FHN Earns 3rd Finals Championship in 4 Seasons, Dow's King Crowned Again
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
KALAMAZOO – Another Lower Peninsula Division 2 boys tennis championship trophy will be added to the showcase at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
After finishing as Finals runners-up two of the last three seasons, Steve Olson's Huskies totaled 26 points to win Saturday at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.
Forest Hills Northern narrowly edged co-runners-up Midland Dow and Birmingham Seaholm, which tied at 24 points followed by Byron Center and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in fourth place with 21 and Mattawan sixth with 12 points.
Olson, who took over last year as head coach replacing the legendary Dave Sukup, guided Forest Hills Northern to its first Finals title since 2020. The Huskies had finished runners-up in 2021 and 2022.
"Tennis is a big sport at our school. We put a lot of time into this sport ,and we take it very seriously,” Olson said. “Our goal every season is to win a state championship, but there are a lot of great teams out there that make that a tough thing to do. We knew the tournament was going to be a close one.”
Olson pointed to the success of the Huskies' doubles flights as critical. All four of made the semifinal round.
"Our success in doubles was huge. Our No. 4 doubles team of Markus Bernard and Will Hernly were unseeded and played above that. I'm very proud of how they stepped up for us," Olson said.
Junior Sebastian Madlangbayan was the only Forest Hills Northern player to win his respective flight. Madlangbayan captured the crown at No. 2 singles with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win over Dylan Hodgman from Mattawan.
"There were a lot of ups and downs. I was just focused on opening up the angles on the court against him (Hodgman),” Madlangbayan said. “I can control court position with my forehand and give myself the chance to volley at the net."
Olson praised Madlangbayan's performance.
"Sebastian came in as the top seed, and he had some tight moments but he really dominated this tournament. But the reality is that our whole team contributed. To have six flights reach the semifinals, get those first-round byes and win a lot of early-round matches were also big for us," Olsen said. "We are senior and freshman heavy, but we have a good nucleus returning to build upon in the future."
Midland Dow senior Austin King completed his season unbeaten at 38-0 after earning the No. 1 singles crown with his 6-4, 7-5 win over Portage Central sophomore Sam Schumacher. King breezed through his morning semifinal with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nolan Ackerman of Mattawan.
"I had already played (Schumacher) a couple times this year, so I knew he'd be one of my tougher opponents. I made sure I got a good warmup in before I got out there, but it turned out to be quite a battle. My ability to not give up was key. I was down twice today, once in each set, so I knew I could do this, especially after winning the title last year," said King, who despite receiving Division I full-ride scholarship offers from several schools, including Villanova, has decided to forgo playing at the next level to concentrate on his pre-medical studies at Michigan or Michigan State.
Schumacher complimented King on his performance.
"It just means a great deal to me to be able to share the court with a player like Austin. I have to give him a ton of credit. I really hung in there and played my best match of the season," Schumacher said.
North Farmington senior Jack Weingarden came into the tournament unseeded, but won the No. 3 singles flight on a 5-3 injury default by Mattawan's Connor Schultz in the first set. Weingarden had defeated Forest Hills northern freshman Vikram Krishnan in the semifinals 6-4, 6-3.
"My consistency helped me get through the semifinals and finals. I was definitely playing my best tennis of the season this weekend," Weingarden said.
Seaholm fourth seed Alex Ting topped Dow's Siddarth Venkatesan 6-2, 6-3 to win at No. 4 singles.
"My semifinals match went almost three hours. I started cramping up in both my legs, but I persevered through it. My team and family supported me through the whole day, and that really helps my mindset," Ting said.
Forest Hills Central's Willem Knoester and his partner Austin Rowland knocked off Forest Hills Northern's tandem of Tanav Shenov and Matthew Chan in the No. 1 doubles finale 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, FHC's Hayden Tanner and Joseph Song defeated Byron Center's duo of Rylan Vandenberger and Casey Schans 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).
