Preview: Power Programs Locked In
October 18, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It’s rematch time for many of the powerhouse programs in Lower Peninsula boys tennis.
This weekend’s MHSAA Finals feature the same No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in both Divisions 3 and 4 as a year ago, a pair of rivals that tied for the 2015 title holding down the top spots in Division 1, and the two programs with the most championships in Division 2 history heading that field again.
Play both Friday and Saturday begins at 8 a.m. Click for full brackets for all four tournaments, plus Regional results, and come back to Second Half early Saturday evening for coverage from all four Finals.
LP Division 1 at Midland Tennis Center
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills, 2. Novi, 3. Birmingham Brother Rice.
Bloomfield Hills missed a second straight championship last season by two points, scoring 28 to finish behind Ann Arbor Huron – which is ranked No. 6 heading into this weekend. Novi, which shared the 2015 title with the Black Hawks, also won in 2014 and finished fourth a year ago. Brother Rice finished runner-up in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and is seeking its first MHSAA title since 2009.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks are seeded in seven flights with six flights seeded first or second, including all four in doubles. Andrew Zhang is the second seed at No. 1 singles after winning No. 2 last season, and Constantin Hemmrich is the top seed at No. 3 singles as he looks to win that flight for the third straight season. Cade and Sebastian Burman at No. 1 doubles and Kyle Peres and Alex Walkon at No. 4 also carry top seeds.
Novi: Six flights are seeded, led by No. 1 doubles pair Robert Chen and Aditya Chitta as the second at their flight. Alex Wen enters as the sixth seed at No. 1 singles for the second straight year although he made the semifinals last season and won No. 2 as a sophomore and No. 3 as a freshman. Sid Amarnath is the third seed at No. 2 singles and was the No. 3 singles runner-up in 2015.
Brother Rice: The Warriors are seeded at three singles flights and three doubles flights as they seek to improve on last season’s sixth-place finish. Niko Mamatas and Riley McNulty are the top seed at No. 2 doubles, the highest seed among the team’s six. McNulty was part of the No. 2 runner-up last fall with Jack Brockhaus, who this season is part of the third-seeded pair at No. 1 doubles. No. 2 singles fifth seed Josh Anschuetz was part of last season’s No. 1 doubles runner-up, and No. 1 singles third seed Jarreau Campbell was part of the No. 1 doubles champion in 2015.
Troy’s Steve Forman: Now a senior, Forman improved from the semifinals as a sophomore to win No. 1 singles last fall while losing only one set during Finals weekend.
Clarkston’s Luke Baylis: The Wolves’ sophomore No. 1 singles player looks like an inevitable champion and enters as the fourth seed after finishing No. 2 runner-up last fall.
Ann Arbor Huron’s Brendan Chen and Max Brodkey: Chen was part of last season’s No. 1 doubles champion and with Brodkey is seeded fifth this weekend.
LP Division 2 at Kalamazoo College
Top-ranked: 1. Okemos, 2. Birmingham Groves, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Midland Dow, ranked fourth heading into the weekend, is the reigning champion and has won six of the last eight titles in this division. Okemos is seeking its first since running off four straight championships from 2004-07 – when Groves finished runner-up three times, their last three placings among the top two at a Finals. Like Groves, Seaholm also is seeking its first Finals championship and was runner-up two years at the end of last decade.
Okemos: This lines up much like the dominant Chiefs teams of old, with seven flights seeded and all seeded first or second at those flights. Josh Portnoy (No. 2), Shrey Patel (No. 3) and Daniel Gorelik (No. 4) all have top seeds in singles, while Rohan Shah and Siddharth Nagisetty (No. 2) and Deniz Kalfa and Druv Talluri (No. 3) are top-seeded in doubles. Kalfa was the champion at No. 4 singles last season and Gorelik was runner-up at No. 3 as Okemos finished third as a team, up from eighth in both 2015 and 2014.
Midland Dow: Although ranked just fourth heading into the postseason, Dow looks to be in the best position to challenge Okemos with all eight flights seeded and six seeded to make the semifinals. Aditya Middha and Saketh Kamaraju are the top seed at No. 1 doubles after Middha was part of last year’s champion at the flight and Kamaraju was runner-up at No. 4 singles. Reigning No. 3 singles champ Tyler Conrad is seeded third at No. 2, and last season’s No. 2 runner-up Anish Middha is seeded fourth at No. 1. Daniel Zhang and Gopal Parthasarathy are the top seed at No. 2 doubles after winning No. 3 last year, and Noah Nichols – part of last year’s runner-up at No. 2 – is seeded third at No. 3 singles. Ryan Killmaster is part of the fifth-seeded No. 3 doubles pair after finishing as part of the No. 4 runner-up in 2016.
