Preview: Pair of Reigning Champs, Pair of 2025 Runners-Up Hold Tennis Top Team Seeds
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 15, 2026
This season’s 10-day run of four Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals at Midland Tennis Center will feature two reigning champions expected to lift the winner's trophy once again and two 2025 runners-up expected to take the next step – the Division 4 favorite for the first time.
Division 1 begins the series of Finals with its two-day tournament Oct. 14-15, and Division 2 concludes the season Oct. 23-24.
Below is a preview of anticipated contenders in all four divisions. Click here for full brackets and additional details on all four tournaments.
Division 1 – Oct 14-15
Top-ranked: 1. Troy, 2. Novi, 3. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.
Reigning champion Troy has finished among the top two in Division 1 four of the last five seasons and broke Bloomfield Hills’ three-year hold on the championship with last year’s 10-point Finals win. Novi tied for third last season and is seeking its first Finals title since 2015, and edged Brother Rice by two points at their Regional last week. The Warriors are seeking their first Finals championship since 2009.
Troy: Three top-seeded doubles pairs plus another second-seeded duo could provide the power needed to drive Troy’s repeat run. Junior Sourish Daruri was part of last season’s No. 2 champion and is playing with senior Jesse Hao as the top-seeded pair at No. 1 this time. Juniors Jyotiraditya Kashyap and Siddarth Manikandan are second-seeded at No. 2, with sophomore Brad Bagley and freshman Aaditya Manikandan the top seeds at No. 3 and sophomore Vivaan Shan and junior Stas Barodka top-seeded at No. 4. Senior Zain Taqi was part of the No. 4 doubles champion last season and is seeded first at No. 4 singles, and junior Krish Gupta is seeded second at No. 2.
Novi: Sophomore Kris Thomas won No. 2 singles last season and enters this weekend as the fourth seed at No. 1 and as one of six Novi flights total seeded fourth or higher. Juniors Ishan Parikh and Luka Milosevich carry the team’s highest seed, second at No. 4 doubles. Sophomore Ronak Sharma is teaming with junior Daniel Han as the third seed at No. 2 doubles after Sharma was part of the runner-up at No. 4 last year with sophomore Vincent Maisano, who is teaming with sophomore Suveer Singh as the third seed at No. 3 this time.
Bloomfield Hills: Ranked No. 5 heading into the postseason, Bloomfield Hills is hoping to make a run at another title after finishing second at last year’s Final and also second to Troy at their Regional earlier this month. The Black Hawks are seeded at six flights, with Zev Spiegel the sixth seed at No. 2 singles after winning No. 3 a year ago. Seniors Krish Reddy and Maanav Majmuder are seeded fourth at No. 1 doubles after Reddy was part of last year’s champion at that flight.
Grant Miller, Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore: Last season’s No. 1 singles runner-up – after entering as the second seed – is the top seed this time with a 22-1 record and his only loss in three sets in August to Salem’s Aarav Shah, who he then defeated 6-0, 6-1, at last week’s Regional.
Aarav Shah, Salem senior: Shah is back at the Finals after just missing qualifying last season but making the No. 1 singles quarterfinals as a sophomore. His only loss this season was to Miller at the Regional, and all of his wins but the one over Miller went just two sets.
Division 2 – Oct 23-24
Top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3. Midland Dow.
One of the three schools mentioned above has finished first the last four seasons and six of the last seven, and last year was the first time since 2020 that one of those three also didn’t finish runner-up. Byron Center – ranked No. 5 heading into this weekend – finished second by five points to champion Seaholm a year ago, with Dow third and Forest Hills Northern fourth. FHN’s most recent title came in 2024, and Dow won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.
