Country Day Claims 7 Flights, Team Trophy

October 18, 2014

By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half

GRAND BLANC — Doubles competitors aren't viewed as second-class tennis players at Detroit Country Day.

While there is more individual glory in playing singles, some of the Yellowjackets' best doubles players are perfectly content to help the team by staying put.

"You don't fix something that's not broken," senior Blake Burstein said. 

Respect for their roles on the team is reflected in the fact that the team's three captains are doubles players Burstein, Rishabh Nayak and D.J. Bailey.

When Country Day celebrated its fourth consecutive MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 title Saturday at Genesys Athletic Club, Burstein and Nayak were the only players who were part of each of the previous three championship teams.

Burstein has won his flight all four years, while Nayak has done so the last three years after reaching the No. 4 doubles final as a freshman. Burstein repeated at No. 1 doubles with new partner Damian Runkle. He won at No. 3 doubles his first two years.

"I love doubles," Burstein said. "I do singles outside of school for USTA. I feel like I can contribute to the team the most in the doubles lineup. Our singles lineup is so deep there wouldn't be a necessity for me to hop in there. They're taking care of business just fine."

Burstein and Nayak played together only one year, combining to win No. 3 doubles as sophomores.

"Blake is always a guy to take charge," Nayak recalled from their year together. "He'd always be focused and pump you up.”

Nayak and Adam Junn won the No. 2 doubles title, as Country Day won by a 39-32 margin over Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, which won the 2010 Division 3 title before Country Day began its current run.

"When I first came in as a freshman, I had no idea what to expect," Nayak said. "I just wanted to make the tennis team and play tennis. After a while, hanging out with the team, I realized we could achieve state championships if we worked hard. That's what we've been doing the last four years."

The finals nearly turned into a dual meet between Country Day and Cranbrook-Kingswood. The only intruder was East Grand Rapids' Max Condon, who lost 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 4 singles final to Country Day's Michael Khaghany.

The top two contenders were tied 23-23 after Friday's action. Country Day took a 31-30 edge into the finals, then won six of the seven head-to-head matchups with Cranbrook-Kingswood, as well as No. 4 singles.

"Sometimes it gets heated; other times it gets respectful," Country Day coach Tom Ellis said of the rivalry with the Cranes. "It's two schools rich in tennis tradition, and they go at it."

No team has ever had a perfect score of 40 points at an MHSAA Final. Country Day has finished just one point short each of the last three years. The only other school to score 39 points is Ann Arbor Pioneer, which did it in Division 1 in 2002 and 2005.

During its four-year championship run, Country Day has won 25 of 32 flights and been the runner-up in six others. Only one flight failed to reach the finals, in 2011 when No. 2 singles lost in the quarterfinals.

Country Day's only loss in the finals Saturday came when Cranbrook-Kingswood's Alex Hubers and Steven Meng took a 1-6, 6-5, 6-3 decision over Country Day's Bailey and Andrew Joslyn. It was the only three-set match in the finals.

"We're rivals in every sport," Burstein said. "It's always been real close competition. We've won every time we've played against them, but it's always a toss-up. We never go into the match thinking we're going to beat Cranbrook. It's always that we have to play our best and if we do, we think we should win. But it's not always a given."

Country Day junior Noah Karoub won the No. 1 singles title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Cranbrook-Kingswood freshman Benji Jacobson.

Karoub trailed 5-2 in the first set before charging back.

"I just knew it was too important to give up right there," Karoub said. "I was never going to stop fighting. I had to figure out what I was doing wrong and change things. As the match goes on, I get a better feeling for his game and what I should be hitting. I start getting a better rhythm."

Karoub was the No. 2 singles champion last year and wasn't even in the lineup as a freshman, playing the season as a reserve.

"It really makes me feel like a bigger part of the team that I helped win the state final," Karoub said. "It was still fun, though (in 2012). I love everyone on the team."

Jacobson had Karoub on the move throughout the match, but unforced errors began to mount late in the first set. 

"He changed his game plan up three times in the first set," Jacobson said. "The first two times, I was all over him. He played amazing. He got to every ball. It eventually adds up and you get frustrated. He just gets every ball back."

At No. 2 singles, Country Day's Davis Wong beat Cranbrook-Kingswood's Marc Sable 6-1, 6-4. 

