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).
3-Seed Liggett Regains D4 Championship
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 16, 2020
PORTAGE — With teammates screaming and cheering on the sidelines, a stunned senior and freshman doubles team clinched the winning point for Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett on Friday.
Senior Tarun Jarial and freshman Tommy Ugval pulled out the two-set win, leading Liggett on its way to an 8-0 team sweep of Hudsonville Unity Christian in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 boys tennis championship match at Portage Central High School.
After falling a point short last year, Liggett was hungry for that team title.
“It never gets old,” said coach Mark Sobieralski, who has three team titles in his seven years as head coach. “It’s another special group of kids.”
Both finalists pulled upsets in the semifinals.
Unity Christian, the fourth seed, ousted top seed Traverse City St. Francis, 5-3, while No. 3 Liggett defeated No. 2 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, 6-2.
The second-place finish was a win of sorts for Unity Christian.
“Last year was the second time we ever went to state, and we tied for 11th. So making it to the finals this year is pretty special,” first-year coach Brad Miedema said. “Personal best for the school so far.”
With Liggett leading, 4-0, Jarial and Ugval pulled out a hard-fought 7-6(6), 7-5, win against Jake McNamara and Micah Riddering.
Neither realized their point was the clincher at the time.
“Right after I came (off the court), my team said I was the clincher, me and Tommy,” Jarial said.
“It was just an amazing feeling. I can’t explain it. We’ve been working for this all year, and I’m really excited to hold that trophy up.”
Ugval, a freshman, was literally speechless when he got the news.
He credited his senior partner with keeping him calm during the match.
“(Jarial) taught me a lot about the game and helped motivate me,” Ugval said.
“I was really nervous toward the beginning of the year and especially today since it’s my first state championship.”
Sobieralski said that was one reason he paired the two.
“For a freshman, (Ugval) really handled himself well out there,” he said. “It was nice to have a senior with a freshman because the senior was able to calm him down and give him confidence.”
One Liggett senior still has one more goal to meet.
Will Cooksey, who is headed to University of Michigan next fall, will try to make it a four-year sweep next week at the Division 4 No. 1 singles championships at Portland High School.
“This is my last ride,” said Cooksey, the three-time reigning D-4 champion at No. 1 singles. “I’m going to try to bring home that fourth title.”
Cooksey, who is ranked eighth nationally in the USTA 18-under division, was first off the court, defeating Unity Christian’s Ryan Broek, 6-0, 6-1.
That was just perfect for a guy who is one of the most vocal cheerleaders for his teammates.
“I love cheering on the team,” he said. “It’s exciting to get the guys energetic and going. I just love the team environment.”
Sobieralski said Cooksey is a great team leader.
“He’s a national champion, 18-under, and he plays on our team because he loves the boys,” the coach said. “He’s a leader.
“He comes to practice but doesn’t practice. He takes four or five kids and works with them and then goes (and) practices on his own. He’s a great cheerleader, always up and down, screaming and yelling.”
Sobieralski said his team took a few unexpected hits to start the season.
“We had a freshman who was supposed to come in this year and he moved to Florida,” he said.
“We had a starter from our team from last year who decided to stay in Maine. Those were two people we were counting on, so we didn’t know how we were going to be.”
But a few others stepped up.
“I have to commend Alec Leonard,” he said. “He just came out for the first year. He’s the captain of the baseball and the hockey teams.
“He just wanted to play tennis with his friends and worked his butt off. Fourth doubles (with Rocco Scarfone) were just amazing today. They won both their matches, and it was just shocking how well they did today.”
The duo defeated Will Anama and Jacob Lanning, 6-0, 6-2.
Sobieralski also gave kudos to No. 1 doubles player Jacob Tomlinson.
“He was in quarantine 14 days,” the coach said. “He didn’t have the virus; he was around somebody.
“He had four negative tests, and he was released (Friday). He hasn’t played in two weeks. With all this going on, it’s just amazing we did this. It’s just exciting.”
The Knights also had an angel, a porcelain one, on their side.
“It’s from the 1930s and every coach from Liggett has passed it down, and we bring it every year and the kids all take it and hold it, rub it,” said Sobieralski, who kept the angel in his car during the matches.
“It’s a special thing we have every year, and I freak out because I don’t want it to get broken.”
In upsetting the No. 1 seed in the semis, Miedema said starting fast was a key.
“I just knew that we had to get going right away,” he said. “I knew if we came out with energy right away and ready to play, we could take it to them and hopefully get the upset, which we were able to do.”
He said the finals match was closer than the 8-0 score indicates.
“We started off well and stayed in a lot of matches,” he said. “We had two matches that went three sets and a couple other close matches out there.
“The boys played their hearts out, and I’m not disappointed in anything they did out there.
“It’s been wild. I knew we were good going into the year, so we had pretty high expectations. But this definitely exceeded what we were hoping for.
Other singles winners were Sebastian Courtright, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, over Kaden Dykstra at No. 2, George Anusbigian, 6-3, 6-2, over Chafer Jolman at No. 3 and Gerry Sherer, 6-1, 6-1, over Austin Widner.
Other doubles winners were Vince Maribao and Tomlinson, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, over Brendan Bremer and Jack Christian at No. 1, and Bennett French and Campbell Marchal, 6-2, 7-5, over Nate Lenters and Ben Timmermans.
PHOTOS: (Top) A Liggett player returns a volley during a match Friday at Portage Central. (Middle) Hudsonville Unity Christian advanced to the Final with an upset of top seed Traverse City St. Francis. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)