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2010 ALL-AREA BOYS TENNIS TEAM: This unit could surely swat away the opposition

Dan Stickradt | December 15, 2010 | Comments (1)

SWAT PATROL: Rochester Adams junior Kristoff Saari is one of six singles players named to the 2010 All-Area Boys Tennis team. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Talented tennis players and Oakland County simply go hand-in-hand. Pick your point in the county, and the compass will point towards several quality teams and players.

Even in the coverage area for www.northoaklandsports.com, there was no shortage of talent.

Two local teams finished well inside the top-10 at the state finals, while there were five local players and two doubles teams to earn All-State accolades by the coaches association.

This year’s first-team features six singles players and four doubles teams that posted fine seasons on the court, including a pair of state champions and a state runner-up.

Below are the capsules of each first-team honoree:

SINGLES

BRETT FOREMAN, Troy: They don’t hand out Mr. Tennis to sophomores, but Foreman was arguably the state’s top overall player this season. The two-time All-State First Team honoree finished 29-1, with his only loss coming in the OAA Red Division finals at No. 1 singles. He also won the Novi and Troy quad tournaments, went 7-0 in the regular season in the league and also won the Rochester regional. After reaching the state semifinals in Division 1 as a freshman, Foreman won the state title this year over Novi Detroit Catholic Central’s Joe Dube, this year’s Mr. Tennis.

“He should be the player of the year,” said coach Eric Sturgis. “Brett had an incredible season as a sophomore. He won was the No. 1 singles state championship defeating senior Joe Dube in the finals. Brett had one loss all season. He was also one of the captains. He was an extremely hard worker off the court as well as on the court. He was a great leader and all around great person to have on the team.”

JAY JOSHI, Rochester Adams: This senior capped a fine season at No. 1 singles by earning All-State First Team in Division 2. Also an All-OAA Red Division honoree, Joshi finished 18-6 with many notable finishes. He was the North Farmington regional champ, reached the semifinals at the league tournament which featured several all-state players and was a state quarterfinalist at the state finals.

KRISTOFF SAARI, Rochester Adams: A junior that played No. 2 singles for the Highlanders, Saari still earned all-conference and All-State First Team honors in Division 2. Finishing with a fine 24-2 record, Saari was the OAA Red Division champ, finished second at the North Farmington regional, helping his team win a regional title, and was the state runner-up in D-2.

KEVIN WU, Rochester Adams: Wu’s career was a bit abnormal, as he competed for Adams as a freshman and sophomore and again as a senior. After competing in Connecticut last season, Wu moved back to Michigan and played No. 3 singles for Adams. This year he finished a perfect 26-0 and is a three-time state champion. The league and regional champ also made the All-State Honorable Mention list in Division 2.

RICHARD ZHANG, Troy Athens: Although just a freshman, Zhang was a thorn in many opponents’ side this season although he finished under .500 in conference play and around five-hundred overall. Playing No. 1 singles for the Red Hawks, Zhang was overshadowed playing the state’s top league, the OAA Red Division, where he earned all-league honors. He was a quarterfinalist at Rochester regional, which featured four all-state players, and was third at the Grand Blanc Invitational.

NICK FIASCHETTI, Rochester Stoney Creek: A repeat member of the first team, this sophomore earned all-league and All-State Honorable Mention honors in Division 1 for the second straight season. The No. 1 singles star finished 6-0 in league dual matches and also won the OAA White Division tournament title. Sporting a 16-5 overall mark with all of the losses against all-state players, Fiaschetti also won the Holly, Troy Athens and Port Huron tournaments and the sophomore also finished as a semifinalist at the Rochester regional.

“He had a great year and his losses were against some of the best players in the state,” said coach Heather Redshaw. “We were just stuck in a tough regional and didn’t get a chance to go to state. He still is a very talented player who is only going to get better.”

DOUBLES

WILL CHEN-ERIC FLEWELLING, Troy Athens: After a lineup change, this unit combined early in the season and had a fine campaign together With Chen, a senior, taking in Flewelling, a sophomore, they put together a season where they earned All-State Honorable Mention status in Division 1. They were semifinalists at the OAA Red Division and Rochester regional tournaments. They also earned All-League honors.

MATT KUNTZMAN-KENTO MIZUSAKI, Troy: This junior duo excelled quite nicely together, as Mizusaki moved up from the junior varsity and simply jelled with Kuntzman. Together they were 24-9 at No. 1 doubles. They were finalists at the Rochester regional, placed third at the OAA Red Division tournament to earn all-league honors and were state quarterfinalists in Division 1. They were also named to the All-State First Team.

