All-Area Boys Tennis 2011: Top flight players rule area courts

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

One of the most difficult things for a tennis program in Oakland County to do is to actually win.

As strange as it sounds, there are so many quality teams and individuals in this tradition-rich area, that when they are often lumped together in the same pocket of leagues, invitationals, regionals and even the state finals, teams can enjoy tremendous success without actually earning plenty of championship hardware.

Here in the northern tier of Oakland County, there was plenty of talent again this season. Still, only two local teams actually captured league championships and no area teams won regionals. Six local schools finished in the top 20 at either the Division 1 or Division 2 state finals.

Individually, six area athletes earned All-state recognition with more than two dozen earning all-league status. Several of these athletes can be found on the 2011 All-North Oakland Area Boys Tennis team for 2011.

Below are the profiles of each of the first-team honorees, selected by NOS staff in conjunction with area coaches’ opinions:

FIRST TEAM-SINGLES

SPENCER NAVARRE, Ortonville Brandon: This junior enjoyed perhaps one of the best seasons as any tennis player in school history. Named the Flint Journal Player of the Year, Navarre helped his team finish 22^nd at the Division 2 state finals. He was the Flint Metro League No. 1 singles champion, finished as All-FML First Team and All-Oakland County Second Team, was the Flushing regional champ and finished the year with a 31-3 record. Navarre won his first round match at the Division 2 state finals defeating Bloomfield Hills Andover’s Evan Chen before falling in the Round of 16 to Lansing Eastern’s Lioyikane Mavoungou (7-5, 6-1). He is currently 84-7 for three years with one season to go.

NICK FIASCHETTI, Rochester Stoney Creek: This junior overcame a rough outing at the OAA Red Division championships, where he lost in the first round, by earning All-State First Team honors in Division 1. Finishing with a 20-6 record at No.1 singles, the three-year varsity veteran was runner-up at the Rochester regional to Mr. Tennis Andrew Kahn of West Bloomfield, and won the Troy Athens Invitational, Holly Invitational and Clarkston Quad. He lost in the second round at the state finals to eventual state champion Tyler Gardner of Northville (7-5, 6-4).

RICHARD ZHANG, Troy Athens: The sophomore returned to the No.1 singles slot this season and posted a fine 25-9 record against stiff competition, enough to earn him Division 1 All-State First Team honors. Named to the All-OAA White Division squad, Zhang captured the league title, finished as the Grosse Pointe South regional runner-up and reached the D-1 state quarterfinals. Along the way, he avenged a defeat to Adams’ Kristoff Saari.

“Richard had the best work ethic on our team,” said coach Andrew Shipp. “He was the most improved player through the offseason, and he led the team every time he stepped on the court as our No. 1 singles player. He is still young, but he has the potential to be the best player that Athens has ever seen. We really enjoyed his accomplishments this year and we are even more excited for what his future may bring.”

CHAD BARNHART, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep: A senior, Barnhart had a fine encore season in his fourth season of varsity play. Named to the All-State Honorable Mention list in Division 4 and to the All-CHSL team as a No.1 singles player, he finished with a 14-11 ledger playing against some tough opponents in Oakland County. He was third at the Armada Tournament, Auburn Hills Avondale Tournament and the Romeo Tournament, placed second at the Almont Invitational and a quarterfinalist at the CHSL tournament. Barnhart was also second at the regional and reached the Round of 16 at the Division 4 state finals. He is a two-time captain, both years at No.1 singles, and was named an All-CHSL Scholar Athlete, posting a 4.0 GPA to date. His team finished 12^th overall at the D-4 state finals.

“Chad is a great kid to coach,” praised Notre Dame Prep coach Peter Riley. “He has high expectations and works hard to achieve those goals. He plays like a gentleman on the courts.”

ANDREW HEUERMAN, Clarkston: A senior playing in the No. 1 singles spot, Heuermann finished third at the OAA White Division meet, enough to earn all-conference honors. He also reached the semifinals of the Division 1 Rochester regional and placed at several other tournaments.

