Greenhills Extends D4 Dynasty
October 19, 2013
By Greg Tunnicliff
Special to Second Half
GRAND BLANC – Growing up in a family known for basketball, Teddy Oosterbaan decided to break from tradition and become a server – of tennis balls.
The Kalamazoo Hackett freshman is the son of J.P. Oosterbaan, who was a three-year letterwinner at the University of Michigan from 1987-89, helping the Wolverines win the 1989 NCAA championship. Teddy also is the grandson of John Oosterbaan, a two-year letterwinner at Michigan from 1962-63.
“I just try to do the best that I can,” Teddy Oosterbaan said. “(Tennis) is exciting and our team making states was cool.”
While the youngest Oosterbaan isn’t sure if he will suit up for Hackett on the hardcourt, he already has left his mark on the tennis courts.
Saturday, he was rarely challenged en route to posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Cal Willa of Grand Rapids West Catholic in the Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 2 singles championship match at Genesys Athletic Club in Grand Blanc.
“I was in a pretty good rhythm the whole year,” said the 6-foot-4 Oosterbaan, who ended 24-1. “I felt I was getting better the whole season.”
Top-ranked Ann Arbor Greenhills continued its dominance in the team competition, capturing five of the eight fights en route to earning its sixth straight team championship and seventh in the last eight seasons.
The Gryphons finished with 33 points in the 24-team field, nine more than runner-up West Catholic (24).
“It’s a new group of guys each year; it’s a new challenge each year,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said. “They were well prepared. All the stuff we asked them to do, they brought together this weekend. They delivered at crunch time.”
At No. 1 singles, Lansing Catholic junior Matt Heeder overcame a slow start to post a 6-4, 6-3 victory over West Catholic’s Nicholas Solarewicz in the championship match.
Heeder fell behind 3-0 in the opening set before winning six of the next seven games. He was never seriously threatened after that en route to capturing his first Finals championship.
“After getting down 3-0, I started staying down on the ball,” Heeder said. “I was a little nervous the first couple of games, but coach settled me down and I got into a groove. I tried not to over think. I just did what I was capable of doing.”
Pacing Greenhills was its No. 4 singles player, sophomore Gage Feldeisen, who captured his second championship and first at singles. Feldeisen, who was seeded second, won all four of his matches in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over top-seeded A.J. Samdal of Grand Rapids South Christian in the final.
“Being the No. 2 seed, you don’t have any pressure to win,” said Feldeisen, who won at No. 4 doubles last year. “You can go out and just play the best you can. I hit my forehand a lot, tried to stay consistent.”
Greenhills captured all four double flights, led by its No. 1 team of senior Adhi Rajaprabhakaran and freshman Sam Talsma. The second-seeded tandem upset top-seeded Alex Lemire and Mike Nowicki of West Catholic, 6-1, 7-5, in the championship match.
“We were expecting a lot from ourselves from the beginning,” Talsma said. “We knew we had what it took to win the title. We never thought about anything else during the match.”
It is the third doubles championship for Rajaprabhakaran, who won at No. 3 in 2011 and No. 2 last year.
“It’s all I could ask for,” Rajaprabhakaran said. “I never lost in Division 4, and I wanted to keep that streak going. Along with our team winning, which is more important, I couldn’t be happier.”
Greenhills’ No. 2 doubles team of senior Neil Sykes and junior Isak Akervall needed back-to-back three-set victories to capture their flight Saturday. The twosome posted a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) come-from-behind triumph over Alan Jurcak and August Bonacci of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the final.
“I never expected to get here the first year, upset the No. 1 seed,” Akervall said. “We had to stay strong the whole time. I’m just ecstatic.”
It is Sykes third Finals title, having won at No. 4 doubles the previous two seasons.
“I’m shaking right now,” Sykes said. “It took a lot of work in the offseason and during the season, trying to keep up with the competition. (Winning a third straight championship) is a good way to go out.”
The Gryphons’ freshman No. 3 doubles tandem of Andy Xie and Matt Chatas entered the tournament as the top seed and showed the field why, winning all four of their matches in straight sets.
“We just had to stay loose and not get down if we lost a game,” Xie said. “After a couple of games, we just got into our zone.”
The duo rolled through their first three matches, yielding no more than four games in a set. In the championship match, they held off second-seeded Jack Ninivaggi and Alex Dow of Liggett, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
“For the first day, we just had to get through,” Chatas said. “The second day, we had to play hard and make sure not to give (opponents) anything.”
