MHSAA boys tennis recap: Bloomfield Hills, Detroit Country Day earn state titles

OAKLAND COUNTY — Oakland County typically seems to have a hold on the high school tennis scene, but the schools located in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Beverly Hills took it to a whole new level this season.

Below are the boys tennis state finals recaps for teams in the C & G Newspapers’ coverage area.

 

Bloomfield Hills (D1)
Bloomfield Hills continues to have a hold on the Division 1 boys tennis scene, winning its third-straight state title and sixth since 2015 on Oct. 19 at the Byron Center West Sports Complex.

Senior Pierce Shaya (1 singles), junior Connor Shaya (2 singles), and sophomore Zev Spiegel (3 singles) rounded out the singles championships; while seniors Asher Langwell and Dominic Pascarella (1 doubles), and juniors Meyer Saperstein and Sajan Doshi (3 doubles) took home the title in the doubles flights.

Pierce Shaya and Pascarella are now four-time individual/doubles state champions to go along with their three team titles, while Connor Shaya is a three-time individual state champion. Langwell is now a two-time doubles state champion.

Sophomore Brady Winston (4 singles) also added a state runner-up finish.

Returning a core of talent and winning the state finals by eight or more points the past three seasons, it’ll be tough for anyone to put an end to what the Black Hawks are doing.

 

Troy (D1)
Troy was the last team to win a state title since Bloomfield Hills began its three-year reign, and head coach Brian Miska and company collected their second-straight state runner-up title Oct. 19 at the Byron Center West Sports Complex.

Freshman Dheeraj Yelleti (4 singles) came in as the No. 1 seed for his bracket and absolutely dominated the competition, winning every set en route to becoming the 1 singles state champion.

“We knew we were deep and we knew someone would have to play 4 singles that was a little strong for the flight, but he (Yelleti) took it in stride and never complained,” Miska said. “He was a team guy who stepped in and played the role. The pressure for him to win it was pretty high, because we thought he was a borderline lock going into the season. To have that pressure as a freshman, it really shows a lot about his confidence.”

Troy collected its final championship of the day at the hands of another freshman phenom, Jackson Kraus, who teamed up with junior Raghav Karur in 4 doubles for a flawless run.

Kraus and Karur, the No. 2 seeds, did run into some trouble against No. 3 seed Bloomfield Hills in the semifinals, but took care of business in a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory to move onto the championship match.

Senior Dhruv Gupta (2 singles), freshman Krish Gupta (3 singles), and the 3 doubles team of freshman Sourish Darui and junior Nate Wanstreet all reached the semifinals, while juniors Varun Shetty and Anthony Wu (2 doubles) reached the championship match.

Dhruv Gupta was the lone senior for the Colts and has been an anchor for Miska throughout his four years.

“He’s a special senior for us,” Miska said. “He had four-straight years of being in the state finals or semifinals for us, so making the second day in the state tournament for four-straight years was pretty impressive.”

With only Gupta graduating, Troy returns a slew of experience and talent eager to snap the state runner-up streak by hoisting a title of their own.

“Obviously, nothing is guaranteed with Bloomfield Hills, because they have such a good team over there, but a lot of them have played varsity three-straight years,” Miska said. “Watching them grow as leaders off the court, especially the young freshman, it’s been great. Having only one senior, I needed some leadership from my juniors. They stepped up for sure.”

 

Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (D1)
The Warriors were paced by their senior-led core on the singles side as Patrick Cretu (1 singles) and Lucas Kello (2 singles) both reached the semifinals, helping Brother Rice finish fourth.

Brother Rice finished fifth the past two seasons before finishing 10th overall in 2021, which showcases a new expectation of consistency for head coach Casey Cullen and his squad.

Junior Spencer Seneker and sophomore Ben Waechter (1 doubles) were the only doubles group to reach the semifinals.

 

Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (D1)
How about a history-making season for the Cougars.

Typically on the outside looking in at the top-10 the past few seasons, Stoney Creek earned its highest state finals placement in school history, finishing fifth.

There’s plenty of talent you can point to as to why the 2024 campaign became so successful, but head coach Dave Pietrangelo said it all starts with his seniors.

“They were awesome,” Pietrangelo said. “They definitely created kind of a brotherhood, which this is the first year that I can really confidently say that we’ve had that at Stoney. I hope that can continue.”

The singles flights led the way for Stoney Creek as senior Andrew Vincler (1 singles) and junior Gavin Clark (4 singles) reached the semifinals, paving the way for Stoney Creek’s 12 points, which tied with Ann Arbor Skyline for fifth. Junior Quentin Rangi (2 singles), the No. 1 seed, was the standout performer for the Cougars, becoming the first player in school history to reach the championship match.

Vincler has been a mainstay in the Stoney Creek singles lineup since his freshman year and will be a tough void to fill, but Pietrangelo said the singles talent returning makes for another exciting season ahead.

“We have a good core of singles players coming back, and I’d like to rather use the word that we’re ‘retooling’ in the doubles rather than rebuilding,” Pietrangelo said.

 

Birmingham Seaholm (D2)
The Maples one again reclaimed their spot in the top-3 of Division 2 tennis, finishing tied for second Oct. 19 at Kalamazoo College.

Seaholm was paced by championship titles from junior Alex Ting (4 singles), and a pair of doubles groups in junior Britton Leo and sophomore Aaryan Senthilvanan (3 doubles), and seniors Connor Champion and Andrew Wachowicz (4 doubles). Freshman Carter Griffith (1 singles) reached the semifinals.

Talk about going through gauntlets, Seaholm had to slay some dragons to end up finishing where they did.