NOAH RICE, Troy: With 2010 Division 1 state champion David Foreman suffering a season-ending injury, Rice was thrust into the No. 1 singles role and still had an fine season as a senior, posting a 15-9 record. A four-year varsity performer at different flights, Rice was a semifinalist at the Grosse Pointe South regional and fourth at the OAA Red Division Tournament. At the Division 1 state finals, he lost to Tim Wang of Novi in the first round. He was named to the All-OAA-Red Division team.

SAM CALDWELL, Holly: The senior earned All-Flint Metro League honors at No. 2 singles, winning the league title and being voted the Team MVP, Coaches Award and Mental Toughness Award for Holly. Finishing 24-9, Caldwell was the Flushing regional runner-up and finished third at the Holly Invitational. He helped his team finish 17^th at the Division 2 state finals, win the FML title and finish second at the regional.

“Sam is just an amazing person, player and teammate,” offered coach Will Sopheia.

KRISTOFF SAARI, Rochester Adams: A senior in his fourth varsity campaign, the Highlanders’ MVP earned All-State First Team honors in Division 1 despite playing hurt the final three weeks of the season. Saari, who is shifting through several college offers, was still 19-5 overall despite being limited at the league, regional and state meet. He was the OAA Red Division runner-up, finished as a semifinalist at the Rochester regional and lost in the Round of 16 at the D-1 state finals. He was also the Holly and Romeo tournament champion and finishes with 92 career wins, which ranks in the top five in school history.

“Kristoff absolutely played hurt at the end of the season. He went in there just to get points at the league and regional but couldn’t finish,” said Adams coach Al Must. “His shoulder was really banged up so he helped us (finish third) at the league meet and finish second at the regional to qualify. He didn’t score at the state meet, but he battled through the pain. He still had a great career. I think if he’d been healthy, he would have won a few matches at state.”

JUSTIN HYMAN, Rochester Adams: Adams was tabbed as a rebuilding project this season, but with the arrival of this freshman prospect, the Highlanders maintained their status as a top-10 team in the state. Hyman finished a fine 27-2 overall to earn All-State Honorable Mention honors in Division 1. He was the OAA Red Division and Rochester regional champion and advanced all the way to the state quarterfinals at No. 2 singles in Division 1.

“Justin has a fine all-around game and he had a fantastic season for a freshman playing against mostly seniors and juniors,” said Must. “His serve isn’t quite there yet and he struggled a little against guys that could really pop it, but he’s a competitor and really has a great understanding of the game for a freshman. To have his record as a freshman with the tough schedule that we played is really amazing. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

FIRST TEAM-DOUBLES

Ryan Kaczor and his brother Eric Kaczor posted a 15-3 record at No. 1 doulbes this season. File Photo.

MATT KUNTZMAN-KENTO MIZUSAKI, Troy: This senior duo had a fine season, which ended with a loss in the Division 1 state quarterfinals at No.1 doubles. Posting a 20-9 overall record, 10-2 against doubles teams from the talent-laden OAA Red Division, this duo earned All-OAA Red Division and All-State First Team honors. They finished second at both the Grosse Pointe South regional and league tournament.

MIKE KUNTZMAN-SAUMIL SHAH, Troy: This unit of Kuntzman, a senior, and Shah, a junior, combined for a 16-8 ledger at No. 2 doubles this season. They were state quarterfinalists at Division 1, finished undefeated against OAA Red Division opponents, and won both the league championship and Grosse Pointe South regional.

ERIC KACZOR-RYAN KACZOR, Lake Orion: Holding down the fort at No. 1 doubles, this brothers unit of Eric, a senior, and Ryan, a junior, posted a fine 15-3 record this fall. They won the Clarkston and Troy Athens tournaments, finished second at the OAA White Division league meet and were semifinalists at the Division 1 Rochester regional.

“They were our best doubles team by far,” said coach Eric Bracciano. “They were a pleasure to have on the team. They worked hard and represented their school with class.”

JUJUN LEE-STEPHEN WANG, Rochester Adams: This duo was paired together early in the season after the Highlanders shuffled the lineup. Together they posted a 17-9 overall record, placed fourth at the OAA Red Division league tournament and finished as the Rochester regional champions, helping the Highlanders finish second and qualify for state. At the Division 1 state finals, they reached the quarterfinals at No. 2 doubles in Division 1, as Adams placed eighth overall.

