Miners, Maroons Close with Wins to Share

June 2, 2016

By Steve Brownlee
Special for Second Half

NEGAUNEE — A tale of two strategies worked out about as well as possible for the Negaunee and Menominee high school tennis teams Thursday afternoon.

In the end, each won its final match of the day to forge a tie for the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys tennis title at the Miners’ courts.

It will be considered a win for each school, with each adding to its respective trophy case. A duplicate will be ordered and sent out, of course, so each team can claim the ultimate spring victory.

The Maroons claimed their half of the title when juniors Levi Kempka and Jake Anglehart pulled out a comeback 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Negaunee seniors Jacob Paupore and Matthew Jandron in the No. 2 doubles final.

Theirs was one of only two matches still going late in the afternoon at the new set of eight side-by-side courts at Negaunee High School.

Asked if they had an inkling their match might help determine the meet’s winner, Kempka said they had much more than an inkling.

“Right after the first set was over, (Menominee) coach (Troy Reuter) came over and asked if we wanted to know where we were in the meet,” Kempka said. “I said, ‘Yeah, tell us.’ And he said if we won, we wrapped up at least a share of the title.

“I think we started playing a lot better after that. The intensity went way up.”

The second-year doubles partners rallied to win those last two sets and get their team to 16 points.

One final match continued after theirs, Miners sophomore and first-year varsity player Thomas Sertich versus Kingsford’s Mikhail Roell.

Sertich would need a win to get Negaunee to its 16th point.

However, he had no idea what was on the line.

“I had no idea what the magnitude of the match was,” Sertich said. “I just thought that it was the last match.”

“We try to keep our distance and stay quiet in those kind of circumstances,” Negaunee coach Kyle Saari said. “Just let nature take its course.”

That was readily apparent as Menominee players and coaches crowded close to the fence to watch the outcome of the match, while no one from Negaunee stood within 40 or 50 feet of the adjoining outside fence where Sertich was playing.

And it worked perfectly, as Sertich won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

“You’ve got to give Thomas credit,” Saari said. “He’s a consistent hitter, he hits a slow ball back, and at No. 4, that can be frustrating to a lot of players.

“Give him credit, too, especially with the pressure of having two teams rooting against you.”

While this was Menominee’s first U.P. title since 1998, Negaunee added to its legacy in the second decade of the 21st century — the Miners also shared the 2010 title along with winning outright in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

“What it comes down to, going back to 2010, is that the groups (of players) that follow watch it being done, and that next group comes in not only expecting to contend, but believing they can do it.

“It makes them work that much harder to see if they can achieve more than the group that preceded them.”

On Thursday, Menominee won four flight championships and Negaunee three, accounting for all but one title among the eight flights as each scored 16 points.

Despite not winning a title, Kingsford finished third with 12 points as the Flivvers had four runner-up finishes.

Escanaba was fourth with five points, followed by Marquette with four and Gladstone with one.

The Redmen had the other champion, freshman Alec Olivier at No. 1 singles. He slipped by Kingsford’s Brady Hicks 6-2, 6-0 in his finale.

Menominee also got wins from No. 3 singles player Mitchell Boucher, 6-4, 6-4 over Negaunee’s Luke Skewis; the No. 1 doubles tandem of Adam Nolde and Aaron Maas, 6-4, 6-1 over Brett Hicks and Chris Roell of Kingsford; and the No. 3 doubles pair of Peyton Mileski and Joe Anttila, 6-4, 6-1 over Negaunee’s Dylan Tasson and Peyton Anderson.

Negaunee’s other victories came from No. 2 singles player Eric Hurst, 6-4, 6-4 over Kingsford’s Alec Shanks; and the No. 4 doubles duo of Klay Ronn and Tyler Ryan, 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-4) over Menominee’s Sam Larson and Andrew Leinonen.

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PHOTOS: (Top) Menominee's Aaron Maas takes a swing during the No. 1 doubles championship match against Kingsford on Thursday. (Middle) Negaunee's Thomas Sertich serves the ball during the No. 4 singles semifinal match against Escanaba's Christer Carne. (Photos by Elizabeth Bailey.)

Cranes Write Championship Finish Again

October 21, 2017

By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half

HOLLAND – This year’s MHSAA Division 3 Boys Tennis Finals featured a familiar storyline and an equally familiar ending.

For the third straight season, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood came away with the Lower Peninsula Division 3 title – and for a third straight season the Cranes held off a familiar foe in longtime rival Detroit Country Day.

Led by outstanding singles players and clutch doubles play, top-ranked Cranbrook Kingswood totaled 36 points while Detroit Country Day placed second with 28. East Grand Rapids and Ada Forest Hills Eastern tied for third place with 20 points.

