Novi Lands 1st Title after Narrow Miss
October 18, 2014
By Greg Tunnicliff
Special to Second Half
MIDLAND – The serve was good.
But the landing wasn’t, and it nearly cost Alex Wen an MHSAA tennis championship Saturday afternoon at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Midland Community Tennis Center.
The Novi freshman was up a set in his No. 3 singles championship match, serving and leading 4-2 in the second when he suffered severe cramps in his left quadriceps.
When the 14-year-old came down after a serve, he was in such great pain that he couldn’t do anything but lie down on the baseline and wait for help to arrive.
“I was in a lot of pain, the worst ever,” Wen said. “I just wanted to get back up.”
After being worked on by medical personnel for several minutes, the top-seeded Wen returned to action and went on to post a dramatic 7-5, 6-4 victory over second-seeded Jack Winkler of Birmingham Brother Rice.
“I am not a quitter. I was going to play to the end,” Wen said. “I knew I had to pull through.”
Wen wasn’t the only member of the Wildcats’ team that had a lot of fight in him Saturday. Novi, ranked No. 1, sent five flights to the finals and won four en route to finishing in first place with 31 points.
Brother Rice, ranked No. 3, took runner-up honors with 23 points and Troy, ranked No. 2, and Ann Arbor Huron, ranked No. 4, tied for third place with 20.
Novi’s triumph not only ended Huron’s three-year reign as LP Division 1 champions, but gave the Wildcats their first championship. Novi took runner-up honors last year, losing by one point to Huron.
“We lost by one point last year, and the kids have been working hard ever since,” said Jim Hanson, who is in his 21st season as the Wildcats’ boys coach. “This was our best opportunity to make a run at the title. The kids were wonderful.”
The Kensington Lakes Activities Association flexed its muscle Saturday, placing three teams in the top 10. Northville finished in seventh place with 11 points, and Grand Blanc tied with Port Huron Northern, Ann Arbor Skyline and Troy Athens for ninth place with nine points.
“There is some pretty good tennis in the KLAA at the top,” Hanson said. “Northville is our baseline rival, and I was happy to see them do well. Grand Blanc definitely had a great year.”
While Novi showed great depth Saturday, it was led primarily by its singles flights. The Wildcats swept all four flights, led by senior Tim Wang, who captured his second straight championship at No. 1 singles.
The second-seeded Wang won the first set over top-seeded Connor Johnston of Northville by a 6-4 count before falling behind 3-0 in the second. The Columbia University-bound Wang then came back to post a 7-5 (7-6) triumph to win the set and the match.
It was the eighth time Wang and Johnston have played each other the last two years, the fourth meeting this fall. Wang won the series 5-3, including a 2-0 advantage in MHSAA championship matches.
“Every match has different aspects to it,” said Wang, who lost to Johnston in straight sets in the regional final. “This entire week, I had this match on my mind. I just went back to the drawing board. I was able to find my rhythm, and after that it was everything for the team.”
Novi junior Koushik Kundapi won the championship at No. 3 singles in 2013 before moving up to No. 2 this fall. The top-seeded Kundapi spent a lot of time on the court Saturday, winning back-to-back three-set matches to secure his second straight title.
After edging Grand Blanc’s Hunter Li, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the semifinals, he downed Port Huron Northern’s Chris Adams, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, in the championship match. It was Kundapi’s third straight trip to the finals, having lost in the No. 3 singles championship match in 2012.
“I moved up a flight, and the competition was much harder,” Kundapi said. “I had to play tough matches in every round, and I was just happy to get through it.”
Rounding out Novi’s winners was its No. 4 singles player, senior Andre Liu. The top-seeded Liu rolled through his draw, winning all four of his matches in straight sets, including a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Timothy Kao of Skyline in the finals.
Huron captured two of the four doubles flights, led by its No. 1 doubles team of Jason Chen and Austin Choi. The twosome lost twice to Brother Rice and once to Novi during the regular season.
They atoned for the losses Saturday, upsetting second-seeded Brother Rice, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the semifinals and top-seeded Novi, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), in the championship match.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for Chen and Choi.
“Our semifinal match was a momentum-changing match,” Choi said. “We came out stronger (in the championship match). We had a better attitude, and we played a lot better.”
Huron’s other individual champion was its No. 3 team of Alex Cadigan and Brenden Chen. The top-seeded tandem beat a team from neighborhood rival Ann Arbor Pioneer, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, in the semifinals before downing second-seeded Dan Lunghamer and Sean Aberlarde of Brother Rice, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, in the finals.
“In the Pioneer match, we were very aggressive at the net, and we went for the right opportunity,” Cadigan said. “In the championship match, we played some of the best tennis we have played all season. We knew what we wanted to do, and we did it.”
Brother Rice secured its only individual championship when its No. 2 doubles team of Brendan Dillon and Christian Abelarde, who were the second seed, upset top-seeded Will Brenner and Orion Sang of Huron, 6-2, 6-0, in the finals.
Rounding out the doubles champions was Troy’s No. 4 team of Annesh Raslogi and Brandon Guo. The third-seeded team upset second-seeded Pioneer, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals before edging fifth-seeded Travis Tucker and Sam Schwartz of Brother Rice, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), in the championship match.
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi players celebrate their first MHSAA championship. (Middle) Novi’s Tim Wang volleys during his championship match at No. 1 singles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Hodgman Family's Kzoo Tennis Connection Extending Through 4th Generation
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2024
MATTAWAN – To say that tennis is in Dylan Hodgman’s DNA is definitely an understatement.
