New Division, Long Weekend, Same Championship Result for Greenhills 'Family'
By
Greg Chrapek
Special for Second Half
October 21, 2023
HOLLAND – The Ann Arbor Greenhills boys tennis team is built on a culture rooted in family.
That culture has resulted in a number of state championships, and the Gryphons added a fourth title over the past six years Saturday by winning the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Hope College in Holland.
Due mostly to heavy rain during both days of the Finals, the tournament turned into a marathon event.
But that played into the culture of family that is the backbone of the Greenhills program. The Gryphons stayed together and won the key matches they needed to win as they wrapped up a second consecutive title after claiming the Division 3 championship last season. Greenhills finished with 39 points, with Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett second at 22.
“The guys really enjoy being around each other,” said Greenhills coach Eric Gajar. “It truly feels like a family on our team. We have former players reaching out to the current players and coming out to support them. Guys from last year’s team sent texts to the guys on this year’s team supporting them and wishing them luck.”
Winning this title was no easy task for Greenhills as a total of seven players graduated from last year’s squad.
“We’ve been on a good run,” Gajar said. “We lost seven seniors from last year’s team, so we had to have a number of young guys step up this year. We had a couple of guys come up from the junior varsity team and win state titles, and a couple of freshmen step up. This group has been able to rebuild faster than expected.”
One of the players off the junior varsity who made a big jump is junior Teddy Staebler. In his first year of playing singles, Staebler came into the tournament as the top seed at No. 2. He hooked up with Charles Kolb of Ludington for one of the most entertaining championship matches. Despite dropping the first set and trailing 5-1 in the second, Staebler rallied to earn a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.
“I was down by a huge margin,” Staebler said. “I was down a set and trailing 5-1. I think the difference in the match was I kept hearing my dad yelling for me to stay tough. It also helped having all my teammates cheer me on. Every time the other team was cheering for my opponent, I could hear my teammates start cheering me on. It means a lot to hear everyone cheering me on like that.”
Greenhills also received big wins from a pair of doubles teams. At No. 1 doubles, the Greenhills team of seniors Alex Ye and Lucas Nor lived up to their top seeding by turning back the Traverse City St. Francis team of Eli Schmude and David Ansley 6-3, 6-3.
The win was especially satisfying for Ye and Nor, who were both senior captains.
“It feels great to end our careers at Greenhills with a win,” said Nor. “The program here is really special. A lot of teams say they are like a family, but we are truly a family here. Everyone on the team takes that to heart. Our teammates are always cheering each other on and are cheering for us on every point.”
Ye echoed the feelings of his partner and fellow captain.
“This is like a second family,” Ye said. “It’s really something special. We have an amazing legacy here at Greenhills. I’m super excited to see how these guys do next year and how the young guys do in the future.”
Senior Charles Branch, who plays No. 2 doubles with Ajay Purohit, was the third senior captain on this year’s team.
“It’s amazing how we support each other on this team,” said Branch. “I really think it starts with our coaches. They created the culture that we have here at Greenhills. They inspire us to work hard and to inspire the younger kids to work hard and improve their games also.”
Greenhills also claimed the title at No. 4 doubles as senior Shyam Pandey and freshman Maksim Rakic-Denis turned back the Traverse City St. Francis team of Quinten Musgrave and Carson Poole 6-2, 6-2.
“This is something that I’ve worked for since my freshman year,” Pandey said. “It’s pretty surreal. It’s not something you think you will accomplish as a first-year varsity player.”
“I watched video of last year’s team winning a state title,” Rakic-Denis added. “And to come in as a freshman and be part of a winning state title team feels really good.”
Greenhills closed the tournament with wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles. Top-seeded sophomore Charlie Rich clinched No. 3 with a 6-3, 6-1, win over freshman Hawthorn Sutherland of Glen Lake, and freshman Murli Pandey downed Ludington senior Reece Ward 6-1, 6-1, to close No. 4.
Another outstanding match in singles action came at No. 1, where Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Sebastian Courtright outlasted Kabir Rajendra of Greenhills 7-6 (5), 7-5. Courtright had finished No. 1 runner-up the last two seasons.
“This is the first time I won a state title,” Courtright said. “I made it to the finals as a sophomore and junior. I am so happy to finally win it as a senior.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Teddy Staebler returns a volley during a No. 2 singles match at the Division 4 Finals. (Middle) Liggett’s Sebastian Courtright returns a shot on the way to claiming the flight championship at No. 1 singles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Embracing Expectation, Top-ranked Cranbrook Claims D3 Title by Single Point
October 25, 2025
MIDLAND – Pressure comes with being a favorite. It also provides an opportunity.
That’s how Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood viewed this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Midland Tennis Center. The Cranes entered as the No. 1-ranked team and didn’t bend under pressure, neither of that expectation or when Detroit Country Day pressed them through the final round of the tournament.
Both teams advanced all eight flights to Saturday’s semifinals, and Country Day actually ended up with one more flight winner. But Cranbrook sent two more flights into those title-deciding matches, the difference in edging the Yellowjackets 34-33 to take back the championship – the Cranes’ second in three seasons – and after finishing third to co-champs Country Day and Ann Arbor Greenhills a year ago.
“We’ve had many tough moments this year and a lot of positive moments as well,” said senior Jace Bernard, who finished runner-up at No. 1 singles. “And both of those, especially the negative moments, have helped us get to our top level that we know has allowed us to become state champs.”
Cranbrook advanced to championship matches at seven flights with top-seeded senior Kenneth Hu at No. 3 singles, top-seeded junior Josh Day at No. 4, and top-seeded sophomore Dylan Popat and junior Andy Yu at No. 4 doubles claiming championships.
Country Day advanced five flights to title deciders, with four champions – top-seeded sophomore Ricky Jeong at No. 1 singles, top-seeded freshman Samuel Kole-James at No. 2, fourth-seeded senior Charlie Khaghany and junior Preston Blum at No. 1 doubles and fourth-seeded senior Rick Nie and freshman Shiv Kumar at No. 2 doubles.
Holland Christian certainly impacted the championship race as well. The Maroons – last season’s champions at Division 4 – finished third with 26 points, with second-seeded junior Eli Whitmore and senior Evan Disselkoen winning the No. 3 doubles championship and two other flights finishing runners-up.
“There was a lot of parity this year in our division. But we had the deepest team, and ultimately I think that depth is what got us over the hump to the victory,” Cranbrook coach Steve Herdoiza said. “It’s just nice as a coach to see it all come together. … They really worked as hard as they could, and I think they saw the fruits of that effort come today, and they really did play their best tennis today.”
Country Day’s Jeong claimed the No. 1 singles title after winning the No. 3 championship last year as a freshman. He faced a familiar opponent in the final – Bernard, who he defeated for that No. 3 flight title in 2024 – and won the matchup this time 6-1, 6-3.
Hu, meanwhile, won the No. 2 singles championship last season before adding his second championship Saturday at No. 3.
Cranbrook, Country Day and Greenhills have combined to win every Division 3 Finals team title since 2008, and Greenhills finished fourth this time with 23 points as those four teams put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.
“Today could have (gone) any way. DCD could have gotten it, Greenhills could have gotten it, Holland Christin which was a severe underdog, could have gotten it as well,” Hu said. “At the end, it came down to how this team is shaped.
“At the beginning of the season, our team wasn’t as high of a level as we are currently. But that’s how every season goes. We start low, a little shaky with the form and bonding. But as the season progresses, the bond deepens. And everyone feels closer, and it’s just a big family here. I think this is what made us come over the top today.”
(PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.)