Cranbrook Kingswood did have a twist to this year’s winning plot. The Cranes were led by a new coach this season in Steve Herdoiza. Although in his first season with the boys, Herdoiza is no stranger to the tennis program as he has coached the Cranbrook Kingswood girls team the past four years.

 “With this group of guys, I thought that winning a third state title was very attainable,” Herdoiza said. “I knew a lot of these guys. As a new coach it’s important that everyone buys into the system, and all these boys did. This is a team with a lot of depth and a lot of talent. When you put those two things together, and everyone is working hard, you can accomplish big things.”

Cranbrook Kingswood’s depth and talent proved key. Two years ago, the Cranes won the title by eight points over second-place Country Day, and last year the margin was just one point over the Yellowjackets. At the Regional leading up to this year’s Finals, Cranbrook Kingswood defeated Country Day, ranked second in LPD3, by two points.

Strong play in the singles flights proved a key for Cranbrook Kingswood. At No. 1 singles, senior Benji Jacobson came into the tournament as the top seed. A two-time individual Finals champion and last year’s winner at No. 1 singles, Jacobson claimed this year’s title with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Jack Dausman of Coopersville. Dausman was a familiar foe for Jacobson, as Jacobson defeated Dausman in last year’s semifinals.

After a slow start to the season, Jacobson came into the tournament on a roll the last few weeks.

“At the beginning of the year I struggled a little bit,” Jacobson said. “I changed my grip and it took a while to get used to it. A few weeks ago, it started to click and it made a big difference this year.”

Jacobson, who will continue his tennis career at Tulane University next season, capped his career at Cranbrook Kingswood as a three-time individual and three-time team Finals champion. While the individual titles are nice, the team title is by far more special for Jacobson.

“Winning the team title easily feels better,” Jacobson said. “For the past three months we’ve been on the court grinding and having fun off the court. These guys are like my brothers. We are more like a family, and winning three in a row is unbelievable.”

While Jacobson won his third individual singles title, his teammate, sophomore Lucas Bosch, claimed his first. Seeded first at No. 2 singles, Bosh defeated Ricky Warnicke, the second seed from Detroit Country Day, 6-4, 6-0.

“Words can’t describe this feeling,” Bosch said. “Being here last year helped me because I was not as nervous as last year. Winning the team title is great, especially for our seniors. This was their last matches in high school, and to send them out with a third title is amazing.”

Cranbrook Kingswood also came away with the championship at No. 3 singles. Justin Luo, the top seed, turned in an efficient performance in the finals with a 6-0, 6-0 win against second-seed Kody Harrington of Allegan.

At No. 4 singles, Detroit Country Day senior Eric Wang, the top seed, defeated a familiar foe in Cranbrook Kingswood’s Sohum Archarya. Wang held off Archarya 7-6 (7), 6-2 in a tight match.

“The first set was real close,” Wang said. “It went to a tie breaker and I won it 9-7, so it definitely was real close. It feels good to end my senior year with a win.”

In doubles play, Cranbrook Kingswood won at No. 2 as the top-seeded duo of Joseph Croskey and Nikhil Deenadayalu defeated Connor Smith and Kole Butterer of East Grand Rapids 6-4, 6-2.

Detroit Country Day claimed a pair of titles in double competition. At No. 3, Country Day’s team of Tom Nardicchio and Eric Liu held off Cranbrook Kingswood’s Eshaan Kawira and Jack Trees 7-5, 6-3.

At No. 4 doubles, the Country Day team of junior Nick Sicilia and senior Justin Lee defeated Cranbrook Kingswood’s Hayes Bradley and David Hermelin 7-6 (2), 6-4.

“To win the last match of your high school career is pretty awesome,” Lee said.

“It’s pretty special,” Sicilia said. “This is the third time we beat them this year. The first time it was 6-0, 6-3 and the second time it was 6-4, 6-1. This time the first set went to a tie breaker, so it was closer this time.” 

One of the bigger surprises of the tournament came at No. 1 doubles, where Forest Hills Eastern’s Nick Hakken and Anish Premkumar, the three seed, defeated Cranbrook Kingswood top seeds Andrew Du and Jacob Yellen 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

“To finally win it is amazing,” Premkumar said. “It’s always been a goal of ours to win state.”

The win also helped Eastern finish in third place, the best finish the Hawks have ever posted at the Finals.

“We were just really focused,” Hakken said. “We had Country Day in the semifinals so we had to be real focused for that match also. To help the team to its best finish ever is really cool.”

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PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood celebrates its third straight LPD3 championship. (Middle) Anish Premkumar and Nick Hakken led Forest Hills Eastern to its highest Finals finish. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)