The Mattawan sophomore is the youngest of four generations of tennis aficionados that began with his great-grandfather and has continued through his grandparents, father and two older brothers.
It all started during the 1950s with Dr. Bert Hodgman, an obstetrician/general practitioner who not only played tennis but started a women’s tennis team called the Hodgman Girls.
One of those “Girls” was Patty Miller, who eventually married Brad Hodgman – and the pair became Dylan’s grandparents.
Dylan’s father, Cliff, is in the process of starting a nonprofit tennis academy in Kalamazoo that will feature two divisions: Hodgman Boyz and Hodgman Girlz.
Included in the academy are Dylan and his recently-graduated older brothers Luke (2022) and Jacob (2024), who all have been part of Mattawan’s tennis success.
The Wildcats have earned Regional championships the last three years, won their fourth consecutive Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title last fall and have competed in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals the last six years, finishing third in 2023.
Coach Matt Boven, in his 26th year leading Mattawan program, has coached all three brothers.
“I’m not surprised that they’re continuing the tradition,” Boven said. “All of them have unique ways of going about things when they play. All are so talented and hard-working and charismatic.”
Senior Nolan Ackerman, slotted at No. 1 singles the last two years, has been teammates with all three Hodgmans at various times.
“Luke is more of a slapper,” Ackerman said. “He likes to hit the ball hard. Dylan just keeps the ball in play and outlasts his opponents.
“Luke was always trying to put balls away and end the point quickly. Jake, it depended on who he was playing.”
Wildcats assistant Warner Offord III also coaches all three Hodgman brothers and noted their different styles.
“Luke likes to fish, more laissez-faire, but on the court he’s really focused, spicy-dicey with his game,” Offord said. “Jake was more serve and volley with a big serve. Both were first-team all-staters.
“Dylan is the firecracker. He’s like a right-handed (Rafael) Nadal. He likes to hit every ball hard, he likes to pounce on balls. It’s just a passion with their family.”
The three brothers and their father often play doubles together.
“It’s always been a bonding thing,” dad Cliff Hodgman said. “It teaches them about life. We work hard, we play hard, but we have a lot of fun.”
Dylan Hodgman has moved this season from fourth to second singles, where he has a 12-1 record. He finished Finals runner-up at No. 4 last fall, falling 6-4, 6-1, in the championship match to Midland junior Nimai Patel.
Jumping up two flights, “there’s better competition, harder hitters, people who get more balls back,” Hodgman said. “They have a harder serve, an overall better game.”
He was just 2 years old when he started playing tennis, but his great-grandfather started at a much older age.
While at Princeton in the 1930s, Bert Hodgman read a book about tennis, started playing and got hooked, Cliff Hodgman said.
“He started the Hodgman Girls in the 1950s,” Cliff explained. “It was kind of an elitist sport back then. His goal was to not make it like that. My mom (Patty Miller) won the city ping pong championship at Milwood Junior High, so he called her up and said come on out and try out.”
Some of those Hodgman Girls went on to compete nationally, like “my mom and her partner, Kathy Dombos (Schlukebir), who went on to the Orange Bowl and got to the finals in doubles.”
After retiring as chief of staff for Bronson Methodist and Borgess hospitals in Kalamazoo, Bert Hodgman started a tennis program in Hilton Head, S.C., open to anyone free of charge.
That is the legacy his grandson hopes to continue.
A full-time financial advisor, Cliff Hodgman has plans to build a “super training center in Kalamazoo.
“It will cost about $7 or $8 million, but we’re going to do it,” he said. “We won’t charge anyone for anything. It will be a community-based effort.”
He hopes to have it running in three years.
“It’s an extension of what my grandpa did 60 years ago, but take it to a new level,” he said.
Meanwhile, the current focus is on Dylan and the Wildcats.
This season, Mattawan is 11-2 with its most recent loss a wake-up call against Portage Central early this month.
“We have two losses so far, but when we lost to Portage Central that made us realize we’re not the same team as last year anymore,” said Ackerman, who has an 11-2 record. “We lost four of our top five players, and all four were all-staters.”
Since that loss, Mattawan has reeled off nine straight wins.
Boven said competing in the SMAC is a bonus and a challenge.
“I’m thankful we have a challenging conference where we can continue to test ourselves under pressure,” he said. “Each year, our Regional can be challenging, so our focus is to get there, and once we’re there, we can start to try to eye a possible state championship.
“Our singles have led us this season, but we’ve definitely had some great performances with some of our doubles. We have some new players this season playing doubles, but they’re getting acclimated pretty quickly and they’re improving with each day.”
Rounding out singles play are senior Connor Schultz at No. 3 and junior Alan Muresan at No. 4
The top two doubles teams are senior Caleb Goodrich and junior Gavin McCain at No. 1 and juniors Bradley Ko and Matt Engel at No. 2. A pair of seniors, Kurtis Scheffler and Jeffrey Richardson, hold down the No. 3 spot while freshman Asher Ndenga and junior Oliver Bancroft are at No. 4. Sophomore Bobby Dunning is the first varsity alternate.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mattawan’s Dylan Hodgman volleys during a recent practice. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Mattawan boys tennis coach Matt Boven, Nolan Ackerman, Cliff Hodgman and Mattawan assistant coach Warner Offord III. (Below) Dr. Bert Hodgman, middle of top row, and future daughter-in-law Patty Miller, standing far right, take a photo with their Hodgman Girls team. Below, from left, Jacob, Luke and Dylan Hodgman are part of the newest Hodgman Boyz. (Top photo and Boven, Ackerman and Offord head shots by Pam Shebest. Additional photos courtesy of Cliff Hodgman.)