Gorno & Tanis Complete Careers Filled with Friendship, Record-Setting Success
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2026
HOLLAND – It was a bittersweet moment for Holland Christian seniors Michael Gorno and Graham Tanis last weekend as they walked off the court at Midland Tennis Center for the final time.
A straight-set loss at No. 1 doubles against Detroit Country Day in the semifinals of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals marked the end of their high school careers together.
And while the finality of it all was unsettling, the pair took solace in the bond that was formed and the success garnered from playing together and racking up more than 100 victories.
“It’s been a tremendous gift to play with Graham over the last four years,” Gorno said. “We’ve had some amazing success, and although it wasn’t the ending we were hoping for, I wouldn’t trade these last four years with Graham for the world.”
Although a Finals title would’ve been the ideal close to their banner careers, Tanis also appreciated the time spent with his close friend.
“At the moment we were both really bummed,” Tanis said. “We gave it our all and we left it all out there, but I think we both know we could’ve played a touch better. But stepping back, I’m so thankful for the four years, especially playing with Michael. I’m sad we are done, but our friendship is still a big part of our lives.”
Gorno and Tanis, who went an astounding 106-6 over their four years together, never imagined that this would be the path they would follow.
As freshmen, neither even considered doubles. They wanted to play singles.
“Both of us tried out for singles originally as freshmen, and both of us were very successful, but our coach ended up putting us down to (play) doubles together,” Gorno said. “It seemed really weird at the start because neither of us were looking to play doubles or expecting to play doubles, but it couldn’t have worked out better for both of us.”
Said Tanis: “I did want to play singles, and that was my goal since middle school, but I played with Michael that first year and I really enjoyed doubles, especially playing with him. We had a great time. I know coach wanted us to make the sacrifice for the betterment of the team.”
Holland Christian tennis coach Steve Gorno – Michael’s father – saw early on that the pairing had the potential for success.
“From the first time I paired Michael and Graham together, their games and their on-court personalities complemented each other,” Steve Gorno said. “Michael brought consistency, intensity and an analytical approach that kept them focused, while Graham brought athleticism, brilliant shot-making and a fun-loving personality that kept them loose.
“That chemistry made them one of the most dominant doubles combinations in recent memory. There have been better players in doubles over the years, but there have been very few doubles players (better) than those two.”
The learning process didn’t take long.
Michael Gorno and Tanis developed quick chemistry on the court and eventually emerged as a dominating force that few teams could overcome.
As freshmen, playing at No. 3 doubles, they finished 29-2 and advanced to the Division 4 semifinals at their flight.
The following year, they went 31-2 and advanced even farther, winning a Finals championship at No. 3 while also helping the Maroons to a Division 4 team title.
“We found a lot of raw success and raw chemistry together, which was really fun for us to see,” Michael Gorno said. “Especially since (we’ve been) good friends outside of tennis and close friends all through high school. To come down and try something new and find that immediate success was definitely really fun.
“After making it to the semifinals as freshmen, we saw that we still had a lot of work to do to make that transfer from good to great, and we both put in an absurd amount of work in the offseason. Coming into that sophomore season, we both came in with the goal of a state championship in mind and we executed it very well, I would say.”
Tanis said the thrill of winning a Finals championship with his team and his good friend was the highlight of his career.
“It was really fun, and what a blessing to be in that position,” he said. “To have that opportunity and then pull through and win was pretty cool.
“We both just really love playing tennis and have great chemistry. We played really well when we were just having fun out there. He has a great forehand, I have a good serve, and we both are good at the net. Pair that together with the great coaching we had, and it brought out the best in us.”
Holland Christian moved to Division 3 two years ago, but the success didn’t stop as the standouts also shifted to No. 1 doubles.
Michael Gorno and Tanis were unbeaten entering the Finals as juniors, but were upset in the semifinals.
This past season, Gorno was slated to play No. 1 singles but suffered a tear in his hip flexor during his second match.
“I was out a couple weeks, and we decided it was safer to run back doubles with Graham again,” Gorno said. “I love playing with him, and there’s no one else I would want to play with on the court. Obviously, our aim was for a No. 1 doubles title.
“We were the one seed our junior year and came up short, and this year undefeated, too. Unfortunately, we fell just short of that, but after the match I think we were more sad that our run of two almost-undefeated seasons was over.”
The duo will go down as the winningest doubles tandem in MHSAA history.
“Just an amazing accomplishment, and having 106 wins together and only six losses is an amazing record for both of us to think about,” Michael Gorno said.
The Maroons finished third as a team for the second straight year at this season’s Division 3 Finals behind champion Detroit Country Day and runner-up Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Holland Christian seniors Jonathan Haig and Carter Leep won their flight at No. 3 doubles despite entering the Finals as the fourth seed.