Jakob Gahn of Country Day beat Michael Bian of Cranbrook-Kingswood 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.

Burstein and Runkle won 6-2, 6-0 over Chase Ghesquiere and Matthew Gerard of Cranbrook-Kingswood at No. 1 doubles. 

Nayak and Junn won No. 2 doubles by a 6-4, 6-3 score over Cranbrook-Kingswood's Nolan Trepeck and Joseph Cavataio.

At No. 4 doubles, Anand Prabhu and Jack Mettler of Country Day beat Colin Petzold and Brandon Kerr of Cranbrook-Kingswood 6-4, 6-4. 

It was the 15th MHSAA championship won by Country Day. Next year, the Yellowjackets will try to match the five-year run of their 1996-2000 teams.

Click for full results.

PHOTO: (Top) D.J. Bailey (right) follows through on a return for Detroit Country Day during the No. 3 doubles championship match. (Middle) Country Day's No. 1 singles Noah Karoub volleys on the way to winning the individual title at his flight. (Below) Cranbrook-Kingswood's Benji Jacobson serves during his match with Karoub. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).

Marquette Boys End Negaunee's Reign, Claim 1st Finals Title Since 2009

By Adam Hinch
Special for MHSAA.com

May 29, 2025

ESCANABA – For the first time Wednesday, Escanaba hosted the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Boys Tennis Finals.

And for the first time in 16 years, Marquette finished as champion, edging Negaunee by three points as the Miners sought to add to their two-year title streak.

Marquette scored 17 points, followed by Negaunee with 14, Kingsford with 13, Escanaba with seven, Ishpeming Westwood with four and Gladstone with one point.

“I’m super proud of these guys and the effort they have put in,” Marquette coach Karl Thomsen said. “The work they have put in over the last three years to get the program back where it used to be really shows up in the results this season.”

In singles action, Chase Thomsen of Marquette picked up the championship at No. 1 defeating Kingsford’s Gavin Moore 6-2, 6-3.

“I was definitely a little nervous for this match coming in,” Thomsen said. “After seeing how they were hitting in the other semifinal, I think I channeled it well and played the best tennis I have played all season.”

Kingsford’s Fletcher Hulkkonen follows his serve during a singles match.Thomsen had a bye in the first round and knocked off Ishpeming Westwood’s Jaxon Alderton 6-4, 6-1 on the way to the championship match.

Kingsford’s Landon Adam picked up the championship at No. 2 singles defeating Negaunee’s Ethan Harris 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Adam also had earned a three-set victory over Escanaba’s Connor Howes 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Negaunee’s Kolten Store picked up the No. 3 singles championship, defeating Kingsford’s Evan Grimes 6-3, 6-2 after previously downing Brant Veeser from Gladstone 6-1, 7-5. Elan Chu of Marquette emerged with a hard fought three-set win over Negaunee’s Max Larson in the No. 4 singles final after earning a three-set win over Escanaba freshman Chris Economopoulos 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

“It was a special moment for all these kids,” Karl Thomsen said. “They watched Negaunee celebrate last season, and it drove them to keep working and it was our goal coming into this season to capture the U.P. Finals.”

In doubles action, Marquette claimed three flight championships. At No. 2, Lucas Belkowski and Conner Henry defeated Escanaba’s Adam Prey and Caden Fulsher in two sets 7-6(5), 6-3 with the first set going to a tie-breaker. Belkowski and Henry also had defeated Jayce Patron and Xavier Grondz of Westwood 6-3, 6-2.

Sentinels Connor Dunn and Winston Leonard earned the No. 3 doubles title clincher over Negaunee’s Hank Tincknell and Vince Tincknell 6-3, 6-2, and teammates Kane Bush and Bode Helman claimed the No. 4 flight with a deciding win over Clark Robb and Andy Yu of Kingsford 6-2, 6-0.

At No. 1 doubles, Kingsford’s duo of Isaac Lebouef and Jacob Crockford defeated Negaunee’s Nolan O’Dovero and Easton Guenette 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The Flivvers pair also defeated Andrew Lord and Alex Morgan from Escanaba in the semifinals 6-2, 6-2.

PHOTOS (Top) Marquette’s Chase Thomsen prepares to serve during a match Wednesday at No. 1 singles. (Middle) Kingsford’s Fletcher Hulkkonen follows his serve during a singles match. (Photos by Adam Hinch.)