Groves: The Falcons tied for fifth last season and return half of an individual champion – Aerik Joe, who is playing No. 1 doubles after helping earn the No. 4 championship in 2016. Groves’ strength is at singles, however, with all four players coming in as third seeds or higher. Junior Gabe Liss is the top seed at No. 1 singles after making the quarterfinals last season as the fifth seed in that flight.
Seaholm: The Maples actually won their Regional ahead of Groves last week after tying with the Falcons at last year’s Final, and they enter with five seeded flights and strength especially in doubles. Alex Acho and Ben Adams are paired as the top seed at No. 4.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Connor Genschaw: The second seed at No. 1 singles made the semifinals last season as the fourth seed and took the first set from eventual champion Varun Shanker.
Portage Central’s Lucas Guy: Entering as the third seed at No. 1 singles for the second straight season, Guy also made the semifinals last season at the top flight.
LP Division 3 at Holland
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Ada Forest Hills Eastern.
Cranbrook Kingswood has won the last two Division 3 titles ahead of runner-up Country Day, by eight points in 2015 but only one point a year ago. Together, they’ve won the last nine Division 3 championships and earned five runner-up finishes in that time as well. Cranbrook Kingswood beat Country Day by two points at their Regional last week.
Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes have three top seeds in singles and two in doubles, with championship experience all over the lineup. Benji Jacobson is top-seeded at No. 1 singles and looking to repeat as champion and claim his third Finals title after winning No. 2 singles in 2015. Lucas Bosch is top-seeded at No. 2 singles after making the semifinals at that flight in 2016, and Justin Luo is top-seeded at No. 3 coming off a runner-up finish there and after winning No. 4 in 2015. Sohum Archarya is the second seed at No. 4 after also earning a runner-up finish there a year ago. Andrew Du and Jacob Yellen are the top seed at No. 1 doubles after Du was part of last year’s champion and Yellen a runner-up at No. 2, and Joseph Croskey and Nikhil Deenadayalu are top-seeded at No. 2 after Croskey teamed with Yellen and Deenadayalu was part of last season’s runner-up at No. 3. Eshaan Kawlra and Jack Trees are the second seed at No. 3 doubles after winning No. 4 a year ago.
Country Day: The Yellowjackets will bank on six seeded flights to lead them back to the top this weekend. Among top seeds are Tom Nardicchio and Eric Liu at No. 3 doubles and Nick Sicilia and Justin Lee at No. 4; Nardicchio was part of last season’s champion at No. 3 and Sicilia was part of the runner-up at No. 4. Eric Wang earned the top seed at No. 4 singles after winning that flight last year, and Nik Gruskin is the fourth seed at No. 1 after finishing runner-up at No. 2 a year ago. Prathik Chukkapalli was Sicilia’s partner last season but is teaming up for the second-seeded No. 1 pair with Ryan Murakawa, who was part of the runner-up at that flight last year with Rick Warnicke – who is seeded second at No. 2 singles.
Ada Forest Hills Eastern: If either of the Oakland County powers above falters, Forest Hills Eastern could swoop in for its first top-two Finals finish. The Hawks are seeded in seven flights and expected to make the semifinals in six of them. No. 2 doubles pair Evan Schwalm and Karsyn Vanderweele are seeded second, the highest in the lineup.
Coopersville’s Jack Dausman: He’s the second seed at No. 1 singles after surprising by making the semifinals last year as the fifth seed, before falling to Jacobson.
Holland Christian’s Ryan Rhoades: Last season’s runner-up returns as the fifth seed at No. 1 singles, meaning a rematch with Jacobson would come in the semifinals instead of the championship match.
Williamston’s Oliver Weaver: The Hornets moved to Division 3 this fall, and Weaver will test his skills against a new field after winning No. 1 singles in Division 4 last year and finishing runner-up in that division in 2015.
LP Division 4 at Novi
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 2. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 3. Traverse City St. Francis.
University Liggett broke Greenhills’ eight-year hold on the Division 4 title by finishing two points ahead to win last season’s championship. The pair actually have shared the top for a while, with Greenhills of course finishing second last year and Liggett finishing runner-up in both 2015 and 2014. Traverse City St. Francis remains on the verge of its first top-two finish after tying for third place in 2016.