Birmingham Seaholm: The Maples will pursue a repeat championship with all eight flights seeded third or higher and four flights on the top line of their respective brackets. Freshman Luke Janz is seeded first at No. 4 singles, with senior Kalil Wahab and freshman Hunter Helman top-seeded at No. 1 doubles, senior Aaryan Senthilvanan and freshman Mark Latinsky top-seeded at No. 3 and seniors Deven Badhwar and Ryan McArdle on the top line at No. 4. Sophomores Ahren Gupta and Kyle Carr are seeded second at No. 2 doubles, with junior Carter Griffith second at No. 1 singles, sophomore Charlie Griffith second at No. 3 and senior Giorgio Materazzo seeded third at No. 2. Charlie Griffith is the reigning champion at No. 3 singles, Materazzo was the runner-up at No. 2 a year ago, and Senthilvanan was part of the champion at No. 3 doubles in 2024.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: All eight FHN flights also are seeded, with four third seeds or higher – freshman Andrew Yang seeded second at No. 2 singles, junior Sam Ogilvie third at No. 3, freshman Jayden Qi second at No. 4 singles and junior Daniel Jin and senior Mikey Hernly seeded third at No. 3 doubles. Junior Vikram Krishnan is seeded seventh at No. 1 singles after winning the No. 2 flight a year ago, and junior Drew Decker is teaming with senior Ethan Han as the fifth seed at No. 2 doubles after Decker was part of the champion at No. 3 last fall.
Midland Dow: Three top seeds lead the way for a group with seven seeded flights total. Senior Chase Martin is on the top line at No. 2 singles, and Raymond Chai holds the same at No. 3, with seniors Ethan Clark and Jashwanth Thamminana top-seeded at No. 2 doubles and junior Vetter Xu and senior Zander Salisbury second-seeded at No. 3. Clark and Xu teamed up to win No. 4 doubles a year ago, and senior Nathan Song is playing with junior Sullivan Ladd as the third seed at No. 1 doubles after Song was part of the runner-up at that flight in 2025.
Mason Crosby, South Lyon East senior: After finishing second at No. 1 singles last season and second at No. 2 as a freshman, Crosby is seeking to finish his career with his first title and enters with a 26-0 record including five straight 6-0, 6-0 wins and 17 total this fall.
Evan Weber, Berkley junior: Weber is pursuing the title at No. 1 singles with a 21-2 record entering the weekend and losses to only Carter Griffith and Division 1 Ryan Brockhaus from Brother Rice – and Weber won a rematch with Griffith at their Regional.
Division 3 – Oct. 16-17
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Country Day, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Holland Christian.
Cranbrook returned to the top of the Division 3 standings last season for the second time in three years and fourth time over the last six, finishing just a point ahead of Country Day. The Yellowjackets fell back to second after sharing the 2024 title with Ann Arbor Greenhills – which is ranked No. 4 this fall. Holland Christian won Division 4 in 2024 and finished third in Division 3 last fall.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets will attempt to win back the team title with the top or second seeds at all but one flight. Junior Ricky Jeong is seeded first at No. 1 singles and freshman Nicholas Nadjarian is the top seed at No. 4, Jeong pursuing his third Finals singles championship after winning No. 1 last year and No. 3 in 2024. Sophomore Samuel Kole-James at No. 2 singles and senior Victor Marin at No. 3 are joined by senior Preston Blum and freshman Emmanuel Kole-James at No. 2 doubles, freshman Rithik Vakhariya and senior Henry Diemer at No. 3 and sophomore Sasha Kebl and junior Sebastian Shah at No. 4 doubles among second seeds as well. Sophomore Shiv Kumar and junior Adam Mahmoud round out the lineup as the third seed at No. 1 doubles. Samuel Kole-James is the reigning champ at No. 2 singles, Plum was part of last year’s champion at No. 1 doubles and Kumar was part of the winner at No. 2. Marin also made the final matches last season, finishing runner-up at No. 4 singles.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes also are seeded first or second at every flight but one, with top lines going to freshman Trevor Ilitch at No. 2 singles, Eli Rosen at No. 3, seniors Ryan VanDyke and Josh Day at No. 1 doubles, senior Liam Black and junior Luke Stevenson at No. 3 and junior Jaiden Swami and senior Stanley Shen at No. 4 doubles. Freshman Jacob Yang is seeded second at No. 1 singles, sophomore Henry DeMuth is second at No. 4, and junior Dylan Popat and senior Andy Yu are the third seed at No. 2 doubles. Day was the champion at No. 4 singles last season, and Popat and Yu won the title at No. 4 doubles. Rosen was the runner-up at No. 2 singles in 2025, and DeMuth was part of the runner-up pair at No. 3 doubles.
