Greenhills Holds On for 8th Straight Title
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 17, 2015
KALAMAZOO — Ann Arbor Greenhills came together as a team to win its eighth consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship, but later Saturday afternoon they were a team divided.
After earning 36 points for their ninth title in the last 10 years, the Gryphons planned their traditional celebration at Buffalo Wild Wings with one exception.
“They were hoping to finish in time to watch the Michigan-Michigan State football game,” coach Eric Gajar said. (They did).
“Most of the guys from Ann Arbor are obviously big Michigan fans. A couple of us, including myself, are Michigan State fans, so it’s a little bit of a house divided. But it’s fun to be together to watch it. These guys love being together.”
Greenhills won five flight titles with one more possible at No. 4 doubles. West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy could not play until after sundown Saturday, so the quarterfinal match against Traverse City St. Francis was played Saturday evening. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett will play the winner in the semifinal and Greenhills has already advanced to the championship match. Both will be played on Sunday.
On Saturday, University Liggett finished second with 28 points and St. Francis third with 19.
“We’re narrowing the gap (on Greenhills),” Liggett coach Mark Sobieralski said. “We’re really young. We have five sophomores and two freshmen and we’ve only got two seniors.
“My No. 3 player (Spencer Warezak) from last year didn’t even play this year. He’s been hurt the whole season. We should get him back, so it’s only like losing one player.”
Gajar said he has warned his players that Liggett is closing in.
“I’ve been telling the guys all year long that objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear,” he said. “Last year they were second, this year they’re second.
“I have great respect for the program and the coach has done a great job with these guys. I told the Liggett coach that I think they’re the team to beat next year. Traverse City is right there, too, and doesn’t graduate a lot of guys (four). There’s a couple coming for us.”
Greenhills had winners at three singles flights, but it was the No. 1 doubles team that clinched the team title.
Senior Brandon Johnson and sophomore Jack Harris, the second seeds, defeated Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian fifth seeds Matt Kintz and Jarrett Berends, both seniors, 6-4, 6-3.
“We didn’t know we won while we were on the court, but once we were off the court, my coach told me,” Johnson said. “I think it would have helped knowing. I play better under pressure.
“It’s just the perfect way to end my career here at Greenhills. I couldn’t ask for a better partner and a better season.”
Harris, who was on the junior varsity team last year, said the two are good friends and “we make each other better. We have good chemistry.”
The No. 1 singles match featured a 3-hour, 15-minute marathon with Otsego senior Luke Ford, the top seed, defeating No. 2 Oliver Weaver, from Williamston, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
The two met last year in the No. 1 quarterfinals with Ford winning 6-1, 6-1.
On Saturday, Weaver was down 4-1 before battling back to win the first set. In the second, Ford was up 5-1 and Weaver fought back to 5-4 before Ford closed out the set.
“Nobody gives up out here,” Ford said. “I thought, I’m not going to win state if I don’t win this (second) set so I have to pull it out somehow. To win (the title) is unbelievable.”
In the third set with Ford leading 5-3, Weaver dropped to the court, writhing in pain with a leg cramp. Ford grabbed a bottle of water and took it over to him while they waited for the trainer. After treatment, Weaver got back up and finished the match.
“I just tried my hardest,” he said. “This was my last match of the year and I wanted it really bad. I always fight hard for everything.”
Being down in the first set, “I just kept playing,” Weaver said. “I didn’t really get mad at myself. I definitely had more pressure on myself to perform better than last year.”
Otsego coach Chuck Parker said Ford has been working on his game since he was a child.
“Every year he got better,” Parker said. “He learned from his loss last year in the semifinals. He’s survived some really tough matches. His only loss this year was to (Portage Central’s) Bill Duo (who won the LPD2 title at No. 1 singles on Saturday).”
At No. 2 singles, Greenhills junior Sam Talsma defeated Liggett sophomore Christian Ilitch, 6-4, 6-3.
Talsma worked his way up from No. 1 doubles last year.
“I worked hard over the summer and found myself at 2 singles,” he said. “(Ilitch) and I played twice before and I won both.
“It helped my confidence going in but even if I had lost them, I would have still gone into the match with the same amount of gusto and enthusiasm.”
