Preview: Favorites Set, but Challengers Aim to Prevent Repeat Results
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 19, 2023
Three 2022 Lower Peninsula boys tennis champions are ranked No. 1 heading into this weekend's Finals, but at least one new champion is guaranteed.
Bloomfield Hills in Division 1 and Midland Dow in Division 2 are considered favorites to repeat in those respective divisions. But reigning Divison 3 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills is playing again in Division 4, opening up the Division 3 bracket to other contenders – although of course hopefuls will be aspiring to prove the rankings wrong in all four.
Play begins between 8-8:30 a.m. Friday at the various sites for opening rounds, and between 8-9 a.m. Saturday for anticipated semifinals and championship matches. Visit the Boys Tennis page to find out which flights will be played at each location and to track results as they are received.
Below is a glance at several contenders in all four divisions.
LP Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center & Midland High School
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills, 2. Troy, 3. Northville
Bloomfield Hills moved up from runner-up in 2021 to champion last fall, winning by 10 points and with that title the program’s third over the last six seasons. Troy was the 2021 champion and finished third a year ago, one point behind runner-up Northville as the Mustangs earned their first top-two Finals finish in program history.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks won three doubles and two singles flight championships during their dominating 2022 run, and they’re seeded to win six this time. Junior Pierce Shaya (21-0), part of last season’s No. 1 doubles champion, is seeded first at No. 2 singles, and sophomore Connor Shaya (24-0) was last year’s No. 4 singles champion and is seeded first at No. 3 this time. Senior Merrick Chernett was the other half of that No. 1 doubles champion, and he and senior Aaron Rose are seeded first at that flight. Seniors Ryan Rose and Michael Dillon are seeded first at No. 2 doubles and won that flight last year. Senior Kierth Lingam and junior Dominic Pascarella are seeded first at No. 3 after winning No. 4 last year, and senior Ethan Endelman and junior Asher Langwell are seeded first at No. 4 this time. Sophomore Jonah Chernett is the third seed at No. 3 singles.
Troy: The Colts are seeded fourth or better at all eight flights, with the second seeds at all four doubles. Senior Haresh Anand (26-1) has the team’s lone top seed, at No. 4 singles, but junior Dhruv Gupta is seeded third at No. 3 singles after finishing runner-up at No. 4 a year ago. Senior Nish Palepu and sophomore Derrick Kim were the runners-up at No. 2 doubles last season and are the second seeds at No. 1 this weekend. Senior Derek Blackwell is the fourth seed at No. 1 singles.
Northville: All eight flights are seeded fifth or higher, with the singles lineup including two second seeds after top-seeded senior and two-time reigning champion Sachiv Kumar (24-0) at No. 1 singles. Junior Brian Zhang was part of the runner-up at No. 4 doubles last season and is teaming with senior Nathan Waller for the third-seeded pair at No. 2.
Clayton Anderson, Rochester senior: The No. 1 singles runner-up the last two seasons, he’s 21-1 this fall with his only loss to Kumar in August. He’s second-seeded at the top flight.
Chad Anderson, Rochester sophomore: He’s also second-seeded, at No. 2 singles, and 17-3 with two of those losses to Pierce Shaya.
LP Division 2 at Byron Center West Sports Complex, East Kentwood & Grand Rapids South Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Mattawan, 3. Birmingham Seaholm
Dow is the reigning champion, coming off its first Finals title since 2016 and seventh under coach Terry Schwartzkopf since 2009. Mattawan is seeking its first title and finished fourth last season and second in 2020. Seaholm also is seeking a first Finals team championship in this sport and has finished runner-up three times, most recently tying for second in 2018. The Maples placed third last year.
Midland Dow: The Chargers are undefeated this fall, and their seeding reflects that dominance as six flights are top-seeded. The entire singles lineup is back from last season, with senior Aaron Li (24-1) the reigning champion at No. 2 and the top seed at that flight, junior Nimai Patel (28-1) the reigning champion and top seed at No. 4, senior Logan Yu (27-0) the reigning No. 3 runner-up and top-seeded, and No. 1 singles junior Austin King (33-0) also a top seed after making the semifinals last season. Seniors Roofy Elsaadany and Vishagen Karthikeyan are the top seed at No. 1 doubles after Elsaadany was part of last year’s No. 2 champion and Karthikeyan part of the No. 3 runner-up, and senior Andrew Frickey and sophomore Matthew McGaugh are the top seed at No. 4.
