Huron Hangs On for 3rd Straight Title
October 19, 2013
By Geoff Mott
Special to Second Half
MIDLAND -- With two doubles matches left at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Tennis Finals at the Midland Community Tennis Center, Novi found itself rooting for Birmingham Brother Rice.
If Brother Rice could beat two-time defending champion Ann Arbor Huron at No. 3 and No. 4 doubles, all three schools would share the 2013 team championship.
While Brother Rice pulled out a win at No. 3 doubles, Huron’s No. 4 doubles team of Will Brenner and Orion Sang held on for a 6-3, 7-5 win over Patrick Hamill and Dan Lunghamer to give the River Rats their third-straight Division 1 title.
“It was better that we didn’t know the state championship was on the line,” said Sang, who didn’t know Huron had won the title outright until he was mobbed by teammates after the win. “I had a little feeling that it was close because everybody was fighting so hard.
“This feels good. We always thought about (winning a third state title) and that’s been in the back of our minds.”
Now the River Rats are champions again, winning with 30 points. Novi finished runner-up with 29 points while Brother Rice finished third with 28.
“We knew we had to win out but we just wanted to go out and do the best we could,” said Brother Rice senior Joey Hildebrand, who teamed with David Weatherford to beat Huron’s Jason Chen and Austin Luker, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 at the No. 2 doubles title match. The win set up the dramatic final two matches.
“It feels great because we wanted to give our team a chance to win this.”
Novi junior Tim Wang captured the individual championship at No. 1 singles. After a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 5 seed Justin Hyman of Rochester Adams, the top-seeded Wang went on to knock off Northville’s No. 2-seeded Connor Johnston 6-1, 6-3 in the final.
Johnston fought off No. 3 seed Michael Dube’ of Detroit Catholic Central for a grueling 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) win in a semifinal.
“I knew Johnston had a really tough match and while I had a three-setter (in the semifinals), Johnston was cramping up after a really tough match,” Wang said. “I had good shots today. I was playing great, and after he broke my serve in the second set, I found an extra gear.”
Wang ate bananas and drank Pedialyte to counter cramping issues that affected a lot of the athletes.
“I pride myself in fitness, and I’m really blessed that I haven’t had problems with cramping,” Wang said. “I might have been the No. 1 seed, but I had to play my best. This means a lot to me because it came down to who wanted it the most.
“I was ready to grind it out.”
Novi’s Koushik Kondapi won the No. 3 singles title with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over top-seeded Colin Williams of Huron while Novi teammate Maxx Anderson had treatments for cramps twice before delivering a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 win over Brother Rice’s Jack Winkler for the title at No. 4 singles.
“I think I became smarter with the cramping,” Anderson said. “I almost defaulted but my coach wouldn’t let me. If he would have said yeah, I would have defaulted. But I could hear my teammates chanting my name and there was no way I could stop.”
Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Ian Yi captured the No. 2 singles title, beating Rochester Adams’ Oliver Li 6-1, 6-2 in the final. Yi, who beat Ann Arbor Huron’s Kevin Mei in the semifinals (1-6, 7-5, 6-1) for the fourth time this season, had lost twice to Li this year.
“I went hard for all of my shots,” the 14-year-old Yi said. “I was able to edge him on big points. Coming in my goal was to get to the semifinals. I was really loving it when the people were cheering for me. It pumped me up even more.”
Huron’s six seniors have provided the leadership for another title run. While Jack Petersen (No. 1 singles), Kevin Mei (No. 2) and Colin Williams (No. 3) came up short of individual titles, seniors Aaron Brodkey and Akihiro Ota returned to clinch back-to-back titles at No. 1 doubles.
The doubles team’s only blemishes on the season came in a pair of eight-game pro sets, and Brodkey and Ota never lost a regular set on the year. After winning 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals against Victor Flynn and Will Norris of Grosse Pointe South, Brodkey and Ota beat Brother Rice’s Connor Parks and George Hamaty 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
“There really wasn’t any extra pressure on us because we worked so hard all year to get the No. 1 seed,” Ota said. “We wanted to prove we were that good and it was a tall order (with the competition). This feels really good to go out on top.”
Teammates since seventh grade, Brodkey and Ota became leaders together while setting an example for the younger doubles players.
“We’re best friends,” Brodkey said of Ota. “You could ask me any question about him and I’d know it. When we break down for hitting drills, we don’t even join the group. We just hit with each other.
“We’ve made a pretty good team. I hit big shots to set him up at the net and he has some of the best hands you’ll see in the state in doubles.”
Top-seeded Brendan Dillon and Joe Paradiso captured the No. 3 doubles title for Brother Rice, outlasting Huron’s Michael Bondin and Danny Friedman for 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in the title match.
