Greenhills Extends D4 Dynasty
October 19, 2013
By Greg Tunnicliff
Special to Second Half
GRAND BLANC – Growing up in a family known for basketball, Teddy Oosterbaan decided to break from tradition and become a server – of tennis balls.
The Kalamazoo Hackett freshman is the son of J.P. Oosterbaan, who was a three-year letterwinner at the University of Michigan from 1987-89, helping the Wolverines win the 1989 NCAA championship. Teddy also is the grandson of John Oosterbaan, a two-year letterwinner at Michigan from 1962-63.
“I just try to do the best that I can,” Teddy Oosterbaan said. “(Tennis) is exciting and our team making states was cool.”
While the youngest Oosterbaan isn’t sure if he will suit up for Hackett on the hardcourt, he already has left his mark on the tennis courts.
Saturday, he was rarely challenged en route to posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Cal Willa of Grand Rapids West Catholic in the Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 2 singles championship match at Genesys Athletic Club in Grand Blanc.
“I was in a pretty good rhythm the whole year,” said the 6-foot-4 Oosterbaan, who ended 24-1. “I felt I was getting better the whole season.”
Top-ranked Ann Arbor Greenhills continued its dominance in the team competition, capturing five of the eight fights en route to earning its sixth straight team championship and seventh in the last eight seasons.
The Gryphons finished with 33 points in the 24-team field, nine more than runner-up West Catholic (24).
“It’s a new group of guys each year; it’s a new challenge each year,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said. “They were well prepared. All the stuff we asked them to do, they brought together this weekend. They delivered at crunch time.”
At No. 1 singles, Lansing Catholic junior Matt Heeder overcame a slow start to post a 6-4, 6-3 victory over West Catholic’s Nicholas Solarewicz in the championship match.
Heeder fell behind 3-0 in the opening set before winning six of the next seven games. He was never seriously threatened after that en route to capturing his first Finals championship.
“After getting down 3-0, I started staying down on the ball,” Heeder said. “I was a little nervous the first couple of games, but coach settled me down and I got into a groove. I tried not to over think. I just did what I was capable of doing.”
Pacing Greenhills was its No. 4 singles player, sophomore Gage Feldeisen, who captured his second championship and first at singles. Feldeisen, who was seeded second, won all four of his matches in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over top-seeded A.J. Samdal of Grand Rapids South Christian in the final.
“Being the No. 2 seed, you don’t have any pressure to win,” said Feldeisen, who won at No. 4 doubles last year. “You can go out and just play the best you can. I hit my forehand a lot, tried to stay consistent.”
Greenhills captured all four double flights, led by its No. 1 team of senior Adhi Rajaprabhakaran and freshman Sam Talsma. The second-seeded tandem upset top-seeded Alex Lemire and Mike Nowicki of West Catholic, 6-1, 7-5, in the championship match.
“We were expecting a lot from ourselves from the beginning,” Talsma said. “We knew we had what it took to win the title. We never thought about anything else during the match.”
It is the third doubles championship for Rajaprabhakaran, who won at No. 3 in 2011 and No. 2 last year.
“It’s all I could ask for,” Rajaprabhakaran said. “I never lost in Division 4, and I wanted to keep that streak going. Along with our team winning, which is more important, I couldn’t be happier.”
Greenhills’ No. 2 doubles team of senior Neil Sykes and junior Isak Akervall needed back-to-back three-set victories to capture their flight Saturday. The twosome posted a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) come-from-behind triumph over Alan Jurcak and August Bonacci of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the final.
“I never expected to get here the first year, upset the No. 1 seed,” Akervall said. “We had to stay strong the whole time. I’m just ecstatic.”
It is Sykes third Finals title, having won at No. 4 doubles the previous two seasons.
“I’m shaking right now,” Sykes said. “It took a lot of work in the offseason and during the season, trying to keep up with the competition. (Winning a third straight championship) is a good way to go out.”
The Gryphons’ freshman No. 3 doubles tandem of Andy Xie and Matt Chatas entered the tournament as the top seed and showed the field why, winning all four of their matches in straight sets.