“Matt and Kento had a great season,” said Sturgis. “This was a great feat considering Kento was a JV player the year before. They had great success all season, and Matt was a captain as well. He led by example, and would always push the team.”

MIKE KUNTZMAN-JAMES HEICHEL, Troy: With Kuntzman a junior, joining Heichel, a sophomore, Troy had another quality doubles unit in the No. 2 slot. Finishing with a 25-7 record, this duo was a regional finalist, placed fifth at the league meet, was the Grand Blanc Invitational champion and a state quarterfinalists in Division 1.

“Mike and James had a great season,” said Sturgis. “They moved from No. 3 and No. 4 doubles (last season) to No. 2 doubles and were seeded at the state tournament. They had some good wins this season beating (Detroit) Country Day and taking other good teams to three sets. This is a team that will be very good next year.”

ERIK SCHOENHALS-JON SEYFERTH, Rochester Stoney Creek: Schoenhals, a senior, comes from a long legacy of tennis players at Stoney Creek, while Seyferth, a junior, was another varsity returnee for the Cougars. Together, they were unbeaten in the OAA White Division, where they finished as all-league. The duo won the conference tournament and finished as semifinalists at the Rochester regional, where the team missed the state tournament by only five points. They were also runners-up at the Holly, Athens and Port Huron tournaments and finished the season 12-8 overall.

“They might not have had the best record, but they still went unbeaten in our league and were very competitive against some very good doubles teams,” said Redshaw. “These guys played well together. We only lose two seniors from this team, so we will have to replace Erik.”

COACH OF THE YEAR

AL MUST, Rochester Adams: Must has coached tennis on Oakland County for some three decades and his teams are always competitive. This year’s group finished a fine 12-1-0 overall in dual matches, including 6-1 in the ever-tough OAA Red Division. Adams was ranked in Division 2 all season and finished the year sixth at the state with 14 points. Adams also won the OAA-Red tournament to give them the overall title and also repeated as a regional champ. Adams has made the state finals in eight straight seasons and 15 of the previous 20 seasons.

2010 ALL-AREA BOYS TENNIS TEAM

FIRST TEAM-SINGLES

Brett Forman Troy

Jay Joshi Rochester Adams

Kristoff Saari Rochester Adams

Kevin Wu Rochester Adams

Nick Fiachetti Rochester stoney Creek

Richard Zhang Troy Athens

FIRST TEAM-DOUBLES

Matt Kuntzman Troy

Kento Mizusaki Troy

Mike Kuntzman Troy

James Heichel Troy

Erik Schoenhals Rochester Stoney Creek

Jon Seyferth Rochester Stoney Creek

Will Chen Troy Athens

Eric Flewelling Troy Athens

COACH OF THE YEAR

Al Must Rochester Adams

HONORABLE MENTION-SINGLES

Auburn Hills Avondale: Jon Phou, jr. (No. 1); Clarkston: Andrew Heuerman, jr. (No. 1); Lake Orion: Nick Ludwig, sr. (No. 1); Rochester: Vashal Modi, jr. (No. 1); Jason Manns, soph.; (No. 2); Rochester Adams: Juhan Lee, soph. (No. 4); Rochester Stoney Creek: Jake Kruk, soph. (No. 2).; Vlad Oltean, fr. (No. 3); Troy: Raymond Chen, jr. (No. 2); Noah Rice, jr. (No. 3); Troy Athens: Victor Yang, sr. (No. 2); Vikram Venkatsean, soph. (No. 3).

HONORABLE MENTION-DOUBLES

Clarkston: Jordan Kincaid, jr., Kevin Wieryszyn, sr. (No. 1); Rochester: Axl Patalinghug, soph., Albert Lee, sr. (No. 1); Rochester Adams: Steven Wang, sr., Brian Polozzolo, sr. (No. 1); Tim Wu, sr., Charles Xu, sr. (No.3); Zhibin Deng, sr., Stephen Wang, sr. (No. 2); Rochester Stoney Creek: Dakota Redshaw, soph., Derek Beahm, jr. (No. 2); Nick Mentz, sr., Aaron Hinchman, jr. (No. 3); Troy: Sanjay Devireddy, jr., Maxwell Li, sr. (No. 3); Mike Mendola, jr., Shalin Shaw, jr. (No. 4).

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