“While Graham and I were upset by how we did, it was so fun to watch those guys win that match,” Michael Gorno said. “Coming back from a set down and watching them lock back in and win that match … they both deserved it so much. Jon put in so much work over this season, and Carter's serves were some of the best I’ve seen. It was truly an amazing accomplishment for both of them.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Holland Christian’s Michael Gorno and Graham Tanis bump fists in celebration during a match this fall. (Middle) Tanis prepares to serve with Gorno playing the net. (Below) The pair completed their career together with a 106-6 record over four seasons. (Photos courtesy of the Holland Christian boys tennis program.)
Black Hawks Soar Again in Division 1, while Kumar Repeats with Top-Flight Title
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
HOLLAND – While Bloomfield Hills boys tennis coach Greg Burks was being interviewed late Saturday afternoon at Hope College’s Etheridge Tennis Complex, the Black Hawks’ team canopy lifted in a gust of wind and toppled onto the court.
That was about the only thing that went wrong for Bloomfield Hills this weekend. The Black Hawks used their supreme depth to run away with the MHSAA Division 1 boys tennis championship, the program’s third in six years and fourth in eight seasons – and also their first since 2018.
Bloomfield Hills capped the chilly, two-day tournament by capturing titles in five of eight flights and finishing runner-up in two others. The top-ranked Black Hawks tallied 35 points to win going away.
Northville was runner-up with 25 points, followed by Troy with 24. Novi was fourth with 17 points.
Each of the top four teams was ranked in the top four of the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association poll.
“We had a lot of depth. We had a couple kids come in – a couple freshman, Jonah Chernett and Connor Shaya – and they kind of extended that lineup even further to where we were just very, very deep,” said Burks, who also guided the Black Hawks to Division 1 titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
“To be honest, everybody just worked very hard in the offseason. They knew that we were getting those couple of guys and we only graduated one from last year, so they just knew – these are the stakes, and we knew that Troy and Northville and Novi were going to be tough. Yeah, it was great.”
Bloomfield Hills settled for a Finals runner-up finish last season behind Troy. This time, championships at two of the four singles flights and three of the four doubles flights helped push the Black Hawks over the top.
Bloomfield Hills senior Daniel Stojanov repeated at No. 2 singles with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s Patrick Cretu. At No. 4 singles, the spunky Shaya defeated Troy’s Dhruv Gupta in the Finals match, 6-2, 6-3.
The doubles teams of Pierce Shaya-Merrick Chernett (No. 1), Michael Dillon-Ryan Rose (No. 2) and Kierth Lingam-Dominic Pascarella (No. 4) earned big points for Bloomfield Hills with flight championships.
Bloomfield Hills’ Aaron Rose was runner-up to Detroit Catholic Central’s Alec Maynard at No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-4). The Black Hawks’ Drew Davis and Toni Vasile finished second at No. 3 doubles, falling to Ann Arbor Huron’s Warren Gunnar and Hassan Hejazi in the final.
Northville junior Sachiv Kumar repeated at No. 1 singles winning a championship rematch against Rochester junior Clayton Anderson, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. Kumar defeated Anderson in last year’s title match, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5). Kumar finished 34-1 this season with his lone loss coming against Anderson during a dual meet.
It was a different Finals experience for Kumar this time around. Last year’s Division 1 Finals in Kalamazoo was moved indoors because of rain.
“The conditions – just way too cold outside, and (too) windy to play tennis, but somehow I didn’t cramp and the conditions didn’t get to me,” the even-keel Kumar said with a smile, alluding to temperatures hovering at or just below 50 degrees.
“It’s really, really nice, especially to say I won it once and I won it again – won it twice in a row.”
Stojanov knows the pressure of attempting to repeat as well.
It wasn’t easy for him Saturday, but the reward was well worth it, especially since his teammates also can call themselves state champions.
“It was great to get it done as a team. Fell short last year, so getting it done as a team was great this year,” Stojanov said.
“Down a set, I had to raise my level, I had to raise my game. I played a great player, so everything had to align for me to get the win. I want to give credit to my coaches and my teammates for cheering me on. It was great overall.”
Burks recalled how the 2018 Division 1 title team also displayed superior depth and won six of eight flights.
He considers that a “fantastic year,” but said what differentiates this group is that every single person on the team held his own and played an important role.
This Black Hawks squad is relatively young, so the future looks bright, too.
“It felt amazing because, like, I was really nervous because early in the season. I barely beat (Gupta) in the third set, but I really felt in that third set (Saturday), I knew his game. When I came here to play him today, I felt great,” said Shaya, who goes by the nickname “Cosmo.”
“It’s amazing (to win the team title) because we all just feel like champions. It was the perfect season.”
PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills senior Daniel Stojanov sends a volley on the way to repeating at No. 2 singles. (Middle) Northville junior Sachiv Kumar fires a backhand during his No. 1 singles final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)