Mattawan: The Wildcats will be playing for their best finish with six seeded flights, including all four at singles. Senior Garrett Cheng and freshman Dylan Hodgman lead the way as the second seeds at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples graduated two doubles champions from last season but are seeded at seven flights, led by No. 3 doubles top-seeded seniors Mohan Badhwar and Sammy Abdo. Junior Carson Wright and senior Sean Joyce are the second seed at No. 3, and senior Blake Smith is the second seed at No. 2 singles.
Karan Deol, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern junior: He’s seeded third at No. 1 singles after taking Dow’s Li to three sets in last season’s No. 2 singles championship match. He’s 24-3 this fall with his only losses twice to Drew Hackney (below) and once to Dow’s King.
Drew Hackney, Muskegon Mona Shores senior: He’s 28-0 and the second seed at No. 1 singles. He reached the quarterfinals last season, giving King a tough match there after entering as the sixth seed.
LP Division 3 at Kalamazoo College & Western Michigan University
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. East Grand Rapids
Reigning champion Ann Arbor Greenhills is back in Division 4, and Cranbrook is back as the favorite in Division 3. The Cranes have won six of the last eight Division 3 titles, with Greenhills winning the other two during that time. Cranbrook followed its 2021 championship with a runner-up finish last fall, finishing only two points off the lead. Country Day finished third and is seeking its first title since 2014, and East Grand Rapids tied for fourth last season and is seeking its first title since the spring 2007 season.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: Saturday should be busy as four Cranes flights are top seeds, and the other four are second seeds. Junior Amaan Khan (20-0) was the champion at No. 4 singles last season and is top-seeded at that flight, and sophomore Jace Bernard (17-3) is the top seed at No. 3. Cranbrook won No. 1 doubles last season and finished runner-up at the other three doubles flights, with Bernard and senior Andrew Fink that champion at No. 1; Fink is second-seeded at that flight this weekend with junior Aryan Tiwari, part of last year’s No. 2 runner-up. Freshman Ryan VanDyke and senior Ben Stevenson are the top seeds at No. 3 doubles, and seniors Ketan Swami and Kevin Guo are the top seeds at No. 4 after Guo was part of the runner-up at that flight last season and Swami was part of the runner-up at No. 3. Junior Ryan Michaels (10-10) is the second seed at No. 1 singles after reaching the semifinals at No. 2 last year.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets are set up well to make a push. Country Day is seeded third or higher at every flight, with two top seeds and a second seed in singles. Junior Saahitth Reddy is the top seed at No. 1 after receiving the seventh seed at that flight last season; he’s 10-9, but has won nine of his last 10 matches with all of his defeats to Division 1 opponents. Junior Dan Marin (19-4) is the top seed at No. 2 singles after reaching the semifinals at that flight last season.
East Grand Rapids: The Pioneers are seeded at seven flights and could make their move based on the success of some highly-regarded doubles pairs. Seniors Charlie Lentz and Luke Lentz are top-seeded at No. 2, seniors Ben Ruppert and Walter Zimdar are second-seeded at No. 3 and senior Joe Mulder and junior Tommy Rosmarin are second-seeded at No. 4.
Bhavesh Burramukku, St. Joseph junior: The third seed at No. 1 singles is 26-2 with his only losses to Division 1 opponents.
