Performance of the Week: Northville's Sachiv Kumar
October 21, 2021
Sachiv Kumar ♦ Northville
Sophomore ♦ Tennis
The Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 1 singles bracket always is considered a showcase of premier players in Michigan, with seven of the last 10 Mr. Tennis Award winners emerging from that flight. Top seeds tend to dominate – over the last decade, LPD1 No. 1 singles has been won by the top seed six times and the second seed the other four seasons. Similarly, at the four 2021 LP Boys Tennis Finals last weekend, 11 flights were won by top seeds and four were won by second seeds. And all of that made what Kumar accomplished Friday at Kalamazoo College even more phenomenal.
Just a sophomore, Kumar entered the LPD1 No. 1 singles bracket as the fifth seed and defeated the fourth and top seeds before downing unseeded Clayton Anderson of Rochester in the championship match 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5). The 6-7 (6), 6-0, 7-5, semifinal win over top seed Noah Roslin of Bloomfield Hills avenged a loss from earlier this fall, and Kumar wrapped up his season with a 24-7 record.
His Finals success wasn’t entirely a first for his family, however. Older sister Shanoli Kumar won No. 2 singles in LPD1 as a freshman in 2015, was runner-up at the same flight in 2016 and runner-up at No. 1 in 2018 on her way to winning that year’s Miss Tennis Award. Oldest sister Reeshma Kumar was part of the No. 2 doubles runner-up in LPD1 in 2016 and part of the No. 1 doubles runner-up in 2015.
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2021-22 Honorees
Oct. 14: Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7: Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30: Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23: Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
PHOTOS courtesy of the Northville tennis program.
Armada's Fredette Receives NFHS Honor
January 16, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Longtime Armada tennis coach David Fredette has been named one of 23 National Coaches of the Year for 2018-19 by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) Coaches Association.
Fredette was selected first at the state level and then from among the eight sections that make up the NFHS – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The following brief bio includes an excerpt from Fredette’s coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
David Fredette began Armada’s tennis program in 1966 and coached the boys team through the 2018 season. He led more than half his teams over the years to the MHSAA Finals, and 17 to top-10 finishes at the championship meet – including four straight from 2009-12. He also was a major contributor during the early days of the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association, and began serving on its board in 1982. Four times he was selected MHSTeCA state Coach of the Year: in Class C-D in 1982, Class B in 1992, and as one of two selections in Division 4 in both 1998 and 2018. Fredette was inducted into the MHSTeCA Hall of Fame in 1988. Armada’s tennis courts are named for him.
Fredette played tennis at Dowagiac High School and then Benton Harbor Community College. He also coached basketball and football during his time at Armada.
“Athletics give students a chance to become student-athletes, which means athletics teach athletes discipline, a strong work ethic, and cooperation with others. Athletics teach athletes how to not only compete, but how to handle both winning and losing. … I know that students who play sports upon graduation are more prepared to face the challenges that life presents them. While I always expected my players to work hard, I wanted my athletes to enjoy the experiences on and off the courts. My former players tell me how much they enjoyed competing, but also how much fun they had on the trips we went on together, whether it was to play top competition across the state of Michigan or on the Florida trips I took my boys teams on over Easter vacation from 1989 through 2001 to practice and bond as a team. Athletes learn how to compete, but they also gain friendships that last a lifetime, if only in their memories.”
Four more Michigan coaches earned honors in Section 4. Brighton girls swimming & diving coach Jason Black led the Bulldogs to a Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals runner-up finish in Fall 2018, its best placing in program history. Dexter boys swimming & diving coach Michael McHugh was selected for the second-straight year as a Section 4 winner after leading his team to its fourth-straight Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship last winter. Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coach Vicky Groat at one point guided the Tigers to nine Class D championships in 10 seasons from 2005-14 and is the sixth-winningest coach in MHSAA volleyball history with a record of 1,154-262-93. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart co-coach Judy Hehs helped lead that program to its second-straight Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship this past fall, its sixth title in eight seasons, in her final tournament before retirement. She previously was named NFHS Coaches Association National Coach of the Year for girls tennis in 2016.
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982. Winners of NFHS awards must be active coaches during the year for which they receive their award.