Adams nets eighth at D-1 tennis finals
Troy lands 11th, Stoney Creek 15th, Athens 17th
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
MIDLAND — Competing in its first Division 1state finals in nearly a decade, Rochester Adams posted another fine finish at the boys tennis finals.
The Highlanders, who spent the past nine seasons as a Division 2 school, capped the 2011 season by tying for eighth overall with 11 points at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 state championships at Midland Community Tennis Center.
It marked the 12th time in 15 seasons that Adams competed in the state finals with a complete roster. The Highlanders also had an individual qualifier in 2004.
“I think we’ve had a really good run the past several years,” offered veteran Adams coach Al Must. “I’m proud because our No. 1 singles player, Kristoff Saari, was hurt and was knocked out the first round. But we had some others win some matches and we ended up eighth overall. If you told me beforehand if we would have been eighth with our top player playing injured, I wouldn’t have thought that we would place in the top 10.”
REACHING THE Q: Troy Athens sophomore Richard Zhang advanced to the state quarterfinals at No. 1 singles before being knocked out. File Photo.
Ann Arbor Huron won the team title with 30 points, ahead of challengers Birmingham Brother Rice (26), Novi Detroit Catholic Central (24) and Novi (20). Northville was fifth with 13 points, while Ann Arbor Pioneer (12), West Bloomfield (12), Adams (11), Port Huron Northern (11) and Holland West Ottawa (11) rounded out the top 10.
Additionally, Troy landed 11th overall with 10 points and Rochester Stoney Creek tied Grand Ledge for 15th with three points. Troy Athens, which had one individual qualifier, registered two points in the standings and finished 17th.
Northville’s Tyler Gardiner, who did not play high school tennis the past three years, captured the coveted No. 1 singles state crown with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over West Bloomfield’s Andrew Cahn.
Athens’ Richard Zhang and Stoney Creek’s Nick Fiaschetti both reached the state quarterfinals at No.1 singles before being ousted.
Zhang upset Adams’ Saari in the Round of 16 before being knocked out by Novi Catholic Central’s Michael Dube in the quarterfinals (6-1, 6-1). Fiaschetti won two matches before his run came to an end in the quarterfinals to Northville’s Gardiner (7-5, 6-4).
At No. 2 singles, Adams freshman Justin Hyman reached the quarterfinals round, while Highlanders’ No. 3 player, Charles Xu, won his first-round match but was eliminated in the Round of 16.
REACHING HIGH: Rochester Adams senior Krisoff Saari reached the Round of 16 at No. 1 singles. File Photo
Adams’ No.4 singles player, Rahul Jain, produced a pair of upsets and reached the semifinals before falling to Novi’s Andrew Ying, 6-1, 6-2. Jain already defeated seeded players Vinai Reddy of Troy (6-4, 6-4) and Holland West Ottawa’s Ryan Busch (6-1, 7-5).
“We got some unexpected points from Rahul. He beat the No.4 and No. 5 seeds and eventually got to the semifinals,” offered Must. “He came through with some points that I didn’t expect. I’m proud of him for the way he battled.”
In the doubles competition, both Adams, Troy and Stoney Creek all picked up points in at least one flight.
Adams’ Juhun Lee and Stephan Wang won their first-round match but lost in the Round of 16 at No. 1 doubles. Troy’s Matt Kuntzman and Kento Mizusaki teamed up to go 2-1, reaching the quarterfinals before being ousted by third-seeded Danny Rizk and Jonathan Zhou of Ann Arbor Huron (6-1, 6-4).
Adams’ No. 2 duo of Zhibin Deng won their Round of 16 match but fell in the quarterfinals to top-seeded Matt Hermiz and Gabe Apaza of Novi Catholic Central (6-3, 6-1) in the quarterfinals.
Troy’s No. 5-seeded tandem of Mike Kuntzman and Saumil Shah advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Novi’s Brandon Sanders and Nishant Kakar (6-3, 6-4) at No. 2 doubles.
Troy picked up several points from its No. 3 duo, as Nick Fava and Mike Mendola advanced all the way to the semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Joey Hildebrand and George Hamaty of Brother Rice (6-2, 6-2). Along its route to the semis, Fava and Mendola toppled Stoney Creek’s Aaron Hinchman and Derek Beahm in the second round.
At No. 4 doubles, Stoney Creek’s Andrew Bismackl and Erik Figura won its first round match but were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Adams’ No. 4 duo of Matt Lillie and Scott Lillie finished 2-1, eventually falling to Ben Brenner and Costa Demetral of Ann Arbor Huron in the quarterfinals (6-0, 6-4).
Lastly, Troy’s No. 4 tandem of Shalin Shah and Pramod Malabagula advanced with a 3-1 record as the No. 3 seed, eventually being knocked out by No. 2 seeded and eventual state champion Ben Brenner and Costa Demetral of Ann Arbor Huron (6-4, 6-2)in the semifinals round.
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy, Troy Athens