LP Division 4 at Hope College & Holland Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
As noted above, Greenhills was last season’s Division 3 champion but is back in Division 4, where St. Francis and Liggett have combined to win the last three titles. Liggett won last year and in 2020 and was runner-up in 2021, edging Hudsonville Unity Christian by three points to claim last season’s championship.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: The Gryphons are seeded second at No. 1 singles and first at the other seven flights as they seek to win this division for the first time since 2018 after playing in Division 3 the last four seasons. Junior Kabir Rajendra (12-8) is that second seed at No. 1 after he was runner-up at Division 3 No. 3 last year. He’s followed in the singles lineup by top-seeded junior Teddy Staebler (23-7) at No. 2, sophomore Charlie Rich (22-7) at No. 3 and freshman Murli Pandey (21-9) at No. 4. Seniors Lucas Nor and Alex Ye are top-seeded at No. 1 doubles after Ye was part of last year’s runner-up at No. 1 in Division 3 and Nor was part of the champion at No. 2. Senior Charles Branch and sophomore Ajay Purohit are the top seed at No. 2; they teamed up to win No. 4 in Division 3 last fall. Sophomore Richard Wu and freshman William Pearce are the top seed at No. 3, and senior Shyam Pandey and freshman Maksim Rakic-Denis are the top seed at No. 4.
Traverse City St. Francis: The Gladiators are seeded fifth or higher at all eight flights, led by strength in doubles. Juniors Eli Schmude and David Ansley are the second seed at No. 1, and freshman Casey Jackson and sophomore Brady Thelen are the second seed at No. 4. Ansley was part of the No. 3 runner-up last season. Junior Owen Jackson (26-9) is the third seed at No. 1 singles after winning No. 2 last season and No. 3 in 2021, and senior Chris Bobrowski is the fourth seed at No. 2 after finishing No. 3 runner-up in 2022.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights are seeking their fifth Division 4 championship over the last eight seasons, and they’ll enter with six seeded flights and a singles lineup that will be especially key. Senior Sebastian Courtright (22-8) is the top seed at No. 1 after finishing runner-up at that flight the last two seasons, and junior Charlie Cooksey is the second seed at No. 2 after winning No. 4 last season.
PHOTO Troy's Dhruv Gupta returns a volley during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Finals Preview: Old Favorites, New Possibilities Highlight Title Pursuits
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 13, 2022
The favorites are often familiar at the Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals. But last season showed us there’s plenty of room for new achievements – and with more possibilities this weekend.
Troy in Division 1 and Traverse City St. Francis in Division 4 were first-time champions last fall, and Northville and Big Rapids are among candidates hoping to make similar history as play begins Thursday in Division 4 and Friday in the other three brackets. All championship matches will be played Saturday.
See below for a look at several contenders, and check out the MHSAA Website for brackets and more (Final rounds will be played at sites listed first below):
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Hope College & Holland Christian
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills, 2. Troy, 3. Northville
Troy was first with 30 points, Bloomfield Hills second with 26 and Northville third with 23 last season, and they figure to dominate the top of the standings again in some order. Bloomfield Hills is seeking its first championship since winning back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, while Northville is playing for its first top-two finish.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks enter this weekend with four top-seeded flights, three second-seeded flights and a fourth seed. Senior Daniel Stojanov is seeded first at No. 2 singles and the reigning champion at that flight, while junior Aaron Rose is the second seed at No. 3 singles after winning No. 4 last year. Freshman Connor Shaya is the top seed at No. 4 singles, with seniors Drew Davis and Toni Vasile top-seeded at No. 3 doubles and junior Kierth Lingam and sophomore Dominic Pascarella top-seeded at No. 4. Pascarella won the No. 4 flight last season with a different partner.
Troy: The Colts’ repeat pursuit will be keyed by seven seeded flights, including the favorites at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles – seniors Srihari Ananthalwan and Rushil Kagithala, and freshman Derrick Kim and junior Nish Palepu, respectively. Ananthalwan was part of the No. 2 champion last season, and two singles players are returning Finals runners-up – junior Derek Blackwell, who played No. 2 in 2021 and is seeded eighth at No. 1; and Haresh Anand, who played No. 4 last season and moved to No. 2 this fall.
Northville: Sachiv Kumar was a headliner last season jumping from the fifth seed to the No. 1 singles championship, and he’s seeded second at that flight this time. All eight Mustangs flights are seeded, including two more in the second slots – sophomore Josh Kim at No. 4 singles, and senior Varun Varre and sophomore Brian Zhang at No. 4 doubles.