University Liggett: Only three flights are top-seeded, but all eight flights are seeded third or higher. Thomas Van Pelt and Spencer Warezak at No. 2 doubles and Matthew Lesha and Craig Buhler at No. 3 have two of those top seeds, and all four played in championship matches last year – Warezak and Buhler won No. 3 doubles, while Van Pelt was part of the No. 1 runner-up and Lesha part of the runner-up at No. 4. Andrew Staricco is the lone top seed in singles, at No. 4 after winning that flight last fall, but No. 2 singles third seed Christian Illitch was runner-up at his flight two years ago. Maddie Fozo and Alec Azar are the second seed at No. 1 after Fozo teamed with Van Pelt last year and Azar was part of the No. 2 doubles champion. Freshman William Cooksey will lead the next wave and he’s already started, pulling in the second seed at No. 1 singles for his first Finals.
Greenhills: Like Liggett, Greenhills has all eight flights seeded third or higher. Kaan Oral has the top seed at No. 2 singles after making the semifinals at that flight last season (as the second seed), and Jack Harris and Trey Feldeisen are the top seed at No. 1 doubles after Harris was part of last season’s champion at that flight and Feldeisen was part of the runner-up at No. 3. Drake Rosenberg was a champion at No. 4 doubles last year and is part of the second seed at No. 3, while Sushruta Shankar was part of the runner-up at No. 3 and is part of the third seed at No. 2. Henry Branch is seeded third at No. 3 singles after finishing runner-up last season at No. 4.
St. Francis: The Gladiators might have their best shot yet at moving up with all eight flights seeded fourth or better. St. Francis also has one top seed in singles – Nathan Sodini at No. 3 – and one top seed at doubles with Alex Thelen and Tyler Tafelsky at No. 4. Joe Primeau will look to take some of the Finals experience he earned last year as part of the No. 2 doubles runner-up to No. 4 singles, where he’s seeded fourth.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Ian Worthington: Last season’s champion at No. 2 singles (as a third seed) has moved up to No. 1, where he enters the weekend seeded fifth.
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Ian Sood: After finishing runner-up to Worthington at No. 2 singles last season, and as a fifth seed, Sood is back as the second seed at the same flight.
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Evan Sood: Evan Sood is playing No. 1 singles for the third straight year and is the top seed after making the quarterfinals last season while unseeded.
PHOTO: Cranbrook Kingswood’s Benji Jacobson, left, and Holland Christian’s Ryan Rhoades meet at the net after Jacobson won last season’s No. 1 singles final in Lower Peninsula Division 3. Both return this weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Championship Memories, High School Tennis' Impact Stick with Hackett Pair
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
July 12, 2023
KALAMAZOO — As a senior at Hackett Catholic Central, Luke Samra knew that season was his last chance to win a state title.
Enter freshman Alex Dombos.
“When I saw Alex for the first time at Hackett, I said, ‘If you play tennis, we’ll win state,’” Samra said.
The senior nailed it.
Coach Matt Boven paired the two, and they not only won the No. 1 doubles title, but helped lead the Irish to the 2005 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 team co-championship with Grosse Ile.
The pair defeated T.J. Busscher and Paul Dekorte, from Grandville Calvin Christian, 7-6(2), 6-2 to clinch their flight.
Eighteen years later, Dombos remembers it well.
“I’m pretty sure we were down a set point in the first set, and we saved at least one set point and won the set. The second was a little bit easier,” Dombos recalled.
“I remember match point. I hit a backhand down the line for a winner, and then Luke and I looked at each then and I’m pretty sure we jumped up and did a Bryan Brothers chest bump.”
After graduation, Samra headed to Kalamazoo Valley Community College and then Marian University in Indianapolis, playing tennis and earning a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Dombos remained at Hackett, adding a Finals title at No. 2 singles as a sophomore and earning D4 first-team all-state honors.
“The experience I gained from playing doubles as a freshman was really beneficial,” Dombos said. “Playing doubles helped my net game in singles, where there’s a translation of skills.”
Although Samra and Dombos took different paths, they have kept in touch through texting and social media.
Samra and his wife, Adrianna Story Samra, live in Indianapolis where he is a teaching pro at Carmel (Ind.) Racquet Club after a similar position at Western Michigan University’s West Hills Athletic Club.