“We just had to stay loose and not get down if we lost a game,” Xie said. “After a couple of games, we just got into our zone.”
The duo rolled through their first three matches, yielding no more than four games in a set. In the championship match, they held off second-seeded Jack Ninivaggi and Alex Dow of Liggett, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
“For the first day, we just had to get through,” Chatas said. “The second day, we had to play hard and make sure not to give (opponents) anything.”
Junior David Groden and sophomore Brandon Johnson joined Greenhills’ team this fall, and they got their careers off to fast start by winning the No. 4 doubles championship.
“I still can’t believe it,” Johnson said. “I’m so happy, it’s unreal.”
The twosome, which was seeded No. 2, upset top-seeded Jackson Benning and Davey Sekhon of Liggett, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the championship match.
“We realized we were playing for the title,” Groden said of his and Johnson’s performance in the third set. “We wanted it, and we did it.”
Rounding out the individual winners was Hackett freshman Henry Hedeman, who won at No. 3 singles. Hedeman, who was seeded No. 1, captured all four his matches in straight sets, yielding no more than one game in a set.
He beat third-seeded Nick Link of West Catholic, 6-1, 6-1, in the championship match.
“It was pretty nerve-racking; you don’t want to have a big upset happen,” Hedeman said. “I had to play smart. I had to focus on the tournament.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills poses with its latest MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Greenhills players huddle after repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 4 champions. (Photos courtesy of Greenhills tennis.)
Preview: Big Moves = Big Opportunities
October 16, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Familiar faces in new places could lead to some substantial shaking up at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals.
Two-time reigning Division 2 champion Okemos is playing in Division 1, and reigning Division 4 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills will take a run at Division 3 this time. That means new champions for sure in their former divisions – among a lot of other opportunities all over the brackets for teams and individuals hoping to make history.
Play both Friday and Saturday begins at 8 a.m. Click for full brackets for all four tournaments, plus Regional results, and come back to Second Half early Saturday evening for coverage from all four Finals.
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Huron, 2. Troy, 3. Northville.
Huron tied with Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice for a distant second behind reigning two-time champion Bloomfield Hills a year ago, but is expected to emerge for what would be its fifth championship this decade (after most recently winning in 2016). Northville was fourth and Troy fifth a year ago, and both are seeking their first MHSAA Finals championship in this sport. Another team of note might be Okemos, ranked sixth but coming off two straight Division 2 championships.
Ann Arbor Huron: The River Rats are seeded at six flights, and all six are seeded third or higher. Doubles will be the key; Nos. 2-4 are top-seeded and No. 1 is seeded second. The No. 2 pair of Nick Grosh and TJ Bai made the semifinals at that flight as the top seed last year, and Sammy Clyde and Jacob Hejazi are seeded first at No. 3 with Clyde last season’s champion at that flight with a different partner. Nikhil Gandikota and Vincent Tremonti are the top seed at No. 4, and Max Brodkey and Anvit Rao are the second seed at No. 1 after making the semifinals at that flight last season. Owen Kelley is unseeded at No. 1 singles but made the semifinals at that flight in 2018.
Troy: The Colts are seeded at five flights, with serious power at the top of the lineup with Brennan Cimpeanu the top seed at No. 1 singles and Jagen Nallani the top seed at No. 2. Cimpeanu made the quarterfinals and Nallani the semifinals at the same flights a year ago. Additionally, three doubles flights earned third seeds.
Northville: Five flights are seeded, led by second-seeded Rachit Jain and Rohith Kesamneni at No. 4 doubles. Other veterans could play big roles. Matthew Freeman is seeded sixth at No. 1 singles and won No. 4 last year. Daniel Dong is part of the an unseeded No. 1 doubles and Justin Yang is part of the fifth seed at No. 3 after they combined to finish runner-up at No. 2 doubles in 2018.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s J.J. Etterbeek: He came back after losing the first set of the final to win No. 2 singles last year as a freshman, and this time he’s the fourth seed at No. 1.