On his journey to the top, Ting, the No. 4 seed, took down both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to bring it home, while Griffith, who was not seeded, bested the No. 7 and No. 2 seeds in his first year on varsity and held the pressure of the 1 singles spot.

Seaholm, who tied with Midland Dow for second, came up two points short of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.

The doubles side, with the exception of 3 doubles, will take a hit due to graduation, but the Maples will return all of their singles flights from the state finals in efforts to return as a threat once again in Division 2 tennis.

 

Detroit Country Day (D3)
It’s been a decade, but Country Day tennis is back on top.

Country Day has had its fair share of success since then with six state runner-up finishes, but coach Nicholas Fiaschetti and company were due for a trip back to the top.

On Oct. 19 at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood High School, home of the reigning Division 3 state champions, Country Day tied with Ann Arbor Greenhills at 32 points, edging second place Cranbrook Kingswood by two points.

With such a loaded upperclassman group, it was freshmen Ricky Jeong (3 singles) and Adam Mahmoud (4 singles) who would set the tone with two state championship wins.

“I knew a couple years ago that these guys were going to be good, but I just didn’t realize how good yet,” Fiaschetti said. “There’s always projections with where he’s at for his age, but you got to see when they get there. They’re both as advertised, and they played a huge role in the team winning.”

Jeong had a clean sweep in his journey, while Mahmoud ran into some trouble in the championship match, dropping the first set 2-6 before completely taking over.

On the doubles side, it was junior Rick Nie and sophomore Preston Blum bringing home the state title in 4 doubles, failing to drop a single set in the tournament.

“They honestly became a monster team,” Fiaschetti said. “They beat everybody at the end of the year. They just looked like a different team, like something clicked with them as soon as October hit. I don’t think they had a loss in October.”

Other contributors were senior Saahith Reddy (1 singles), who reached the semifinals, and senior Dan Marin, a veteran anchor who reached the championship match, while senior Achyut Reddy and junior Charlie Khaghany (1 doubles) also reached the championship match.

The doubles teams of seniors Thomas Bresson and John McKany (3 doubles), and junior Kevin Ye and sophomore Victor Marin (2 doubles) both reached the semifinals.

From 2009-2014, prior to their state runner-up run, the Yellowjackets were five-time state champions and a dynasty in Division 3 tennis.

Country Day looks to be settling back into that role, and Fiaschetti said the senior group is the main reason why.

“They’ve been staples in our program for years,” Fiaschetti said. “We had four captains, three of them being four-year varsity players and the other a three-year, and the other guys were all at least second or third-year players. All of these guys have been around for a long time, so they led the team very well. They were excited for a new chapter.”

 

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (D3)
The outcome wasn’t what the Cranes hoped for, but numerous players showed resilience in different ways.

Suffering an injury in the 1 singles semifinals wasn’t the way senior Ryan Michaels hoped his season would end, but he fought through it until the bitter end.

“That’s the kind of kid he is,” Cranbrook Kingswood head coach Steve Herdoiza said. “He really wanted to try and see if there was any way he could finish that match.”

Junior Kenneth Hu, the 2 doubles state champion last year, fought through the 2 singles bracket to win a state title and help Cranbrook Kingswood earn state runner-up Oct. 19 at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood High School.

Hu had to wait his turn behind a loaded singles lineup last season, but his patience prevailed.

“I knew he had good singles qualities,” Herdoiza said. “Last year was a unique year for us because we had such a strong singles lineup. We were just that deep. He probably could’ve played singles for most teams.”

Freshman Eli Rosen stood as the No. 1 seed in the 1 singles bracket and battled his way to the championship match, earning state runner-up and capping off a phenomenal season for the first-year varsity player.

Cranbrook also earned state runner-up in two doubles flights courtesy of junior Cole Kirschenbaum and junior Ryan VanDyke in 2 doubles, and senior Sanjay Lokum and junior Daniel Ma in 3 doubles.

The doubles pairings of senior Colin VanDyke and Nabbah Veeramani (4 doubles), and senior Aryan Tiwari and sophomore Josh Day (1 doubles) both reached the semifinals.

Herdoiza said you’d be hard pressed to find someone who progressed more this season than Day.

“It was such a pleasant surprise in the leap that he made,” Herdoiza said. “Before this year, I envisioned Josh more as a singles player because he’s super fast and consistent. What I didn’t know is how good he was at doubles and how good his volleys were, so, for me, that was something that really helped our team out. He really stepped up from a year ago and rose to the occasion.”

Junior Jace Bernard (3 singles), a two-time individual/doubles state champion, was state runner-up as well for the Cranes.

Cranbrook Kingswood returns a healthy amount of its talented core this season, so don’t expect it to fade off into the sunset in 2025.

“The result didn’t go our way this year,” Herdoiza said. “There’s things we’re going to learn from it and take from it, and we’re going to use it as motivation for next year.”

 

Individual to note:
Senior Jack Weingarden, North Farmington (3 singles)

Talk about a weekend he’ll never forget, North Farmington senior Jack Weingarden entered the Division 2 state finals unseeded and with memories of only making it to round 2 in 2023.

The veteran defied the odds and made a magical run, defeating the No. 2 seed and a pair of unseeded players to reach the state championship match Oct. 19 at Kalamazoo College.

His journey had a bittersweet ending when No. 4 seed Connor Schultz was forced to retire after taking a 5-3 lead in the first set, but it resulted in Weingarden becoming a state champion in 3 singles.

Regardless, it was an incredible journey for Weingarden, who ended his high school tennis career as a state champion.

Weingarden also was crowned the Region 9 champion for 3 singles Oct. 9 at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School.