Holland Christian: All eight flights are seeded as Holland Christian attempts to make its move on the annual contenders. Seniors Graham Tannis and Michael Gorno are leading the way as the second seeds at No. 2 doubles, with freshman Asher Grosso is the third seed at No. 2 singles. Senior Eli Whitmore is teaming with junior Brody Bergsma as the fifth seed at No. 2 doubles after Whitmore was part of the champion at No. 3 last season, and seniors Jonathan Haig and Carter Leep are seeded fourth at No. 3 doubles after finishing runner-up at No. 4 last fall. Junior Nico Grosso is the sixth seed at No. 1 singles coming off last year’s runner-up finish at No. 3.
Anish Komirisetty, Haslett junior: The third-seeded player at No. 1 singles is 28-0 and a combined 79-3 for his career while competing in his second season at the top flight after playing No. 2 as a freshman.
Division 4 – Oct. 21-22
Top-ranked: 1. Jackson Lumen Christi, 2. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 3. Ludington.
University Liggett took back the title last season, claiming its first since 2022 by finishing 10 points ahead of Lumen Christi. The Titans are favored this time as they seek their first Finals championship in this sport. Ludington is pursuing the same after tying for ninth in Division 3 a year ago.
Jackson Lumen Christi: Powerful doubles are expected to pace Lumen’s title drive, with senior Maden Brady and sophomore Theo McEldowney seeded first at No. 2 and senior Gurmilan Singh and junior Shayan Challapalli seeded first at No. 4. Senior pairs Chase Schirmacher and Brogan Kelly and Harrison Botke and Vincent Tran are seeded second at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles, respectively. Seniors TJ O’Neill at No. 2 singles and Gabe Cooper at No. 3 are expected to add punch as third seeds. Kelly was part of the runner-up last season at No. 3 doubles.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: A repeat run could be led by junior Justin Platt at No. 3 singles, junior Fernando Romine at No. 4 and junior Lucas Ferguson and sophomore Ian Moya at No. 2 doubles – all second seeds. Seniors Davis Ford and Charlie Laethem at No. 1 doubles also will be counted on to score big points as a third seed. Platt was the No. 4 singles champion a year ago, while Laethem was part of the champion at No. 2 doubles and Ferguson part of the flight winner at No. 3.
Ludington: A powerful singles lineup could send the Orioles into the title hunt, with seniors Oliver Kolb at No. 2, Tyler Keillor at No. 3 and Ryder Saya at No. 4 all top seeds and senior Ryan Higley at No. 1 unseeded but coming off a Regional championship. Juniors Gavin Cohoon and Ethan Blough at No. 1 doubles also are seeded, in the fifth spot.
Mateus Pimental, Goodrich senior: The second seed at No. 1 singles enters the weekend 21-0 and hasn’t lost a set this season.
Noah West, Lansing Catholic junior: He’s the top seed at No. 1 singles with a 28-2 record but with those defeats in three sets to Haslett’s Komirisetty (see above) and Maple City Glen Lake senior Hawthorn Sutherland, who is seeded fifth in this bracket.
Matthew Brenzing & John Oliver, Grandville Calvin Christian juniors: Brenzing returned to doubles after playing No. 1 singles a year ago and has teamed with Oliver to achieve a 26-0 record and the top seed at No. 1 doubles this weekend.
Kingsford Stands Alone Atop D1
May 30, 2013
By Craig Remsburg
Special to Second Half
MARQUETTE — It took 60 years, but Kingsford High School has captured the school’s second outright MHSAA Upper Peninsula boys tennis championship.
The Flivvers of head coach Mark Shanks compiled 21 points Wednesday to far outdistance runners-up Marquette and Negaunee to claim the U.P. Division 1 title in play held in Marquette.