Seaholm's No. 3 tandem of Britton Leo and Aaryan Senthilvanan disposed of FHC’s No. 3 tandem of James Notarnicola and Sawyer Jordan in the finals 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. The No. 4 doubles crown was also claimed by Seaholm's tandem of Connor Champion and Andrew Wachowicz with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Forest Hills Northern's Benard and Hernly.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland Dow's Austin King hits a backhand during an early No. 1 singles match Friday at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) Forest Hills Northern's Vikram Krishnan sends a forehand at No. 3 singles. (Below) North Farmington's Jack Weingarden volleys during his first match at No. 3 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Troy Extends 1st-Day Lead to Take Back Title, Rochester's Anderson Completes Climb
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2025
MIDLAND – It was the sweetest of Saturdays for the Troy High School boys tennis team at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
Troy entered Saturday’s final rounds at Midland Tennis Center with a 23-17 lead over second-place Bloomfield Hills, with Detroit Catholic Central one more point back at 16.
By the time the flights were in championship matches, Troy had built an eight-point lead on the way to finishing with 32 points followed by the Black Hawks with 22.
The Colts, last Finals champs in 2021, ended Bloomfield Hills’ three-year reign after finishing runners-up the last two seasons.
Nate Wanstreet, part of Troy's No. 3 doubles team with sophomore Jackson Kraus, said the momentum for this year started last season.
Wanstreet and Kraus defeated Troy Athens' Sahay Achar and Vikram Menon 6-0, 7-6, to win their flight.
"We only lost one player from last season,'' said Wanstreet. "We got off to a slow start this season, but we started to come on late and hopefully this will lead to a championship.
"All year we've gotten everyone's best at No. 1 doubles. Even teams that weren't playing well before they played us, we got their best shot. It kept us sharp all year.''
Troy also claimed No. 4 doubles as Raghav Karur and Zain Taqi defeated Novi's Vincent Maisano and Ronak Sharma, 6-1, 6-4.
In the featured match of the day, Rochester's Chad Anderson, the top seed at No. 1 singles, downed second-seeded Grant Miller of Ann Arbor Pioneer 7-5, 6-7 (0-7), 7-5.
Anderson suffered with cramps in his legs, thighs and quads after the first set.
"This is probably the happiest I've been on a tennis court,'' he said. "I'm still in a lot of pain, but it was worth it. I broke him in the second set, but he broke back. It was a struggle because of the pain I was in, but it's worth it.''
Anderson went up 5-1 in the first set, only to have Miller rally to tie the match at 5-5. Anderson regrouped to win the last two games and take the set.
Miller broke through to win the second.
"They were giving me mustard to help with the cramps,'' said Anderson, who had finished No. 1 singles runner-up last season and No. 2 singles runner-up as a sophomore.
Troy's first flight championship came at No. 2 doubles with Varun Shetty and Sourish Darui downing Bloomfield Hills Sajan Doshi and Meyer Saperstein in straight sets 7-5, 6-1.
"We wanted revenge this year; we had lost to Bloomfield Hills the last three years. I agree that our momentum started last year,'' said Darui.
Added Shetty: "I wanted to get revenge from last year. We lost our last match. We just focused on the things we learned from last year. It'll be a great celebration tonight.''
Bloomfield Hills senior Jonah Chernett had the moment of the day.
Plagued with a disorder that prevented him from competing in singles and had him taking five trips to the Cleveland Clinic and one to Stanford this year, he and teammate Krish Reddy defeated top-seeded Ben Waechter and Spencer Seneker of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, at No. 1 doubles.
"It has been such an amazing journey,'' said Chernett, who had to sit in a special chair during the changeover. "I've been playing singles all my life and not being able to compete was tough. I love my team and being able to get out there ... I felt at the start of the season we had a chance.''
Novi's Kris Thomas captured No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 7-6, victory over Troy's Dheeraj Yelleti. At No. 3 singles, Bloomfield Hills' Zev Spiegel defeated Okemos' Kai Minamisono. 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, to clinch. No. 4 singles saw Troy's Anthony Wu and Detroit Catholic Central's Graham Long go three sets with Wu prevailing 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
PHOTO (Top) Troy's Krish Gupta celebrates during Saturday's Division 1 second round at Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Rochester's Chad Anderson returns a volley at No. 1 singles. (Below) Dheeraj Yelleti sends a forehand at No. 2. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)