Junior David Groden and sophomore Brandon Johnson joined Greenhills’ team this fall, and they got their careers off to fast start by winning the No. 4 doubles championship.
“I still can’t believe it,” Johnson said. “I’m so happy, it’s unreal.”
The twosome, which was seeded No. 2, upset top-seeded Jackson Benning and Davey Sekhon of Liggett, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the championship match.
“We realized we were playing for the title,” Groden said of his and Johnson’s performance in the third set. “We wanted it, and we did it.”
Rounding out the individual winners was Hackett freshman Henry Hedeman, who won at No. 3 singles. Hedeman, who was seeded No. 1, captured all four his matches in straight sets, yielding no more than one game in a set.
He beat third-seeded Nick Link of West Catholic, 6-1, 6-1, in the championship match.
“It was pretty nerve-racking; you don’t want to have a big upset happen,” Hedeman said. “I had to play smart. I had to focus on the tournament.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills poses with its latest MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Greenhills players huddle after repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 4 champions. (Photos courtesy of Greenhills tennis.)
3-Set Doubles Finale Provides Perfect Finish to Marquette's Repeat Run
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 27, 2026
WEST ISHPEMING — The outcome of the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Boys Tennis Finals boiled down to results of the No. 2 doubles match Wednesday at Westwood.
Marquette junior Bode Helman and Conner Dunn put the finishing touches on a perfect season with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 triumph over Negaunee’s Vince Tincknell and Marshall Knapp on a sunny and mild afternoon.
Their victory also enabled the Sentinels to retain their title with 17 points.
Marquette was followed by Negaunee with 15 points, Kingsford with 12, Ishpeming Westwood at 6, Escanaba at 5 and Gladstone with 1.
“Having to go three sets made it all the more satisfying,” Helman said. “I thought maybe we’d lose after they went ahead in the third set, but once we got ahead 2-1 it felt like we had the momentum. Our overhead shots worked pretty good. I think that may have gotten them out of position.”
Marquette coach Karl Thomsen believed victories at No. 1 singles and doubles played major roles.
“They came to play,” he said. “They got some points, and winning No. 1 singles was unexpected. The guys saw that and they responded.
“No. 2 doubles was fun for everyone involved. They put on quite a show. Negaunee is so mentally tough, and they’ve been champions for many years. We knew it’d be a three-way battle today.”
Marquette’s Lucas Belkovich took a 6-2, 6-4 decision from Kingsford’s Landon Adam in No. 1 singles, and Winston Leonard and Conner Henry outlasted Kingsford’s Andy Yu and Clark Robb 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) at No. 1 doubles.
The Sentinels also gained the No. 4 doubles title as Billy Krebs and Jack Tiziani topped Negaunee’s William Derkos and Brady McIntyre 6-3, 6-4.
Negaunee won two flights as Nolan O’Dovero defeated Kingsford’s Isaac Lebouef 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 in No. 2 singles and Connor Stede and Tren Emards posted a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) triumph over Marquette’s Elan Chu and Kane Busch at No. 3 doubles.
Evan Grymes provided Kingsford with its lone flight championship in No. 3 singles as he beat Negaunee’s Max Larson 6-0, 6-1.
At No. 4 singles, Escanaba sophomore Kyle Smith rallied past Marquette sophomore Dominic Camilli 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 much to the delight of his teammates and coach Alan Adams.
“This feels great,” Smith said. “I didn’t play tennis last year and just started playing last year. We’ve gone back and forth all year. I was pretty nervous before the match. Winning the second set was huge. I knew he was down at that time, and I wanted to pick up the pace.”
Smith, who sealed the verdict with a lob into the backcourt, trailed 2-0 in during the final set prior to mounting his comeback.
He also fell behind early in the first set, trailing 1-0 on a return shot which sailed too long and 3-0 on a double-fault.
Smith came back to tie the score at 3-3, but was unable to gain the upper hand.
“Having my teammates sitting on the bench was really energizing and our coach giving me pointers between sets really helped,” he said. “I’m also thankful for having my family coming to support me in the away matches.”
Smith plans to work on his game this summer and hopes to play in the 79th Annual Michigan-Wisconsin Open, Aug. 1-2 in Escanaba.
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette’s Lucas Belkovich drives a forehand during a match at No. 1 singles Wednesday. (Middle) Kingsford’s Landon Adam takes to the air to return a volley at No. 1. (Below) Winston Leonard serves at No. 1 doubles for the Sentinels. (Photos by Randy Ritari.)