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.)
Bloomfield Hills Makes Top Rank Stand with Repeat LPD1 Championship
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
MIDLAND – Predictability is consistent at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Tennis Finals, and this weekend was no different.
Reigning champion Bloomfield Hills came in as the top-ranked team, followed by Troy and Northville. And heading into Saturday’s semifinal brackets, the Black Hawks were on top with 27 points followed by Troy with 24 and Northville with 22.
With Bloomfield Hills contenders in each flight, it would be difficult for Troy or Northville to unseat the 2022 title winner, and neither was able to as the Black Hawks reigned again.
Brothers Pierce and Connor Shaya captured the No. 2 and 3 singles titles, respectively, as the Black Hawks racked up 36 points. Troy and Northville tied for second with 27 points each after top seed Sachiv Kumar of Northville defeated Rochester’s Clayton Anderson 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 1 singles final to claim his third championship at that flight.
Last year the Black Hawks won three doubles and two singles titles on their way to the championship. They were better this weekend winning six of eight flights and sweeping doubles.
Pierce Shaya, who was part of the No. 1 doubles champion last year, moved to No. 2 singles and entered the championship undefeated, said the target of being a defending champion was evident from the start of the season.
Pierce won his third Finals title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Chad Anderson of Rochester.
“There was a lot of pressure,’’ he said. “I knew were going into it solid, but it’s what we do on the court. We wanted to run it back again. Last year was a great year, but we wanted to make this year even better. It was more of not being cocky, but being confident. Coach makes that big message if we stay confident out there and we don’t get cocky, we can take on any team. I’ve been trying to keep my brother and the underclassmen, even the upperclassmen, staying focused and not get cocky.
“I had played (Anderson) before in Regionals and knew what to expect.’’
Brother Connor Shaya, a sophomore and last year’s champion at No. 4 singles, was the top seed at No. 3 and reached the final against Josh Kim of Northville and dominated 6-4, 6-0.
“We just try to stay humble,’’ said Connor. “I know we haven’t lost yet, but obviously Troy and Northville are very good teams. Novi, we have to look out for them. We just try to know (who) we’re dealing with and not get arrogant or cocky.’’
Northville sophomore Amogh Mavatoor won at No. 4 singles 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 over top seed Haresh Anand of Troy.
Seniors Aaron Rose and Merrick Chernett made their top seed stand at No. 1 doubles, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, in the final over Ann Arbor Huron senior Hassan Hejazi and junior Warren Gunnar.
Seniors Ryan Rose and Michael Dillon were seeded first at No. 2 doubles and won that flight last year. They faced Troy’s Josh Samuelson and Eric Kim in this season’s final and prevailed 6-0, 6-2.
“We lost one match all year to Novi, which we just played in the semifinals. Ryan and I have been together for three years,’’ said Dillion. “We know each other’s game. We’re confident in our abilities. We trust each other. I know my game; I know my partner’s game. That is what we can control.’’
Senior Kierth Lingam and Dominic Pascarella won No. 3 doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Anthony Wu and Varun Shetty of Troy.
“This is great for the seniors,’’ said Lingam. “We have seven on the team, and six start.
“The COVID year was a loss and the next year we lost in the first round. We came back to beat the team the next year and win the title. We called ourselves the Fab Five. We root and cheer for each other. We went undefeated and everyone is rooting against you, but it’s all about staying with your team, trusting your strokes and believing in yourself.’’
The Black Hawks also claimed the No. 4 doubles title with Ethan Endelman and Asher Langwell besting Troy’s Jack Pawlowski and Jesse Hao, 7-6, 6-4.
PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield HIlls' Jonah Chernett returns a volley during a No. 1 singles match Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Brothers Connor and Pierce Shaya celebrate their singles championships. (Top photo by High School Sports Scene.)