Novi, Bloomfield Hills Tie to Top D1
October 17, 2015
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – The unexpected snow squall that hovered over the Greater Midland Tennis Center during Saturday afternoon couldn't stand in the way of the Novi boys tennis team staking a claim to the Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship.
Novi repeated as champion, tying Bloomfield Hills with 26 points to win the title. First day co-leaders Ann Arbor Huron and Ann Arbor Pioneer finished out the top four.
"This is one of those days that you won't forget," said Novi coach Jim Hanson. "We came into the season with a lot of high expectations, but when you lose one of the top players in the state to graduation you put a lot of focus on getting better. The guys got better all year long and we were able to hang on in the end. It's wasn't easy, to say the least."
Friday's action was indoors at the Greater Midland Tennis Center. Once Saturday's finals came around, not only did the players have to battle their opponents, they had to battle the elements as well.
After the majority of players started the day outdoors, the weather forced the remaining players indoors for a second straight day.
"The only good thing about the weather Saturday was that it wasn't windy," Hanson said. "The guys are out their moving around. It's tough for both players in a match. It's Michigan. You never know what you are going to get weather-wise so you have to be prepared at what Mother Nature throws at you."
Ann Arbor Huron coach Stefan Welch agrees with Hanson's assessment.
"Everyone who stepped on the court today faced the same elements. We just tried to get their mindset on what they were about to face," Welch said. "They know the ball bounces differently outdoors than indoors. It was a cold one for sure, but I think our kids were prepared for what they endured."
In singles action Northville's Connor Johnston finally broke through at No. 1 singles.
The top-seeded Mustangs standout finished his high school career with titles as a freshman (at No. 2 singles) and senior, with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Bloomfield Hills’ second-seeded Josh Mukherjee to claim the No. 1 singles championship. Johnston lost to Novi's Tim Wang in No. 1 finals the previous two seasons.
Johnston fell behind, 3-4, then won the next three games to take the first set. Riding the momentum, Johnston broke Mukherjee to start the second set, firing a fist-pump at his teammates. He closed out the match by winning the final nine games.
By the time the snow came and forced the action indoors, Johnston had won seven straight games.
“I thought it was funny playing tennis in the snow,” Johnston said. “Worst possible timing. Never done that before. It was a good match to remember."
Novi sophomore Alex Wen fought through an illness that caused him to put down his racket for five months. A champion as a freshman at No. 3 singles, he moved up and won No. 2 singles, 6-4, 7-5, against Bloomfield Hills freshman Andrew Zhang.
Zhang’s teammate, Constantine Hemmich, won No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-3, over Novi freshman Sid Amarnath.
The team title came down to the No. 4 singles match between previously unbeaten Brad Silverman of Bloomfield Hills and Chris Chio of Huron.
Silverman won the first set, but lost the final two, 3-6, 3-6. The result meant that Novi and Bloomfield Hills tied at 26 and shared the title.
Birmingham Brother Rice’s No. 1 doubles team of freshman Jarreau Campbell and senior Sean Abelarde won the flight over Troy’s Sai Kagithala and Kevin Fietsam, 6-3, 6-2.
Huron’s No. 2 doubles team of Austin Choi and Robert Dong beat rival Pioneer in the final, 6-3, 6-4, against Sayhann Goraya and Nico Figueroa.
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi poses with a championship trophy after winning a share of the Lower Peninsula Division 1 title, its second straight. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills also won a share of the title, its first since the school was created from a merger of Lahser and Andover. (Below) Northville’s Connor Johnston won No. 1 singles after finishing runner-up the last two seasons. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Westwood Runs Reign to 3 Straight
June 2, 2016
By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half
KINGSFORD — Ishpeming Westwood coach Chris Jackson knew his team had to appear in the finals during the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis tournament Thursday.
They did, and won all six of their title match appearances to win the overall championship with 20 points. Iron River West Iron County was runner-up with 15.
“I think a lot of it was about redemption,” said Westwood coach Chris Jackson. “We have six seniors. A number of them had disappointments last year, and we still were able to win. A lot of those kids came back and fought through some tough moments today and got an extra point or two.”
Westwood’s No. 2 singles Jacob Kerkela defeated West Iron’s Erick Upperstrom, 6-1, 6-3, as he team claimed the second, third and fourth singles and second, third and fourth doubles flights.
Westwood shared the championship in 2015 in Iron Mountain, but now has won MHSAA titles to finish three straight seasons and four of the last five.
West Iron County coach Joe Serbentas said he was happy with the way his team performed in finishing second to the more experienced Patriots.
The Wykons advanced to championship matches in six flights as it sought its first team title since 2013.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a tight match with Westwood,” Serbentas said. “I was just happy that our team had an opportunity at the very end to try and take a championship as a team. We know they have a nice team. I was proud of the way our boys fought.”
West Iron County had trouble converting on its opportunities to win championship matches. The day’s longest was No. 3 singles between James Swanson and Adam Hyttinen, which lasted more than an hour. The two traded tiebreakers in the first two sets before Hyttinen won the last set, 6-2, and finished Westwood’s championship.
Serbentas was optimistic and said with a young team including just three seniors, the sky is the limit next year.
“I thought the whole team improved as the season went along,” Serbentas said. “That’s all you can ask as a coach is to give your team an opportunity to win at the end, and we did. We’re going to be back next year, and we’re going to have to learn how to finish some of these flights and win some championships next year. That was the critical point of the day: we could not win at the end.”
Third-place Iron Mountain played a bit of a spoiler role against West Iron County. No. 1 singles Tysen Wadge beat Neil Tomasoski, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Jordan Wadge and Luke Truscott beat Zane Sarafiny and Brandon Henschel in No. 1 doubles, 6-4, 6-2.
Mountaineers coach Greg Stegall said his team did OK, but its depth didn’t match up.
“We’re still producing the best players at the top flights — one singles and doubles,” Stegall said. “Overall, team depth, we just don’t have the numbers. These schools, they have entire JV squads, which means they have over 30 kids to develop. We’ve got 16 at the most.”
Ishpeming placed fourth with four points, followed by Munising (three) and Gwinn (one).
Click for championship match results.
PHOTOS: (Top) An Ishpeming Westwood doubles player returns a shot during Thursday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Iron Mountain's Tysen Wadge prepares to send back a shot on the way to winning the No. 1 singles title. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)