Perfect Ending to Sienko's Story
November 1, 2012
B y Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If Michael Sienko could re-play the last three years of his school tennis career, he’d hope for them to play out the same way.
That would mean experiencing again the disappointment of falling in two straight MHSAA championship matches. But those moments of frustration would be more than worth reliving this season, which ended two weeks ago with the Division 4 championship at No. 1 singles.
“Winning my last match is not something a lot of guys can say, and I think it’s cool that I lost twice in the state finals and ended up winning it. It’s a good story,” Sienko said. “It taught me lessons about not giving up and just working hard to accomplish my goals, and that’s what I did.”
In fact, Sienko didn’t lose a high school match in 2012. The Williamston senior gets a Second Half High 5 after finishing 28-0 this fall to run his career record to 102-8. The championship actually was Sienko’s second – he also won the Division 4 title at No. 2 singles as a freshman.
But much has changed since Sienko joined the Hornets varsity in 2009, playing the second position behind his older brother Peter, who finished MHSAA runner-up that season.
Michael was a slight 5-foot-3 then, before hitting a growth spurt at the end of his freshman year that helped him get to 5-10.
But he still had growing to do to set up this perfect season.
Sienko’s league, the Capital Area Activities Conference White, has produced the last three Division 4 champions at No. 1 singles. In 2010, Sienko lost to then-junior Paul Heeder of Lansing Catholic, 6-4, 6-2, after advancing to the final by beating the No. 1 seed. But Sienko entered last season’s Finals as the top seed and beat Heeder in a semifinal match – before then falling to second-seeded Chance Conley of Portland, 6-4, 6-2 again.
Heeder graduated in the spring, but Conley also is a senior this fall. That meant the two of them could meet at least four times – including a rematch in the Final at Kalamazoo College.
Fueled by the 2011 loss, Sienko got to work. He played more during the offseason and did more conditioning. He also hit the weight room – “It’s not like I was benching 250 or something, like the football guys, one, two, three and drop the weight,” he said – and focused on high-rep workouts that added explosiveness and velocity to his shots.
He also did some mental training, with the help of his older brother. Peter Sienko plays for Army, and texted Michael frequently before matches, mostly to help build his brother’s confidence. “Tennis, a lot of it is mental,” Michael said. “It’s confidence. If you’re not getting down on yourself, chances are you’re going to win. If you’re down on yourself, there’s really no help for you.”
Sienko did indeed see Conley in their final high school match. And this time, Sienko came out on top 6-1, 6-0.
“Michael had a goal all season to win states, and he worked very hard to achieve it,” Williamston coach Jenny Nalepa said. “He has a great attitude on and off the court and set an example for all the other players on the team.”
Williamston ended up 11th as a team at the Division 4 Final, and Sienko helping his teammates was a big part of his final season. He’ll get the chance to play at the collegiate level – his favorites are Army and Air Force – but this fall was about team, and when the Hornets lost, he was disappointed too although he’d won his point. He enjoys leading and fell into that position easily as a senior.
That’s how he’d like to be remembered, as much for his perfect season and his two championships.
“I gave 100 percent every time I played, and I definitely tried to play for Williamston and not myself,” Sienko said. “Because that’s the bigger picture.”
PHOTO: Williamston's Michael Sienko returns a volleyball during the MHSAA Division 4 Final at Kalamazoo College. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Inside or Out, Black Hawks Dominate D1
October 20, 2018
By Chris Stevens
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – Inside or outside, the Bloomfield Hills boys tennis team knows exactly what it takes to win an MHSAA Finals championship.
Last year, the Blacks Hawks won on the outdoor courts at the Greater Midland Tennis Center. Saturday, at the same location, they went back-to-back in capturing a second straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 title. This time, the action took place inside because the outdoor courts were wet due to overnight showers and winter-like weather.
Regardless of location, the taste of winning a second straight championship is incredibly sweet. Bloomfield Hills, which dominated the competition with 37 points, has now won three of the past four Division 1 titles. Birmingham Brother Rice and Ann Arbor Huron tied for second Saturday with 22 points. Northville was fourth with 20 points, and Troy placed fifth at 17.
“We have a very close team,” said Black Hawks star senior No. 1 singles player Andrew Zhang, a hard-hitting left-hander, who captured an individual title en route to running his season record to 26-0. “Everyone has a close bond with each other and cheers for one another.
“We put in a lot of hard work this season. The entire team showed a lot of dedication throughout the season. We trained very hard,” added Zhang, who’ll play his college tennis at Duke University. “We are very fortunate to have such a strong team.”
Bloomfield Hills coach Greg Burks was proud of his team’s effort, saying the Black Hawks steadily improved throughout the fall. In particular, he said that Zhang’s stellar play led the way.
“Every bit of adversity that he faces on the court, he handles spectacularly. He’s one of the best thinkers on the court that I’ve ever seen,” Burks said. “He’s the ultimate sportsman. If you ask any of the players in our area who they think is the nicest tennis player, Andrew would be right there (at the top.) He’s a great kid, and I’m going to miss him.”
The Black Hawks captured Finals titles in five of eight flights.
At No. 1 singles, Zhang did not drop a set during the tournament. In the championship match, he posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brother Rice’s Jarreau Campbell.
“It was a tough match,” Zhang said. “Jarreau is a great player.”
Bloomfield Hills also won at No. 3 singles, No. 1 doubles, No. 2 doubles and No. 4 doubles.
At No. 3 singles, Sebastian Burman needed three sets to defeat Clarkston’s Frank Piana in the title match, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
At No. 1 doubles, Noah Roslin and Adrian Wilen recorded a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 decision over Troy’s Michael Song and Aniket Dagar. At No. 2 doubles, Ryan Frank and Andrew Chen swept Daniel Dong and Justin Yang of Northville, 6-1 and 7-6.
At No. 4 doubles, Michael Lee and James Piel, who were seeded fourth in their flight, upset the second-seeded tandem of Troy’s Alex Yang and Noah Tanguay, 6-3, 6-2.
“As a team, we continued to improve throughout the season,” Burks said. “(Like Andrew said), the entire team got along well, and bonded together.”
In other championship flights, Brother Rice’s JJ Eterbeek went three sets to beat Bloomfield Hills’ Tommy Herb, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles. At No. 4 singles, Northville’s Matthew Freeman posted a 7-6, 6-1 win over Cade Burman of Bloomfield Hills.
Then, at No. 3 doubles, Ann Arbor Huron’s Sammy Clyde and Pranav Sharma outlasted Max Nosanchuk and Phoenix Williams in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Bloomfield Hills posted 24 points on Friday to open the tournament. Next was Ann Arbor Huron with 20 points.
The Black Hawks built such a decisive lead early on Saturday that the team title was sealed before all of the title matches had concluded.
“Obviously, it’s an unreal feeling,” Burks said of the team capturing a second straight Division 1 title. “We played well last year, but this year, all eight flights played great (in the tournament), and that doesn’t always happen.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills’ boys tennis team holds up its Division 1 title trophy and a banner celebrating its back-to-back championships Saturday. (Middle) Black Hawks No. 1 singles player Andrew Zhang prepares to return a volley during his run to the No. 1 singles title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)