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.
“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.
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.
Team of the Month: Birmingham Groves Boys Tennis
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 23, 2021
Third in 2019. Tied for second in 2018 and 2017. No farther back than sixth since 2014. Only one finish outside the top eight over the last decade.
The Birmingham Groves boys tennis program has fit well among the most consistent in its sport at the statewide level for a number of years. The Falcons, in fact, had finished runner-up five times since 2004, and eighth or higher at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship tournament 10 of the first 11 seasons under coach Dave Farmer.
But this fall, they were able to take the long-awaited final step.
A total team effort made that happen Oct. 15-16, as Groves finished first this time with 27 points – one more than two-time reigning champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – to earn its first MHSAA Finals championship. The Falcons also are the MHSAA/Applebee’s October “Team of the Month.”
Groves had only one flight champion that title-clinching weekend in Holland, but earned 14 points from doubles and 13 from singles.
“Balance was the key factor. In past years, the majority of our points came from our singles,” Farmer said. “My 1-4 doubles were comprised of six seniors and two juniors. (There were) no real lessons learned (from past Finals) – just knowing leadership must come from the juniors and seniors.”
Incredibly, everyone contributed something.
That lone flight championship came at No. 3 singles, actually from the lineup’s lone freshman, Michael Liss. He won every set he played that weekend.
Then came three flight runners-up – junior Nolen Kovan at No. 1 singles, junior Dylan Wolf and senior Alexandras Abarius at No. 2 doubles, and junior Andrew Wietzman and senior Gabe Klein at No. 4.
No. 2 singles senior RJ Carrel made the semifinals, and sophomore Jake Rosenwasser made the quarters at No. 4. Seniors Dylan Brown and Mitchell Greenberger also made the quarterfinals, at No. 1 doubles, and seniors Logan Edelheit and Marc Canellas made the semifinals at No. 3.
Every last point mattered, as one fewer would’ve meant a shared championship and two fewer would’ve pushed Forest Hills Northern back up top and Groves into another “just-missed” finish.