked No. 2 and going for their first top-two finish since sharing the championship in 2002. They are seeded at four flights, with three of those coming in doubles.
Ludington: The Orioles have broken in among the contenders with some impressive finishes this season including wins over University Liggett and No. 6 Almont. Ludington is ranked No. 3 and has seeded players at Nos. 2-4 singles.
Individuals of note: Players from the Capital Area Activities Conference White have claimed the last two No. 1 singles championships, and hold the top three seeds this weekend: Williamston’s Michael Sienko is the first seed, followed by Portland’s Chance Conley and Lansing Catholic’s Matt Heeder with the third. Conley beat Sienko 6-4, 6-2 in last season’s championship match. Sienko won the No. 2 singles title as a freshman in 2009.
PHOTO: Ortonville-Brandon's Spencer Navarre, playing a match earlier this season, will lead his team into the Division 2 Final at Holly and Fenton. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Chargers 'Family' Runs Streak to 5
October 19, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
Many teams talk about their family atmosphere. The Midland Dow boys tennis team lives it.
Dow’s family approach was on display at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Friday and Saturday at Hope College in Holland as the Chargers aimed for a fifth consecutive team title. After the final ball was served Saturday afternoon, Dow players had captured six of eight flights en route to a dominating performance.
Dow claimed the title in impressive fashion as along with six champions it had players in seven of eight flight finals. Dow totaled 37 points, 13 more than second-place Detroit U-D Jesuit; while third-place Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern scored 23 points.
“The five straight titles is not about anything the coach does,” Midland Dow coach Terry Schwartzkopf said. “We do it as a community. The players, the coaches, the parents, we are all invested in each other.
“These guys are back in my room after graduation. They are friends outside of school. They even have their own fantasy football league. The parents all know each other. That is the key to our success.”
The Chargers also have some outstanding individuals. Among the best this season was a pair of seniors who each won their fourth individual title along with being part of four title teams. Julian Guerra capped his career by winning at No. 2 singles while Jason Chang teamed up with Vikram Shanker to win at No. 1 doubles.
Chang wrapped up his career by setting a career record for wins by a doubles player with 138. His partner, Shanker, finished second on the career doubles victory list with 132.
Chang and Shanker teamed up to defeat Timmy Hoffman and Marty Nagle from U-D Jesuit in two sets.
While Chang was pleased with the wins record, capturing a fourth straight team title was the main thought on his mind.
“My primary goal was for our team to win states,” Chang said. “This (win record) was just something that came along with it. The state title feels great. It is something we have been working for.”
Shanker, Chang’s partner, was in total agreement.
“It’s just amazing,” Shanker said. “We are great friends and to go out with another state championship is great. As seniors you want to go out on top.”
Shanker also pointed to the team’s family atmosphere as being key to the fifth straight title.
“We are just one big family,” Shanker said. “We train together the year round. Everyone turned it on this weekend. Our No. 3 doubles team didn’t have a perfect season but they won an amazing match.”
Dow’s No. 3 doubles team was made up of Seamus Bartlett and Daniel Mango and came into the tournament seeded second. Bartlett and Mango progressed to the final where they defeated Forest Hills Northern’s Ryan Roach and Daiki Adachi in three sets.
“It was just incredible,” Mango said. “We won the first set then we lost the second set. We got down in the third set but then we pulled through at the end. Our coach just gave us words of encouragement. We knew what we had to do. We gave it our all and we did it.”
“It just feels amazing,” Bartlett said. “We just kept our focus and played with great intensity.”
At No. 2 doubles Dow’s team of Patrick Eschbach and Colin Angell rolled to victory with a 6-0, 6-1 win against Parneet Gogireddy and Alex Winks of Forest Hills Northern.
“We just have tremendous chemistry,” Angell said. “We’ve only been a team for one year but we work well together.”
For Eschbach is was the second time he won a doubles title.
“Last year I did it at No. 3 doubles,” Eschbach said. “It was amazing to repeat.”
The only doubles title not won by Dow came at No. 4. That was where a pair of neighboring rivals from Forest Hills in suburban Grand Rapids hooked up with the title on the line.
The Forest Hills Central team of Mitch Timyan and Humzah Azeem defeated the Forest Hills Northern team of Nick Parente and Matt Zhao 6-4, 6-3.
“It feels real great,” Azeem said. “I’m just ecstatic. I’m not sure how to feel right now.”
The two teams were meeting for a fourth time this year with the Central duo having won two of the previous three matches.
“We lost at home to them about a month ago,” Azeem said. “Our intensity level just escalated from there.”
It was a first title for Timyan but he was not the first member of his family to win his final match.
“It feels amazing,” Timyan said. “It’s crazy because I saw my brother Austin win one four years ago. We just played our best and were at the top of our game.”
In singles action few players have been at the top of their games more than Kalamazoo Loy Norrix senior Davis Crocker, who captured his third straight title at No. 1 singles. Crocker defeated Dow sophomore William Kirkman 6-3, 6-1.
“This feels just as good as the first one,” Crocker said. “My goal the whole year was to win the third one. It’s just surreal. When I started I never expected to win one. To win a third one is just out of this world.”
For Guerra of Dow, he ended his career with four MHSAA titles to his credit. Guerra won the No. 2 singles title in two sets against Thomas Sheeren of U-D Jesuit. Guerra won titles at No. 4 singles as a freshman and sophomore and last year he won at No. 3 singles.
“It’s just great,” Guerra said. “I also want to thank my teammates. I couldn’t have achieved it without them.
“All the hard work paid off. It was a lot harder this year because I moved up to No. 2 singles and had to play a lot stronger players this year.”
At No. 4 singles, Dow sophomore Michael Szabo won his second straight title. Szabo defeated Freddy Heegan of U-D Jesuit in two sets.
“It’s a great feeling,” Szabo said. “Just being able to help our team win is a great feeling. It means a lot to win five titles in a row, and it means we have to keep working hard to make it six.”
Taking part in his first Finals was Dow freshman Varun Shanker at No. 3 singles. Shanker defeated Will Christian of Forest Hills Northern in two sets to claim his crown.
“I can’t say enough about the Dow program,” Shanker said. “It was my dream to play tennis for Dow and help them win a state title. To win five in a row is awesome. To play for a program like Dow with such high expectations is a great experience.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Dow No. 1 doubles pair Jason Chang (left) and Vikram Shanker exchange a congratulatory shake during Saturday's Final. (Middle) Dow's Julian Guerra prepares to return a volley on his way to winning the No. 2 singles title. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)