Dombos works in a data science role at Stryker Corporation in Kalamazoo, “applying a lot of the data analysis skills that I learned from high school, college and graduate school at Stryker.”
After Hackett, Dombos continued his tennis career at Kalamazoo College, earning a degree in physics with a minor in mathematics. He was a four-year letter winner and helped lead the Hornets to four Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association tennis titles.
Dombos spent study-abroad time in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he and his girlfriend Kelsey Hassevoort found a way to keep their tennis skills from atrophying.
Hassevoort, who is now his wife, played for the Hornets women’s tennis team and “very quickly we found the lone tennis court in the center of campus,” he said.
“When it got too dark too early in the day, we found the Aberdeen Tennis Center but to get there was a 45-minute trip through a lot of bus rides.”
After K-College, Dombos continued studying at Michigan State.
“They’ve got a lab on campus called the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, so I got my Ph.D. there in a six-year long program,” he said.
Next came three years at Notre Dame for a post-doctoral research associate position in physics and astronomy.
“My particular area of physics, there’s a lot of fundamental research part of it, but also practical applications,” he said. “A lot of the physics work I did, it’s common for people to go to a national lab.
“They’re doing research that’s usually funded by the government. Postdoctoral research associate positions are similar to the residency portion of medical school.”
With such in-depth studies, tennis has currently faded to the background, although Dombos has tried his hand at pickleball.
Looking back
Boven, currently the boys and girls tennis coach at Mattawan High School, remembers Hackett’s team title well.
“It was really Kyle Bedford at No. 2 singles and the No. 1 doubles team that gave us the (2005) title,” he said. “Alex and Luke seemed to complement each other. I knew Alex was a very gifted ground-stroker, and Luke’s volleys were improving. Alex was dominant at the baseline and could set up Luke at the net.”
Since Dombos rarely played doubles while competing in USTA events, he did not have many expectations as part of a doubles duo.
“Having played singles for pretty much all of my tennis at that point, I didn’t see it as a setback, but had an open mind and open attitude: Let’s see where this goes,” he said.
“We ended up winning the state title, so that was exciting.”
Besides his high school tennis success — Dombos did not lose a set at the MHSAA Tournament his first two years — he said he continued learning from his experiences.
During USTA tournaments, Andrew Devlieger from Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian was his nemesis.
“I had lost to him consistently,” Dombos said. “I ended up playing him in a high school match (in 2006), and I won. I was like, I can beat him now.
“In the (2006) finals at the state tournament, I played him and won again with a better score (6-1, 6-2). It was that belief of having won in the regular season that gave me the belief going into the state tournament.”
Dombos’ streak of not losing a set at the MHSAA Tournament ended during the 2007 No. 1 singles semifinals, where he fell to eventual champ Michael Calderone from Jackson Lumen Christi. Calderone was named Michigan’s Mr. Tennis and played collegiately at Western Michigan University.
Dombos said much of what he learned in high school has helped him in his career, including how to balance things in everyday life.
“As a student-athlete, you’re playing tennis and studying,” he said. “That’s really important for anything in life, especially in graduate school, having your attention pulled in a lot of different directions.”
Another advantage was learning teamwork.
“Working as part of a team and working with new people,” he said. “You’ll be doing that in any type of professional setting; learning that you don’t succeed alone.
“In general, there is also the importance of staying active for your physical and mental health.”
Advice he would give to young athletes today includes: “Hard work will be important for anything in life, and a lot of the lessons you learn on the tennis court will be very helpful later in life. They can be just as important as some of the lessons you learn in the classroom.”
Samra said tennis has changed since his high school days.
“The game is a lot faster now,” he said. “I tried to model my game on Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick, but you can’t play like that anymore.
“Serve and volley is out of the question, too. The ball comes back too fast.”
Samra said he can’t believe that with all the good players on his Hackett team, he is the only one who ended up with tennis as a career.
“My parents invested a lot of money in me growing up,” he said. “I’m glad they know it wasn’t a waste.”
Boven is not surprised by Samra’s career pursuit.
“I remember how intense Luke was and how much he cared about the team,” he said. “I’m so excited he stuck with it because he cared for it so much.”
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PHOTOS (Top) Luke Samra, left, and Alex Dombos hold up their championship bracket after winning the No. 1 doubles flight at the 2005 LP Division 4 Finals. (Middle) Samra and Dombos celebrate their victory. (Photos from 2005 courtesy of Luke Samra; current photos courtesy of Samra and Dombos.)