Lumen Christi Nets Historic Team Title, Lansing Catholic's West Adds to Family Haul
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2026
MIDLAND – Fueled by a runner-up finish a year ago, Jackson Lumen Chisti captured its first MHSAA Finals boys tennis championship Thursday at the Midland Tennis Center.
The Titans finished the two-day Lower Peninsula Division 4 tournament with 24 points, while Ludington rallied to tie Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett for second with 20.
Lumen Christi had six contenders reach the semifinals out of eight flights.
“We came up short last year, but we had a lot of guys coming back,’’ said senior Maden Brady, part of the No. 2 doubles runner-up with sophomore Theo McEldowney. “We made each guy accountable. You had to attend every practice.
“The boys put in so much work. The motivation came from last year, for sure.’’
The team navigated some challenges throughout the season. With no home courts this fall, Lumen Christi played at Spring Arbor University and Jackson High School.
“Our courts were being redone, so we couldn’t even practice at the school,’’ said Shayan Challapalli, a first-year varsity performer who teamed with Gurmilan Singh to win No. 4 doubles. “Sometimes the buses would forget to pick us up. We’ve put in the work. The coaches are great. We’ve been disciplined.”
Ludington had the top seeds – and eventual champions – at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles. Senior Oliver Kolb won at No. 2, senior Tyler Keillor took the bracket at No. 3 and senior Ryder Saya placed first at No. 4.
“We have a lot of dedicated guys,’’ Keillor said. “We all just had a common goal, and we worked for that. The whole offseason we worked as hard as we could. It’s difficult to play in the offseason because we don’t have indoor courts, but we find the time.’’
Saya dropped only two games during the entire tournament, claiming his title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Levi Lamb of Maple City Glen Lake. Saya was unseeded and lost his only match at No. 4 with Ludington playing in Division 3 a year ago.
“I’d be out hitting at midnight,’’ Saya said of his offseason preparation. “After last year, I knew I had to put in the work. There was no skipping practice or taking the day off. I knew I had to do something different this year, and it worked.’’
The Titans’ clinching match Thursday came at No. 3 doubles as Harrison Botke and Vincent Tran defeated Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian’s top-seeded Loan Spangler and Noah Koppenhofer, 6-4, 6-3.
“I moved here from Oklahoma, and the guys took me in right away,’’ Tran said. “I love Lumen Christi, and I love being here.’’
Most of the Titans’ tennis athletes also play hockey.
“Forehand, slap shot; they all work together,’’ said Botke, one of those who hits the ice during the winter.
Lansing Catholic senior Noah West captured the No. 1 singles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mateus Pimentel of Goodrich.
Twenty-five years ago, his uncle Kevin Borzenski captured the Division 3 No. 1 singles title for Lansing Catholic on the way to playing at Pepperdine.
“I had never played (Pimentel) before, so I had to figure some things out,’’ said West. “I felt like I was able to grind out more points, and I eased into it and found a way to attack.’’
Kolb won No. 2 singles with a 7-6 (-7-3), 7-5 victory over Edwin Seo of Berrien Springs, and Keillor defeated Justin Platt of Liggett 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 to clinch at No. 3.
Grandville Calvin Christian’s No. 1 doubles team of Matthew Brenzing and John Oliver captured their flight title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Liggett’s David Ford and Charlie Laethem.
Liggett’s Lucas Ferguson and Ian Moya captured No. 2 doubles, defeating the top-seed Brady and McEldowney, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0. No. 4 doubles saw the Titans’ Singh and Challapalli prevail over Grand Rapids North Pointe’s Ollie Pierpont and Stennson Shatto, 7-5, 6-4.
PHOTOS (Top) Jackson Lumen Christi's Shayan Challapalli hammers a forehand during his and partner Gurmilan Singh's championship match Thursday at No. 4 doubles. (Middle) Lansing Catholic's Noah West returns a volley at No. 1 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Midland Dow Travels Little to Go Far
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
MIDLAND — Midland Dow's boys tennis team didn’t have to travel far to claim another MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 title Saturday at the Midland Tennis Center.
With top performers in every flight, the hometown Chargers were well-represented in their quest for the championship trophy, leading the likes of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, which made a late charge; Mattawan, Birmingham Seaholm and Birmingham Groves.
Dow finished with 32 points, followed by Northern with 27 and Seaholm at 22.
All seven Finals team titles have come under coach Terry Schwartzkopf, who was the face of frustration as things got close during the semifinals. The Chargers previously had won titles in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016.
Dow lost semifinal matches at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. But sophomore and top seed at No. 4 singles Nimai Patel clinched the championship for Dow with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory over Sebastian Madlangbayan of Forest Hills Northern.
“I started out pretty strong, I was up 4-0 and then he started playing really well,’’ said Patel. “I started feeling the pressure. I finished out the first set, but the second set I was up 3-2 and my foot started cramping. I started hitting out every single ball. I had to regroup. I put some cream on where I was cramping, and I started playing a lot better.''
Patel said he understood Schwartzkopf’s frustration.
“We’re a very talented team and we were capable of getting through every flight,’’ said Patel. “We finished third last year. So, to get through this year and win was great.’’
Grosse Poitne South senior Connor Stafford upset top seed Sammy Yin of Forest Hills Central 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to claim the No. 1 singles title.
“I felt like I made a lot of silly errors in the first set,’’ said Stafford. “I thought the match turned when I was up 4-1 in the second set. Mentally I was concentrating on hitting my shots. I didn’t want to lose my last high school match. It was great to get here and win.’’
Dow claimed No. 2 singles when top seed Aaron Li came back from losing the first set and prevailed, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 over Karan Deol of Forest Hills Northern.
Li advanced to the final at No. 2 Singles when Chris Shang of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central had to retire because of cramping.
“In the first set I didn’t have a good forehand,’’ said Li. “My coach talked to me after the first set, and I was able to find my forehand.
"We were hungry for the title this year. Coach will be happy for us.’’
Nolan Ackerman of Mattawan won No. 3 singles over Logan Yu of Dow, 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 6-1.
Rivals Groves and Seaholm played for the fourth time this year in No. 1 doubles. Seaholm won all four with Alex Lewis and Zane Chutkow earning the title 6-3, 6-4.
“We just bring the fight every time we face them,’’ said Lewis. “We can say we’ve never lost to Groves.’’
Dow captured No. 2 doubles as top seed Roofy Elsaadany and Aiden Tanis won 6-1, 6-2, in their final.
“It was a long year,’’ said Elsaadany. “I was out three weeks. We worked hard to get to this point.’’
Added Tanis: “Everything we did was to get to this point. The hard work paid off.’’
At No. 3 double,s Dow’s top seed Vishagen Karthikeyan and Shubhan Nagarkar lost to Northern’s Kyle Cornell and Tanay Shenoy 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
No. 4 doubles went to Seaholm’s Ricky Sparby and Nick Kelley with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland Dow celebrates its latest Division 2 championship. (Middle) Mattawan's Nolan Ackerman sends back a volley on the way to winning the No. 3 singles title. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)