The two played on one of the front three courts at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
“Since I was on (one of the front courts) I was a little nervous, but he’s a good player,” Ilitch said. “He’s got a good serve.”
Gage Feldeisen, the top seed at No. 3, defeated second-seeded St. Francis junior Tyler Spigarelli, 6-1, 6-3, in the championship match.
Gajar said losing Feldeisen to graduation this year is going to leave “big shoes to fill.”
“He’s actually never lost a D-4 match in his career,” Gajar said. “He was captain this year and last year.”
Feldeisen defeated Spigarelli earlier this season, but, “You know they want to beat you the second time, so you have to make sure that you cannot only beat them the first time but also the second time,” Feldeisen said.
“It’s more pressure, not like I beat him once so it’s going to be easy. In reality, it’s not easy ever.”
Spigarelli, who lost in the second round at No. 3 doubles last year, said: “I was very surprised this year that I got this high at 3 singles to be a two seed. This year I’m definitely happy with the way I’ve played and the way I’ve improved.”
At No. 4 singles, junior Andy Xie, the top seed from Greenhills, defeated third seed Andrew Staricco, a sophomore from Liggett, 6-2, 6-2.
“I’ve been playing really well this weekend,” Xie said. “He was a really nice player. It could have gone either way, in my opinion.
“I’ve played him twice in the regular season (and won both). It definitely does help mentally. Half the game is a mental game.”
As for the consecutive team titles, Xie said: “It’s something we think about. It’s always in the back of our minds, but we just want to let loose and have fun. Winning’s just a bonus.”
Staricco upset second seed Victor Casler, of St. Francis, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, in the semifinals and credits learning to hit with topspin as the reason.
“In the first match of the year, I didn’t have any topspin,” he said. “I learned over the year. I lost to St. Francis in the first match (of the year) and now with topspin it was easier to win.”
Greenhills won the No. 2 doubles title, with top seeds senior Connor Todd and junior Mitchell Gajar pulling out a tough three-setter over Liggett’s second seeds Will Gersch, a senior, and Dave Sekhon, a junior, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
At No. 3, Liggett’s top seeds sophomore Casey Scoggin and freshman Alec Azar defeated Greenhills second seeds, junior Matt Chatas and freshman Trey Feldeisen, 6-3, 6-1.
Editor's note: Amar Nigam and Kris Gulvezan of Greenhills defeated Liggett's Kester Stefani and Craig Buhler in the No. 4 doubles final in three sets. Greenhills finished with 37 points total, while Liggett scored 29 and third-place Traverse City St. Francis had 21.
PHOTOS: (Top) Greenhills’ Brandon Johnson waits for a return as partner Jack Harris follows through on his serve during their No. 1 doubles match. (Middle) Otsego’s Luke Ford returns a shot on his way to winning No. 1 singles. (Below) Greenhills’ Sam Talsma smashes a shot during his No. 2 singles championship match. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
West Catholic Youth is Served, and so is Liggett's Experience
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
KALAMAZOO – Simon Caldwell was the top seed at No. 1 singles at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Boys Tennis Finals, but he had to survive a three-set semifinal nailbiter before clinching the title with a two-set championship match victory.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, sparked by three individual winners, went home with the team championship trophy earning 30 points, Hudsonville Unity Christian was second with 27 points, Traverse City St. Francis third with 22, Big Rapids fourth with 18 and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep fifth with 17. It was Liggett's fourth team title since 2016.
The singles semifinals were played indoors while several family members and fans from Unity Christian helped dry the outdoor courts.
Caldwell, who is just a freshman at Grand Rapids West Catholic, qualified individually for this weekend. In a semifinal match that lasted 2½ hours with numerous long rallies, he defeated junior Daniel Pero, the fourth seed from Brooklyn Columbia Central, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
In the final, Caldwell bested the second seed, Liggett junior Sebastian Courtright, 6-3, 6-0.
“Both of those guys are great players, and I played really well in both (matches),” Caldwell said.
Leading 4-1 in the third semifinal set, Caldwell started cramping. He lost two match points at 5-3, then started serving underhand.
Once he won the match, fans – crammed in the stands – gave him a standing ovation.
“It happens to the best of us,” the freshman said of cramping. “Daniel is a great player and started to come back on me. Anyone could have won that match.
“I just happened to pull through at the end.”