Clarkston’s Luke Baylis: The Wolves senior will attempt to cap an accomplished high school career with his first championship. He’s seeded second at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals the last two seasons and finishing runner-up at No. 2 as a freshman.
Troy Athens’ Gabe Brown: He made the No. 1 singles quarterfinals last year as a sophomore and enters this weekend as the third seed in the top flight.
Okemos’ Druv Talluri and Siddharth Nagisetty: With different partners they’ve won a combined three flight championships over the last two seasons. Talluri was part of the Division 2 No. 2 champ last year when Nagisetty was part of the runner-up at No. 3, and together they are seeded first at No. 1 this weekend.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at University of Michigan
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
With Okemos moving to Division 1, there is guaranteed to be a new champion for the first time in three years – and it would be a special celebration if any of the top three-ranked teams finished first. Forest Hills Northern is seeking its first title since 1998, while U-D Jesuit and Seaholm have never won an MHSAA Finals in this sport. All three have finished Division 2 runner-up at least once, however, over the last six years.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies are seeded at every flight as they play for their first top-two finish since coming in second in 2014. They finished fourth a year ago with Owen Goodrich placing second at No. 4 singles, and he’s the second seed at that flight this weekend. Three other flights are seeded as high or higher, with top-seeded Cole Rynbrandt and Justin Lee leading the way at No. 2 doubles.
Detroit U-D Jesuit: Seven seeded flights are a great start for the Cubs, with top seeds at No. 1 doubles in Kagan Shetterly and Theodore Yaldoo and No. 3 doubles in Teodore Melnyczuk-Gould and Nathan Comerford. Yaldoo and Comerford played singles at the Finals last season as U-D Jesuit tied for seventh as a team.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples tied Birmingham Groves for second last season, their highest Finals finish since also coming in second back-to-back in Fall 2007 and 2008. Six flights are seeded this time, all fourth or higher for their respective flights. Cameron Lee was a champion at No. 3 doubles last season and Jonny Cross was part of the runner-up at No. 2, and they make up the third seed this time at No. 1. Fred Kassab was part of the No. 4 doubles winner last year and is part of the fourth seed at No. 2, while his former championship partner Nolan Werner is part of the second seed at No. 3 doubles.
Mattawan’s Nathaniel Webster: Last season’s runner-up at No. 1 singles has moved up one spot to the top seed as a junior for his third run at the title as a seeded player at this flight.
Portage Northern Alex Wootton: Also a junior, Wootton moved up to the second seed at this flight after winning a match a year ago while unseeded. He made the quarterfinals while unseeded as a freshman in 2017.
Midland Dow’s Anish Middha: He’ll try to cap his career as a No. 1 singles champion, entering with the third seed after finishing runner-up at No. 2 last season and as a freshman in 2016.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Kalamazoo College
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Detroit Country Day.
Cranbrook Kingswood has won four straight Division 3 championships, with Country Day the runner-up all four seasons. Country Day won the previous four titles from 2011-14. No other team has won in Division 3 since Fall 2007, in fact. However, Greenhills is the reigning champion in Division 4 and has won that division nine of the last 11 seasons, finishing runner-up the other two. Greenhills won every flight at its Regional last week, with Country Day the runner-up at seven of those flights.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: All eight flights are seeded. Seven are top seeds, and the eighth is a second seed. Three flights were Division 4 champions a year ago – Mert Oral is the top seed at No. 1 singles after winning No. 3 in D4, Kaan Oral is the top seed at No. 2 singles after winning No. 2 in D4 the last two years, and Nathan Rosenberg and Finn Feldeisen are the top seeds at No. 3 doubles after winning No. 3 in D4 in 2018. Rounding out the lineup are No. 3 singles top seed Rishi Verma, No. 4 singles second seed Chakor Rajendra, No. 1 doubles top seed Henry Branch and Sahil Deenadayalu, No. 2 doubles top seed Joey Formicola and Daniel Stojanov and No. 4 doubles top seed Alex Schwendeman and Thomas Zeng. Deenadayalu, Formicola and Branch are past Finals flight runners-up.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: All eight flights are seeded, led by two second seeds – Hayes Bradley and David Hermelin at No. 2 doubles and Calvi Teste and Ben Conti at No. 4. Bradley and Hermelin were champs last year at No. 3 doubles and runners-up in 2017 at No. 4. The Cranes won all four singles flights last season and only one of those players returns – Nolan Sherwood is the fourth seed at No. 2 after winning No. 3 in 2018 – but fourth-seeded No. 4 Patrick Tiwari and third-seeded No. 3 Geoffrey Qin were part of champions at Nos. 2 and 4 doubles, respectively, a year ago.