“We made the decision to move Juhun Lee from singles over to No. 1 doubles early in the season and he and Stephen Wang had a great season together. They really worked well together,” said Must. “We lost a lot from (2010), but these guys really helped us remain a top-10 team.”

COACH OF THE YEAR

ANDREW SHIPP, Troy Athens: After Shipp took over the boys and girls tennis program at Athens seven years ago, he has helped turn Athens into a respected program. His teams are annually in the hunt for a state finals berth with several of his teams reaching the state finals or just missing the cut.

Shipp was selected as the MHSTECA Division 1 Coach of the Year recently despite his team missing the state finals by only one point and has also earned All-Area Coach of the Year status for the first time.

Athens finished the season 8-2, including 5-1 in the OAA White Division. The Red Hawks were also third at the Grosse Pointe South regional (17 points) and finished second at OAA White Division league meet (48 points). Athens also had several other top five finishes at tournaments this season.

The Red Hawks did have one state qualifier (Richard Zhang) and scored two points at the Division 1 state finals, good for a three-way tie for 17^th place overall.

2010 TEAM: http://northoaklandsports.com/2010/12/15/2010-all-area-boys-tennis-team-this-unit-could-surely-swat-away-the-opposition/

2009 TEAM: http://northoaklandsports.com/2010/12/15/flashback-2009-all-area-boys-tennis-powerful-hitters-ace-positions-on-tennis-squad/

MORE BOYS TENNIS: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=%22Tennis%22&x=0&y=0

2011 ALL-NORTH OAKLAND AREA BOYS TENNIS TEAM

FIRST TEAM-SINGLES

Chad Barnhart          Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Senior

Sam Caldwell           Holly                   Senior

Nick Fiaschetti        Rochester Stoney Creek  Junior

Andy Heuerman          Clarkston               Senior

Justin Hyman           Rochester Adams         Freshman

Spencer Navarre        Ortonville Brandon      Junior

Noah Rice              Troy                    Senior

Kristoff Saari         Rochester Adams         Senior

Richard Zhang          Troy Athens             Sophomore

 FIRST TEAM DOUBLES

Matt Kuntzman           Troy                   Senior

Kento Misusaki          Troy                   Senior

Saumil Shah             Troy                   Junior

Mike Kuntzman           Troy                   Senior

Stephen Wang            Rochester Adams        Senior

Juhun Lee               Rochester Adams        Senior

Eric Kaczor             Lake Orion             Senior

Ryan Kaczor             Lake Orion             Junior

 COACH OF THE YEAR

Andrew Shipp            Troy Athens            7th Season

HONORABLE MENTIONS-SINGLES

Auburn Hills Avondale: Jon Phou, jr. (No. 1); Clarkston: J.D. Budzinski, sr. (No. 2); 

Holly: Jeff Sopheia, soph. (No. 1); Lake Orion: Nick Ludwig, sr. (No. 1); Ortonville 

Brandon: McKenzie Walsh, sr. (No. 2); Rochester: Vishal Modi, jr. (No. 1); Collin

Pendzich, jr. (No. 3); Rochester Adams: Charles Xu, jr. (No. 3); Rochester Stoney 
Creek: Jake Kruk, jr. (No. 2); Troy: Sanjay Devireddy, sr. (No. 2); Troy Athens: Eric
Flewelling, jr. (No. 2).

HONORABLE MENTION-DOUBLES

Clarkston: Trey Hughes, sr. (No. 1); Matt Dahl, sr. (No. 1); Rochester: Ani
Mayasandra, jr. (No. 1); Matt Beckstrom, sr. (No. 1); Rochester Adams: Tim Wu, jr.
(No. 2); Zhibin Zeng, jr. (No. 2). Rochester Stoney Creek: John Seyferth, sr. (No. 1);
Josh Lee, jr. (No. 1); Troy: Nick Fave, sr. (No. 3); Mike Mendola, sr. (No. 3); 
Troy Athens: Mehul Gaur, sr. (No. 1); Kevin Zywicki, sr. (No. 1).

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