KHS last won an outright peninsula crown in 1953. The Flivvers shared titles with Marquette in 2008 and Negaunee in 2010.
Kingsford placed seven of eight flights in the finals Wednesday and won six.
“It has been a banner year,” Kingsford head coach Mark Shanks said in closing out his 13th season at the helm of the Flivvers. “We’ve been working on this (U.P. crown) for years.
“We had T-shirts made up with ‘1953’ on them. It’s the only goal Kingsford tennis has had for 6-7 years. It’s just a grand feeling.”
Kingsford senior Sean Ryan, part of his team’s winning No. 2 doubles unit with Ted Pietila, said capturing the peninsula title had been on the Flivvers’ minds for “a long time.”
“After last year, we didn’t lose too many seniors, so we set this as a goal.” he said. “Every team skull session, we talked about the 60-year drought.
“It feels great this being our year.”
Sophomore Adam Szabo helped lead Kingsford with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Negaunee’s Ryan Syrjala at No. 2 singles.
“It was a pretty good match with a lot of line points,” said Szabo, who finished second last year at No. 2. “My serve was on, and I hit a lot of winners with my backhand.”
Other Flivvers who won titles were Daniel Harrington at No. 3 singles, Brady Hicks at No. 4 singles, Alec Tuchowski and Joe Gregory at No. 3 doubles and Tyler Schaut and Chris Roell at No. 4 doubles.
Shanks said his Flivvers’ team sported a group of special players.
“We have seven sensational seniors, and these are the best group of kids I’ve had in my 26 total years as a tennis coach,” he said.
Cody Tossava of Negaunee High School closed out a brilliant high school career on a high note Wednesday by taking the No. 1 singles title — his third consecutive peninsula crown overall. He won twice at No. 2 singles before Wednesday’s No. 1 championship.
Tossava beat Kingsford’s Caleb Harrington 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 to remain unbeaten the last three seasons. Ironically, Tossava’s last loss came to Harrington in the 2010 U.P. Final his freshman campaign.
“I told myself afterwards he started it and I finished it (Wednesday),” the Negaunee netter said. “I thought I really played well today. I served with consistency, and my forehand and backhand were good.”
Tossava came from behind in both sets, trailing 1-0 in the first and 2-1 in the second before winning both despite committing some unforced errors.
“Unforced errors are part of the game,” the southpaw said. “But I know what I’m capable of doing.
“My goal was to put (Harrington) on his backhand and spread him out. I did that, and it opened my forehand a lot.”
Negaunee head coach Kyle Saari noted Tossava lost only one set all season.
“In his tennis career, he has overcome a lot of adversity.” the coach said.
“Cody persevered and deep down, he’s a competitor, a tough kid. He’s one of the best in the U.P. and has helped set the stage for our program.”
The Miners saw their three-year reign as U.P. team champs — two outright — come to an end. They and Marquette finished with nine points each.
Saari said his team’s runner-up finish “went as expected.”
“Kingsford’s a strong team. We needed a near-perfect day to keep our (title) run going,” Saari said. “But today was good for us. Taking second is a good sign for our freshmen and sophomores. It will be a good learning experience and raise the bar for them.”
At No. 1 doubles, Escanaba’s Dave Fix and Justin Eastin — partners the last three seasons — toppled Marquette’s Kyle King and Alex Shahbazi, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
“Marquette’s always tough, but we just stuck to our game plan,” Fix said. “We communicated well and both moved at the same time.”
Added Eastin: “Teamwork and rushing to the net were big. It’s pretty awesome (winning a U.P. title). It’s nice to get it our senior year.”
Marquette coach Charlie Drury, who was without the services of No. 1 singles player Josh Downs due to a broken arm Downs suffered a week ago, said his team’s No. 1 doubles unit “just came up shy.”
“I was hoping Escanaba was getting tired, but it was a good match,” Drury said. “(The Escanaba duo) was experienced, sat back and let our guys make the mistakes.”
PHOTO: Kingsford’s Adam Szabo won the Upper Peninsula Division 1 singles championship at No. 2 singles to help his team to the team championship. (Photo by Craig Remsburg.)