Courtright, who also played at No. 1 singles last year, said his rival played a good match: “I think he was ultimately more consistent and more experienced.”
Top seed Owen Jackson, a St. Francis sophomore, defeated sixth-seeded Grand Rapids South Christian junior Levi Yaffey, 6-0, 6-0, in the No. 2 final.
Jackson lost just four games during the entire tournament.
“It’s a lot of keeping yourself pumped up and keeping yourself moving and going and always supporting your teammates,” he said. “The work we put in this season really helped, and playing the big schools really helped, like (Midland) Dow, Forest Hill Northern, Forest Hills Central. All those matches help you to push forward and to always grow as a player and as a person.”
At No 3 singles, third seed Micah Riddering, a Unity Christian senior, defeated top seed Chris Bobrowski, a junior from St. Francis, 6-3, 6-1.
Riddering lost in the first round of No. 3 singles last year and credits his grandfather, Click Groot, with helping him go from worst to first.
“It’s overall consistency,” Riddering said. “I just kept the ball in and waited for him to miss, kept it deep.”
Bobrowski said both played their hardest but “he just had a good day today and a great mindset. He was able to push past me a little bit further.”
Learning from the experience, “It teaches me I might need a little bit stronger mindset during the matches and that it only comes down to one match at the end when you make it to the Finals, so you’ve got to play your best and your hardest.”
After dropping the first set at No. 4 singles, Liggett sophomore Charlie Cooksey, the third seed, defeated Allegan junior Jackson Morrie, the top seed, 2-6, 6-1 6-2.
In the first set, “I was hitting the ball too hard and not putting it in,” Cooksey said. “In the second set, I told myself to reset, brought myself together and pulled it through.”
Jackson went from playing No. 4 doubles his freshman year to No. 2 doubles last year, making it to the quarterfinals both times.
This season, “I put in some hard work and some effort,” he said, noting that his strength is his quickness on the court.
While Liggett’s No. 3 doubles team, top seeds Steve Wheatley and Griffin Marchal, won their Finals match, 6-0, 6-3, against third seeds Carson Poole and David Ansley of St. Francis, their semifinals victory clinched the team championship for Liggett.
“Ever since the start of the year, we started off 18-0 and just clicked right away,” Wheatley said. “We knew coming into this it was our tournament to win.”
Liggett coach Mark Sobieralski said the pair had some great wins over teams in higher divisions.
“They’re both hockey players as their first sport; they’re just athletes,” Sobieralski said. “Stevie (a senior) is the guy at the net. He’s all over. He’s got incredible hands.
“Griffin, the freshman, we had him back, keep the ball in play, set up Stevie. They were like a match made in heaven.”
Sobieralski was especially proud of his No. 1 doubles team of senior Campbell Marchal and junior Tommy Ugval.
“They struggled so much during the beginning of the year,” he said. “They had a hard time and weren’t really together. They were the No. 4 seed and had a below .500 record on the season
“We play a really difficult schedule, but they were so together all weekend and pulled the whole thing out from being the fourth seed.”
The pair defeated top seeds Charlie King and Derek Berta of St. Francis, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, in the semifinal before besting second seeds Jacob Lanning and Will Anama, from Unity Christian, 7-5, 6-1, in the final.
Unity Christian coach Bradley Miedema figured his team was headed for third place but was thrilled with the second -place trophy.
“I told the guys if we all just take care of what we can do seed-wise and pull some upsets, there’s a chance we can win it,” he said.
Seniors Andrew Miller and Dominic Hop listened to their coach.
“They were the No. 5 seeds (at No. 2 doubles) and now they (won) their Final,” Miedema said. “That’s one I’m most proud of this year.”
Unity Christian loses eight seniors from his varsity, but Miedema said with 24 junior varsity players, “I think we’ll be able to slot in some good players next year.”
At No. 4 doubles, second seeds Elijah Haynes and Ari Ziska of Big Rapids defeated top seeds Ryan King and Niko Cooksey from Liggett, 6-3, 6-4.
St. Francis coach Dane Fosgard said this year’s team included six players who had never been to the Finals.
“It was definitely a new experience for them,” he said. “They did great, but a couple of our flights lost in the first round, so I think they’re going to be hungry for some wins next year.
“Third place isn’t all that bad, even though we expected first or second.”
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.