Clayton Anderson, Rochester junior: Another incredible story from last season, the reigning No. 1 singles runner-up made his run to the championship match while unseeded. This fall he is 22-0, with an early-season win over Kumar.
Dimitri Moriarty, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice senior: Last season’s second seed is the third seed this time and enters 20-3, with those defeats to Kumar, Anderson and LPD3 No. 1 singles top seed Owen DeMuth of Cranbrook Kingswood.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Midland Tennis Center & Midland High
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Birmingham Groves last fall ended Forest Hills Northern’s two-year reign atop this division, edging the Huskies by a point 27-26 while Dow tied for third with 20. Groves is ranked No. 6 heading into this weekend, while Dow is seeking its first championship since 2016. Dow and Forest Hills Northern both are undefeated, but tied in an Aug. 27 match. FHN’s other tie came against No. 4 Mattawan. Forest Hills Central is seeking its first championship since winning back-to-back in 2014 and 2015, and its losses are once to FHN, twice to Dow and once to No. 5 Birmingham Seaholm.
Midland Dow: All eight Chargers flights are seeded third or higher, with five top seeds. Senior Thomas Ladwein is seeded first at No. 1 doubles with junior Boaz Qui after winning the flight last year with now-junior Aaron Li – the top seed at No. 2 singles. Junior Roofy Elsaadany and senior Aiden Tanis are the top seed at No. 2, with junior Vishagen Karthikeyan and senior Shubhan Nagarkar the top seeds at No. 3 doubles. Sophomore Nimai Patel is the top seed at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Austin King is the third seed at No. 1 after reaching the quarterfinals last season.
Forest Hills Northern: Seven flights are seeded, and all seven are seeded fourth or higher with two singles and three doubles pairs on the second seed lines. Senior Anderson Halland was part of the No. 2 doubles champion last season and is teaming up with junior Aidan Beyer for the fourth seed at No. 1. Senior Kyle Wang is back after finishing runner-up last year at No. 3 doubles, and he’s seeded second at No. 2 this weekend with junior Sam Deroos.
Forest Hills Central: No. 1 singles senior Sammy Yin is the top seed at the top flight, with six more flights seeded between third and fifth in their respective brackets. Yin made the semifinals last season, also as the top seed, and enters the weekend 32-3 with two wins over King this fall.
Connor Stafford, Grosse Pointe South senior: He’s seeded second at No. 1 singles after also reaching the semifinals last season. He’s 14-3 and defeated Yin on Sept. 10 in their lone match this fall.
Nolen Kovan, Birmingham Groves senior: The reigning No. 1 singles runner-up upset Yin last year to reach the championship match and is back as the fourth seed. He’s 17-7 but with five losses to LPD1 contenders and the two LPD2 defeats to Yin and King, those two both coming Aug. 27. He defeated Stafford last week in their lone meeting of the season.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Mason, East Lansing & Haslett
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Detroit Country Day
No team other than the three mentioned above has finished among the top two in this division since 2013, and no one else has won the Division 3 title outside of those three since the first fall LP boys tennis season in 2007. Cranbrook has won the last two team championships and six of the last seven, with Greenhills claiming the 2019 title. The Cranes won last season with 32 points, five more than Country Day and seven more than the third-place Gryphons. Greenhills defeated Country Day by six points to win last week’s Regional.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: For the first time since 2018, three-time No. 1 singles champion Mert Oral isn’t topping the lineup. But senior Chakor Rajendra has taken over and earned the top seed coming off the No. 3 singles title last season and having won the No. 4 championship when he was a freshman. Total, the Gryphons are seeded first at seven flights. Senior Rishi Verma is the reigning champion at No. 2 singles and the top seed at that flight as he seeks his third title after also winning No. 3 in 2019, while sophomore Kabir Rajendra is the top seed at No. 3 singles after finishing runner-up at No. 4 last fall. Greenhills didn’t make a doubles final in 2021, but is seeded to sweep with senior Mustafa Zirapury and junior Alex Ye at No. 1, senior Ismael Metwally and junior Lucas Nor at No. 2, seniors Arjun Prabhakar and Dylan Carvette at No. 3 and junior Charles Branch and freshman Ajay Purohit at No. 4.