Detroit Country Day: As noted, Country Day was right behind Greenhills in seven flights at the Regional, and a pair of second seeds highlight the fully-seeded lineup. Nikolas Gruskin is the second seed at No. 1 singles and a two-time Finals runner-up, at No. 1 last season and No. 2 in 2016. No. 3 doubles Clay Hartje and Aidan Khaghany also are a second seed. Fourth-seeded No. 3 singles Christian Grozev was the runner-up at that flight last year, and Zain Rodger is part of the fourth-seeded No. 1 doubles after finishing No. 4 singles runner-up in 2018.
St. Clair’s Eli Pinnoo: Last season’s No. 2 singles runner-up as a junior is the second seed at that flight this weekend as he takes one more swing at a high school title.
East Grand Rapids’ Ryan Post and Jack Schultze: Post and Kole Butterer won No. 1 doubles last season as a third seed, and Post and Schultze enter in the same spot this time. Schultze was part of the No. 2 doubles runner-up last season.
Lower Peninsula Division 4 at Hope College
Top-ranked: 1. Allegan, 2. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 3. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard.
With Greenhills playing in Division 3, this tournament will have a different look and perhaps some interesting opportunities. Liggett was the Division 4 champion in 2016 and 2017 and runner-up in 2014 and 2015. Allegan has a long history of success but is working for its first top-two Finals finish, as is Gabriel Richard. In fact, the rest of the top 10 after Liggett – including two teams tied for the 10th spot – have won a combined three MHSAA Finals.
Allegan: The Tigers finished third a year ago, just three points out of second, after three doubles flights finished runners-up. The strength is in doubles again, as all four flights are seeded led by David Roark and Chase Williams in the top spot at No. 4. Noah Festerling and Ben Groth are the second seed at No. 3 after Groth was part of the No. 4 runner-up last season, and Owen Clearwater and Walker Michaels are the fifth seed at No. 2 after coming in second at No. 3 in 2018. Two singles flights are seeded as well; Eli Festerling is the top seed at No. 4.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights are expected to climb substantially after tying for eighth a year ago. Liggett is seeded at six flights, with two-time reigning No. 1 singles champion William Cooksey leading off as the top seed at that flight. Gerry Sherer adds a second seed at No. 4 singles, and all four doubles are seeded with three in the third slot.
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard: The Irish tied for fifth last season and could ride a strong singles lineup into contention. Senior Ian Sood is seeded second at No. 1 singles after making the semifinals last season and finishing No. 2 runner-up as both a freshman and sophomore. Tommy Heegan adds a second seed at No. 2, and Rafid Farjo is the third seed at No. 3.
Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Andrew Solarewicz: The sophomore singles standout will play in the No. 1 bracket for the second time, this weekend as the third seed after winning a match last season.
Traverse City St. Francis’ Brendan Chouinard and Ben Schmude: The top seed at No. 1 doubles is made up of Chouinard, part of last year’s No. 2 champion, and Schmude coming off the quarterfinals at No. 3 a year ago.
Traverse City St. Francis’ Charlie Schmude and Cody Richards: They are seeded first at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively, after finishing runners-up at Nos. 3 and 4 a year ago.
PHOTO: Kaan Oral will attempt to lead Ann Arbor Greenhills to a Division 3 championship this weekend as he also plays for a third individual flight Finals title. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)