Liggett Ends Greenhills' 8-Year Reign
October 15, 2016
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
HOLLY – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett went into Saturday’s Finals as the winningest program in Division 4 tennis history despite not having won an MHSAA title in 14 years.
That changed Saturday, as the Knights both ended their long drought and also snapped Ann Arbor Greenhills’ eight-year championship streak by edging the Gryphons at Holly High School.
“Liggett was a good team,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said. “They beat us head-to-head, they beat us in (Liggett’s) tournament and they beat us in this tournament. They were the better team this year.”
Liggett finished with 32 points to Greenhills’ 30. Traverse City St. Francis and Whitehall tied for third with 22 points.
It was the 35th title overall for Liggett.
Knights coach Mark Sobieralski has a talented core of seven juniors who have been preparing three years for Saturday’s Final.
“These guys came in as freshman two years ago,” he said. “They were good, but they didn’t know how to close out (matches). Last year, we got closer, got more of a taste. We finally beat Greenhills in a dual, and that gave us a lot of confidence.”
The Knights have just two seniors, and got an especially gutty performance from the one at the top of the lineup.
T.J. Dulac, playing at No. 1 singles, competed despite a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. He injured it in the Regional, having to withdraw after a fall while leading 5-0 in his match.
He was cleared to play earlier this week and took the court Friday with his right wrist bandaged.
“It hurt, but it’s all for the team,” said Dulac, who played last year with a broken bone in his left foot. “I worked my backhand more than I’m used to. It worked (Friday) and it almost worked today, so I was happy with how it worked out.”
Dulac got to the semifinals, getting three crucial points for the Knights.
“That really was an incredible, gutsy performance,” Sobieralski said. “It was three points, and it was huge, huge, huge for him to get to the semis when he was hurt. I give him a lot of credit for that.”
Another stellar performance came at No. 1 doubles, where the Greenhills team of Mitchell Gajar and Jack Harris won the title after being seeded fifth.
It was the second Finals title in a row for both, and their first as a team after competing with different partners last year.
For Eric Gajar, watching his son, Mitchell, win another title was special.
“Tough to describe,” Eric Gajar said. “That was a special moment, (but) I think he would trade that title to keep the team title for his teammates.”
“Our coach told us that if seeds determined how the tournament would go, there would be no need to play,” Harris said. “We worked on the match we were playing in and didn’t look too far ahead.”
Williamston’s Oliver Weaver won the No. 1 singles title in straight sets, beating Austin Koenes of Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 6-4, 6-1.
“Last year, I lost in three sets,” the junior said. “It was a tough match and I was really upset about that. I was really motivated to win it this year, and I’m really happy with how I played today.”
Saturday marked the fifth time in the last seven years a player from the Capital Area Activities Conference’s White division had won the No. 1 singles crown.
For Dulac, the fall season isn’t over. He will compete for the Liggett cross country team during the final three weeks of the season, something he has done the last couple of autumns after the end of the tennis season.
Only one player on the Liggett roster plays only tennis, and Sobieralski says his players’ multi-sport participation served them well Saturday.
“It makes you tough, mentally tough and strong,” he said. “And they’re competitive. That’s important. I think tennis, a lot of times, is 80 percent mental and 20 percent ability. You win a lot of matches with guts and just hanging in there. I always say a good player can win even when they’re not playing their best, because they’ll try something different and they keep fighting. That’s the team I’ve got. I’m really proud of their fight.”
“My hat’s off to Liggett,” Gajar said. “They’re good players, and they’re going to have most of them back next year, unfortunately for the rest of the state.”
PHOTO: (Top) University Liggett poses with its championship trophy Saturday after ending Greenhills’ title run. (Middle) Williamston’s Oliver Weaver returns a shot during Friday’s play. (Top photo courtesy of University Liggett school.)
St. Francis Finishes 1st Finals Title Run in Dominating Fashion
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
October 17, 2021
ANN ARBOR — Minutes after his team clinched its first-ever boy tennis Finals championship, Tommy Puetz was still processing the accomplishment.
“It’s somewhat surreal,” he said. “I was with the team my freshman year, and we finished second that year. It’s pretty surreal to see it all come together, all our hard work in the offseason.”
That it did, and in its 14th try, Traverse City St. Francis went home with a championship trophy after a rain-soaked weekend at the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Pioneer tennis courts.
St. Francis, the top-ranked team entering the weekend, finished with 34 points, besting 2020 champion Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which had 27. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian was third, with 19.
The Gladiators entered with No. 1 seeds in six flights.
“It’s tough being the top seed, especially for high school kids, but they handled the pressure very well,” St. Francis coach Dane Fosgard said. “It's definitely very exciting. This team has worked very hard. For some of them, they've been at it for four years. It’s definitely a huge accomplishment for myself and the team.”
A near all-day rain Friday got the tournament off to a slow start, and Saturday’s matches didn’t begin until almost noon at both Pioneer and U-M, where the tournament was played on the outdoor courts before it was moved inside after dark.
“It’s my 40th year of coaching, and I’ve never had a tournament where on the first day we didn’t get at least to the semifinals,” Liggett coach Mark Sobieralski said. “It’s crazy.”
Liggett kept it close until the final rounds.
"Our goal was to get everyone into the semifinals, and see what happens from there,” Sobieralski said, “We got everyone into the semis, and lost a couple of close ones.”
But in the end, St. Francis, which topped the state coaches poll all season, was not to be denied.
“They were just ready,” Liggett senior captain Jake Tomlinson said. “They were hungry to win that state title, because they really wanted it last year and we beat them. They were really upset about it, and all year they were grinding to get to this point.”
The Gladiators got into a groove when No. 1 singles player Grant Hedley returned from an injury.
“When he came back, our team really turned it around,” said Puetz. “We played a lot of good competition through September, a lot of D-1 and D-2 schools, which really prepares us a lot for the state meet.”
Puetz, who started playing tennis in middle school, is the Gladiator whose primary sport isn’t tennis. (It’s golf).
“All of these guys put in so much work in the offseason to reach this point,” he said., “It all pays off.
“I started playing because I got free candy for winning,” he recalled, smiling. “And now here I am, a state champion.”
And, Puetz said, despite a long day Saturday, the wait was worth it.
“Ten thousand percent,” he said.
At No. 1 singles, Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Andrew Solarewicz took the final step with his first championship after finishing runner-up at the top flight in 2020. He defeated Liggett’s Sebastian Courtright 6-1, 6-2, in the final. Solarewicz gave up only eight games total this weekend over eight sets and fourth wins.
St. Francis benefitted from championships at No. 2 singles from Tristan Bonanni, No. 3 from Owen Jackson, and No. 4 from Chris Bobrowski; and from doubles flights at No. 1 from Cody Richards and Ben Schmude, No. 2 from Jack Britten and Anthony Spranger, and No. 3 from Charlie King and Derek Berta.
Hudsonville Unity Christian’s Cam Dykstra and Cory Mitchell were the title winners at No. 4.
PHOTOS Traverse City St. Francis’ Chris Bobrowski celebrates as his team moves toward clinching its first Finals team championship. (Middle) Unity Christian serves during Saturday’s final rounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)