“I had a large group back this year with six seniors with a lot of experience,” Ann Arbor Huron coach Stefan Welch said. “Brother Rice and Novi were so close last year and you know they wanted it so bad this year so we knew it would be close.
“It came down to who would play well, and I’m so proud to be able to send these guys out on top.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Huron players and coaches pose with three fingers raised signifying their three straight MHSAA titles. (Middle) Huron's Colin Williams launches a serve during a No. 3 singles match Saturday. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Negaunee Edges Rest at UP D1 Final
May 28, 2014
By Keith Shelton
Special to Second Half
KINGSFORD – It was a true test of depth, mental toughness and endurance Wednesday at the MHSAA Division 1 Upper Peninsula Tennis Finals at Kingsford High School.
The Negaunee Miners proved, by a slim margin, to have just enough of each to reclaim their foothold as U.P. champions.
Negaunee won with 15 points followed by Menominee’s 12, Kingsford and Marquette with 11, Escanaba two and Gladstone one. The four-team battle that ensued throughout the day made for one of the more enticing Finals events in recent history.
With four flights left finishing, all four teams still had a legitimate shot at the title. Coming down to the final two flights of the tournament, the title was still up for grabs between Negaunee and Menominee.
The Maroons needed to win No. 3 doubles. But they were denied thanks to a thrilling comeback by Anthony Moyle and Rob Loy. After dropping the first set to Aaron Maas and Adam Nolde 6-2, the Negaunee teammates found themselves down 5-0 in the second set before rallying back to win 7-5 and force a third set, which they won 6-4.
"It's unbelievable. It was an amazing comeback," said Loy after securing the U.P. title for his team.
For Loy the victory was also about validation. The junior didn't play last season and had some decision making to do before he came back this year.
"I'm really happy he decided to come back. We won, and it's definitely a good feeling," said Loy's teammate, Moyle.
The pressure of it all coming down to their match in addition to needing to rally back from a 5-0 hole did wear on the teammates, they acknowledged.
"It was nerve-wracking at first. You kind of lost your head. It's tough coming back from being down 5-0," Loy said.
Agreed Moyle, "It's pretty hard. Tennis is probably one of the biggest mind games compared to other sports you play. There's ups and downs everywhere. I'm glad we came out on top."
Negaunee’s Ben Luke at No. 4 singles was still in the midst of his match with Marquette's Justin Flood when the celebration ensued. Soon after Loy and Moyle's victory, Luke got his as well, winning 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Though the pressure was off, he said he kept his composure.
"I was just excited to see that we won, but I was focused on finishing my own match and getting it done," he said.
For Luke, it was a long day, after he went through two three-setters, including over top-seeded Alek Shanks of Kingsford.
Miners coach Kyle Saari praised his team for its mental toughness, which he said keyed its fourth Division 1 title in five years.
"We had kids come through in tough situations mentally," he said. "Ben Luke beat two kids he hadn't beat all year today, and we had that happen in a few flights. We talk about peaking at the end of the year, and that's what we were able to do, so I'm proud of them."
Defending champion Kingsford didn't go down quietly. The Flivvers started the final round hot, taking No. 1 singles and doubles and looking like they were in business for more.
Adam Szabo at No. 1 singles had perhaps the most dominant performance of the day, defeating Marquette's Josh Downs in that final 6-0, 6-1, displaying a razor quick release and a smooth and swift motion. Downs marked Szabo's only defeat during the season, but Wednesday there was no doubt who would finish on top.
The top two tennis players in the Upper Peninsula in Division 1 are both juniors, so the rivalry will no doubt continue into 2015.
"I played with a chip on my shoulder, just really confident. You have to go in that way," Szabo said.
The Flivvers also scored a nice win at No. 3 singles where Chris Roell defeated his season-long nemesis Noah Gannon of Marquette 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
The rivals played three three-set matches this season, all very close. At the Great Northern Conference Tournament earlier this month, it was Gannon who came out on top 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
"There were some close matches with Noah this year. I knew I could play with him, I knew I could beat him, and I came through," Roell said. "He's the best in the U.P., and he fought right to the end. I credit him. He had a great season. I just got the better of him today."
The Maroons put all four of their doubles flights in the finals, but their lone victory came at No. 4 where juniors Nick Cattani and Colin Merat won a contested match against Kingsford seniors Peter Fornetti and Kevin LeClaire 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
"We just fell short in a couple tiebreakers, and Negaunee played great tennis today," Maroons coach Troy Reuter said. "We had some high goals coming into the year, and the kids worked hard over the summer and winter. They gave it everything they had.
"It's a little disappointing not to take the title, but to be right there, I'm proud of the kids. I can't complain."
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Stephen Trawick and Alex Roth continue a volley during their semifinal match at No. 2 doubles Wednesday. (Middle) Kingsford’s Adam Szabo returns a shot en route to winning No. 1 singles. (Photos by Ron Deuter.)