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).
FHN Earns 3rd Finals Championship in 4 Seasons, Dow's King Crowned Again
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
KALAMAZOO – Another Lower Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis championship trophy will be added to the showcase at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
After finishing as Finals runners-up two of the last three seasons, Steve Olson's Huskies totaled 26 points to win Saturday at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
Forest Hills Northern narrowly edged co-runners-up Midland Dow and Birmingham Seaholm, which tied at 24 points followed by Byron Center and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in fourth place with 21 and Mattawan sixth with 12 points.
Olson, who took over last year as head coach replacing the legendary Dave Sukup, guided Forest Hills Northern to its first Finals title since 2020. The Huskies had finished runners-up in 2021 and 2022.
"Tennis is a big sport at our school. We put a lot of time into this sport ,and we take it very seriously,” Olson said. “Our goal every season is to win a state championship, but there are a lot of great teams out there that make that a tough thing to do. We knew the tournament was going to be a close one.”
Olson pointed to the success of the Huskies' doubles flights as critical. All four of made the semifinal round.
"Our success in doubles was huge. Our No. 4 doubles team of Markus Bernard and Will Hernly were unseeded and played above that. I'm very proud of how they stepped up for us," Olson said.
Junior Sebastian Madlangbayan was the only Forest Hills Northern player to win his respective flight. Madlangbayan captured the crown at No. 2 singles with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win over Dylan Hodgman from Mattawan.
"There were a lot of ups and downs. I was just focused on opening up the angles on the court against him (Hodgman),” Madlangbayan said. “I can control court position with my forehand and give myself the chance to volley at the net."
Olson praised Madlangbayan's performance.
"Sebastian came in as the top seed, and he had some tight moments but he really dominated this tournament. But the reality is that our whole team contributed. To have six flights reach the semifinals, get those first-round byes and win a lot of early-round matches were also big for us," Olsen said. "We are senior and freshman heavy, but we have a good nucleus returning to build upon in the future."
Midland Dow senior Austin King completed his season unbeaten at 38-0 after earning the No. 1 singles crown with his 6-4, 7-5 win over Portage Central sophomore Sam Schumacher. King breezed through his morning semifinal with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nolan Ackerman of Mattawan.
"I had already played (Schumacher) a couple times this year, so I knew he'd be one of my tougher opponents. I made sure I got a good warmup in before I got out there, but it turned out to be quite a battle. My ability to not give up was key. I was down twice today, once in each set, so I knew I could do this, especially after winning the title last year," said King, who despite receiving Division I full-ride scholarship offers from several schools, including Villanova, has decided to forgo playing at the next level to concentrate on his pre-medical studies at Michigan or Michigan State.
Schumacher complimented King on his performance.
"It just means a great deal to me to be able to share the court with a player like Austin. I have to give him a ton of credit. I really hung in there and played my best match of the season," Schumacher said.
North Farmington senior Jack Weingarden came into the tournament unseeded, but won the No. 3 singles flight on a 5-3 injury default by Mattawan's Connor Schultz in the first set. Weingarden had defeated Forest Hills northern freshman Vikram Krishnan in the semifinals 6-4, 6-3.
"My consistency helped me get through the semifinals and finals. I was definitely playing my best tennis of the season this weekend," Weingarden said.
Seaholm fourth seed Alex Ting topped Dow's Siddarth Venkatesan 6-2, 6-3 to win at No. 4 singles.
"My semifinals match went almost three hours. I started cramping up in both my legs, but I persevered through it. My team and family supported me through the whole day, and that really helps my mindset," Ting said.
Forest Hills Central's Willem Knoester and his partner Austin Rowland knocked off Forest Hills Northern's tandem of Tanav Shenov and Matthew Chan in the No. 1 doubles finale 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, FHC's Hayden Tanner and Joseph Song defeated Byron Center's duo of Rylan Vandenberger and Casey Schans 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).
Seaholm's No. 3 tandem of Britton Leo and Aarvan Senthilvanan disposed of FHC’s No. 3 tandem of James Notarnicola and Sawyer Jordan in the finals 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. The No. 4 doubles crown was also claimed by Seaholm's tandem of Connor Champion and Andrew Wachowicz with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Forest Hills Northern's Benard and Hernly.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland Dow's Austin King hits a backhand during an early No. 1 singles match Friday at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) Forest Hills Northern's Vikram Krishnan sends a forehand at No. 3 singles. (Below) North Farmington's Jack Weingarden volleys during his first match at No. 3 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)