Cranbrook Kingswood: All eight flights are seeded second, third or fourth, with five second seeds and some experienced contenders leading the way. Senior Owen DeMuth is seeded second at No. 1 singles after finishing runner-up the last two seasons at that flight. Junior Caden Che is the third seed at No. 3 coming off last season’s championship at No. 4 singles. Junior Andrew Fink is seeded second at No. 1 doubles with freshman Jace Bernard after winning No. 2 last season with sophomore Ryan Michaels, who is seeded fourth at No. 2 singles. Sophomore Aryan Tiwari was part of the No. 4 doubles runner-up last year and this weekend is seeded second at No. 2 with senior Evan Foltyn.
Detroit Country Day: All eight flights are seeded, with freshman Luke Zhang leading the way as the top seed at No. 4 singles and senior Clay Hartje the second seed at No. 3. Hartje was part of the No. 3 doubles champion in 2019 and the No. 2 doubles runner-up last fall.
Michael Mascarin, St. Clair senior: The No. 3 singles runner-up as a freshman, Mascarin played No. 1 doubles last season (reaching the semifinals) and is the third seed at No. 1 singles this weekend. He’s 24-5 with two losses to DeMuth and a third to Chakor Rajendra.
Landon Coates, Stevensville Lakeshore senior: The fourth seed at No. 1 singles is 20-1, his only loss coming in August. He also was in the No. 1 bracket last season, but unseeded.
Lower Peninsula Division 4 at Kalamazoo College & Western Michigan University
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Big Rapids
Traverse City St. Francis emerged from years of contention to win its first championship last fall, and should be in the mix for a repeat although 2021 runner-up University Liggett is the favorite to add to its most recent title won in 2020. St. Francis scored 34 points last season to win by seven. Big Rapids is seeking its first top-two Finals finish and should make a nice jump from last year’s tie for seventh.
University Liggett: The Knights will attempt to reclaim the championship on the strength of seeds at every flight, with two top seeds and four second seeds. Junior Sebastian Courtright was last season’s runner-up at No. 1 singles, with senior George Anusbigian runner-up at No. 2 and senior Gerry Sherer runner-up at No. 3; they are the second seeds this weekend at Nos. 1, 3 and 2, respectively. Senior Steve Wheatley and freshman Griffin Marchal are the top seed at No. 1 doubles, and senior Ryan King and freshman Niko Cooksey are top-seeded at No. 2.
Traverse City St. Francis: Four top seeds and plenty of championship experience should have the Gladiators contending deep into Saturday. Junior Tristan Bonanni is the reigning No. 2 singles champion and seeded third at No. 1, while sophomore Owen Jackson is seeded first at No. 2 singles after winning No. 3 last year and junior Chris Bobrowski is top-seeded at No. 3 coming off a runner-up finish at No. 4. Seniors Charlie King and Derek Berta are the top seeds at No. 1 doubles after winning the No. 3 title last fall, and sophomores Eli Schmude and Max King are the top seeds at No. 2.
Big Rapids: The Cardinals are seeded at six flights and also seeking their first Finals flight championship. That may come in doubles, where junior Dylan Walsh and sophomore Mason Sleeper are the second seed at No. 3 and senior Elijah Haynes and sophomore Ari Ziska are the second seed at No. 4.
Simon Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic freshman: West Catholic graduated last season’s No. 1 singles champion and could have the next, as Caldwell enters his first Finals as the top seed at that flight. He’s 26-0 with half those wins by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
Daniel Pero, Brooklyn Columbia Central junior: The fourth seed at No. 1 singles made the semifinals at that flight last season as the fifth seed. He’s 13-0 and has lost five points total and none since mid-August.
PHOTO Traverse City St. Francis’ Tristan Bonanni returns a volley during a No. 2 singles match at the 2021 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)