Rain Can't Soak Olivier, Negaunee 3-Peats
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2018
KINGSFORD — What rain delay?
A pause in the action due to the elements for more than two hours failed to slow down Marquette junior Alec Olivier on Wednesday as he earned his third consecutive No. 1 singles tennis title in a 6-0, 6-0 conquest of Negaunee senior Luke Skewis at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Kingsford High School.
“I guess I just played well,” said Olivier, who also went undefeated for the third straight season. “I’ve had rain delays in other matches. It’s not that big of a problem. I just drank a lot of water, did some stretching (exercises) and walked around and stayed loose during the break.
“I’m glad we got it finished today. I was willing to stay here as long as it took.”
Negaunee, which won six of eight flights, was crowned champion for the third straight season with 22 points. The Miners were followed by Escanaba with 14 and Kingsford with eight among top finishers.
“We knew there was potential to be pushed by Kingsford and Escanaba,” said Miners’ coach Kyle Saari. “The unique thing about this group is they’re coachable. They buy into everything we tell them and push each other to be better.
“It feels great to win three in a row. This all started for us in 2010, and we’ve since won seven of nine. Every group wants to build upon the success of the previous.”
Olivier went right back to work after the rain delay, placing many of his overhand shots with near pinpoint accuracy. The match ended when Skewis was unable to return one of Olivier’s serves.
“I’ve been around (high school tennis) since 1971,” said Marquette coach Charlie Drury. “Without any question, he’s the best player I’ve seen at the high school level within that span. He’s a very dedicated player.”
Among Negaunee’s champions were juniors Peyton Anderson and Jake Larson, who rallied past Escanaba seniors Alex Valentine and Soren Thompson (4-6, 6-2, 6-1) in No. 2 doubles.
“We started playing with more energy after the first set,” said Larson, a U.P. champion at No. 4 doubles a year ago. “It took us a little while to get back in the flow after the rain delay. Then, we understood what was happening. There’s a lot of difference between No. 2 and No. 4 doubles. “I’ve learned not to get mad at myself, which didn’t work today in the first set. It’s nice seeing everybody happy with the results. Kingsford and Escanaba are always good. We know they’re always going to give us a match.”
Senior Josh Grassel became the first Escanaba player since 2012 to win a flight in the U.P. Finals, taking a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 decision from Negaunee sophomore Chas Kumpula at No. 2 singles.
Grassel forced the tie-breaker in the second set by overcoming a 5-2 deficit. Kumpula, however, was able to hang on and force the third. Grassel responded by taking a 3-0 lead in the finale.
“When it went to 3-0, I felt my chances were pretty good,” said Grassel. “I think I may have caught him by surprise in the third set. I felt I had a lot of momentum at the end of the second set, even though he won it. I thought (Kumpula) played well. He’s a good player for being as young as he is.”
Also among Negaunee’s champions was Tom Sertich, who blanked Escanaba senior Nathan Pascoe 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 singles. Freshman Will Luke dispatched Escanaba’s Cody Stevens 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Jakson Sager and Drew Lindberg outlasted Kingsford juniors Duante Fortner and Tyler Beauchamp (7-5, 1-6, 6-2) in No. 1 doubles, and senior Evan Hassell and junior Tom Kinjorski defeated Escanaba’s Garrett LaMarch and Tom Mayville (6-2, 7-5) at No. 4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Jakson Sager and Drew Lindberg volley with an opponent on the way to winning the No. 1 doubles title Wednesday at Kingsford. (Middle) Marquette’s Alec Olivier returns a shot during one of his matches; he claimed his third MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship at No. 1 singles. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)
Cranbrook 4-Peats with Near Perfection
October 20, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
NOVI/WEST BLOOMFIELD – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys tennis coach Steve Herdoiza said his team had conquered challenges all season. But Saturday’s MHSAA Finals was a different one.
The main opponent was time, as weather forced the event to be played much longer than anticipated.
Teams waited out a delay in the morning so the outdoor courts at Novi High School could dry, and by the time the semifinals got into full swing just before noon, more bad weather had arrived.
That forced everyone to pack up and drive to an indoor court roughly 30 minutes away, The Sports Club of West Bloomfield, to finish out the day.
The result was an event that didn’t end until just after 7:30 p.m., but the wait was well worth it for Cranbrook.
For the fourth straight year, the Cranes captured the Lower Peninsula Division 3 title, doing so in dominating fashion by winning seven flights and earning 39 points.
“They’ve responded that way all year,” Herdoiza said. “Whatever challenge has been put in front of them, they’ve handled it beautifully with the same approach. Obviously, (Saturday’s weather) threw some things off.”
Detroit Country Day was runner-up with 28 points, while East Grand Rapids netted 25 points to take third.
Cranbrook was led by junior Lucas Bosch, who captured the No. 1 singles title with a three-set win over rival Nikolas Gruskin of Country Day.
It was the third victory of the season for Bosch over Gruskin, but by far the hardest to achieve.
Gruskin won the first set, 6-3, before Bosch rallied to win the second, 6-1.
Bosch then pulled out a 6-4 win in the third set to win his second straight individual title after he won the crown at No. 2 singles last year.
Bosch said Gruskin made adjustments from the previous two matches, and playing indoors without any elements made it more intense.
“There was a lot more running this match,” Bosch said. “Going to my backhand, he was serving it a lot better. He had out-wide serves slicing away.”
Bosch had plenty of help though.
Justin Luo (No. 2), Nolan Sherwood (No. 3) and Joe Croskey (No. 4) each backed up their No. 1 seed in their respective flights by winning titles to help Cranbrook sweep the singles portion of the event.
Cranbrook won three of the four doubles flights, with the team of Patrick Tiwari/Sohum Acharya at No. 2 doubles, the team of Hayes Bradley/David Hermelin at No. 3 and the tandem of Geoffrey Qin/Isaiah Croskey at No. 4 doubles all finishing first.
Tiwari/Sohum and Qin/Croskey were seeded No. 1 going into the tournament, but the title won by Bradley/Hermelin was more of a surprise since that team entered seeded No. 3.
The only flight won by a team not named Cranbrook came at No. 1 doubles, where the East Grand Rapids pair of Ryan Poste and Kole Butterer won despite entering as the No. 3 seed.
“Even though we won by a wide margin, there were a lot of close matches that went our way,” Herdoiza said. “I attribute that to the guys and how they handle pressure moments. They are poised, and their competitiveness was off-the-charts good.”
PHOTO: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood's Lucas Bosch sends back a volley during Saturday's Division 3 Finals. (Middle) Detroit Country Day's Nikolas Gruskin returns a shot, also at No. 1 singles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)