Seaholm tennis stays strong, earns third place at MHSAA state finals

BIRMINGHAM — Birmingham Seaholm had one goal in mind during its trip to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 Boys Tennis State Finals.

With a young singles core and a senior-led squad in doubles, Seaholm wanted to improve on its fourth-place finish in the 2021 MHSAA State Finals.

“It was an interesting thing where last year we had a pretty strong team and we didn’t really finish where we wanted to last year, but we wanted to finish in the top five,” Seaholm coach Nick Shaheen said. “We took a page out of Groves’ book, because when you get to the state finals, anything can happen.”

Groves won the state title last season, and has been a thorn in the side of Seaholm’s senior class during their four years with the program.

Seaholm was able to earn the upper hand this year with a regional championship win over Groves at Groves High School Oct. 6, and Seaholm’s senior class would face the Falcons one last time at the state finals.

“The finals experience was something else, because we had to play Groves in the finals,” senior Alex Lewis said. “The rivalry we’ve had all four years in high school tennis was all coming down to this final tournament.”

Seaholm would finish four points ahead of fifth-place Groves behind first-place finishes in flight No. 1 and No. 4 doubles.

Seaholm’s senior leaders Ricky Sparby and Nick Kelley paired up for the flight No. 4 doubles title, while Lewis and senior Zane Chutkow, who are 144-24 in their career together, earned the flight No. 1 doubles title. Both pairs finished first in their respective doubles flights at regionals as well.

Shaheen said Sparby and Kelley never lost a match together during their time in junior varsity, and said their chemistry was a key factor behind it.

“I always joke that they’re brothers even though they’re technically not,” Shaheen said.

Lewis and Chutkow led by example for Seaholm the entirety of the season, and the state finals were no different for the duo.

Shaheen said their competitiveness and experience helped lay a foundation for the team to follow throughout the season.

“You can’t replace that, but even more so from a leadership perspective,” Shaheen said. “They were leaders, and they set the tone in practice and represented Seaholm with the maple leaf on their shirt the way that we prefer.”

Seaholm picked up a pair of semifinals finishes in doubles with senior Archan Senthilvanan and junior Sean Joyce in flight No. 3, and junior Grant Supancich and sophomore Carson Wright in flight No. 2.

While Seaholm struggled in the singles flights, juniors Blake Smith and Aiden Wolfson will be key leaders for Seaholm in 2023. Smith earned runner-up honors at regionals, while Wolfson took first-place in their respective flights.

“Our three captains were all really close to the team, and the juniors coming up have experience,” Lewis said. “They’re coming up ready to roll; they know we’ll always help them, and we have faith in those guys.”

Seaholm will look to carry over its state finals into next season with a new core of seniors and underclassmen.

While the doubles’ flights will take a hit due to graduation, Shaheen said the added experience will only strengthen Seaholm.

“We have a very senior-heavy team next year, and a lot of the seniors who are coming back have learned a lot,” Shaheen said. “I think we’re going to have a very experienced team who has the knowledge and knows what it takes to get to the top.”