Seaholm Caps Tennis Finals with D2 Repeat, Crosby Concludes Perfect Run at No. 1
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 24, 2026
MIDLAND – By the time the sun dented the dense fog at the Midland Tennis Center on Saturday, Birmingham Seaholm had accumulated enough points to repeat as MHSAA Lower Division 2 tennis champion.
Seaholm finished the two-day tournament with 35, followed by Midland Dow with 25 and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern at 24.
The Maples were in a three-way battle for the top spot heading into the flight semifinals, leading with 24 points, followed by Forest Hills Northern with 21 and Dow with 20.
And all three teams were familiar with hoisting the trophy. FHN has won three of the last seven Division 2 team titles, its most recent in 2024, and Dow’s championship in 2023 was the most recent of its eight total since 2009.
“We try to prepare ourselves for anything that we’ll face here,’’ said Seaholm’s Carter Griffith, the team’s No. 1 singles player. “When everyone is gunning for us, we rise to that occasion. We focus on ourselves and not the outside noise.”
Said senior Kalil Wahab, who paired with freshman Hunter Helfman at No. 1 doubles: “Every team we went out and played, especially in the regular season, really went after us. You could tell their level rose when they were playing us. No matter what team we played, rather they were in our division or not.’’
Wahab and Helfman clinched their flight title with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 victory over Byron Center’s Brayden and Brody Slot. Seaholm’s victory lap started at No. 4 doubles with Deven Badhwar and Ryan McArdle defeating Byron Center’s Colten King and Jonah Wiechertjes, 6-0, 6-3.
“The start of the season was tough for us to get the spot,’’ said Badhwar. “We’ve been playing together since we were 8. I’m glad we could do it as seniors. We got what we wanted.’’
Said McArdle: “There’s no one else I’d rather win with. We had chemistry from the start.’’
Seaholm’s No. 2 doubles pair of Arhen Gupta and Kyle Car defeated Dow’s top-seeded Ethan Clark and Jashwanth Thamminana 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to claim that flight. The Maples also captured No. 4 singles with freshman Luke Janz downing Jayden Qi of Forest Hills Northern, 6-4, 7-5. Carter Griffith’s brother, Charlie Griffith, captured No. 3 singles with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Dow’s Raymond Chai.
Dow claimed the No. 3 doubles title, with Vettel Xu and Zander Salisbury besting Davis Gryzenia and Weston Jerabek of Grosse Pointe South, 7-5, 6-2.
South Lyon East senior Mason Crosby clinched No. 1 singles against Carter Griffith with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. He had finished No. 1 singles runner-up last fall, and his four victories this weekend advanced his record to 30-0 to finish the season.
“I thought I had control of the match; it got a little tight at the end,’’ said Crosby. “I was doing whatever it took. If I had to come to the net, I would. If I had to sit back and grind it, I did that.’’
Forest Hills Northern freshman Andrew Yang won No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-2 over top-seeded Chase Martin of Dow.
PHOTOS (Top) Birmingham Seaholm’s Kalil Wahab and Hunter Helfman celebrate their championship at No. 1 doubles Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) South Lyon East’s Mason Crosby moves into position during his No. 1 singles championship match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Liggett Ends Greenhills' 8-Year Reign
October 15, 2016
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
HOLLY – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett went into Saturday’s Finals as the winningest program in Division 4 tennis history despite not having won an MHSAA title in 14 years.
That changed Saturday, as the Knights both ended their long drought and also snapped Ann Arbor Greenhills’ eight-year championship streak by edging the Gryphons at Holly High School.
“Liggett was a good team,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said. “They beat us head-to-head, they beat us in (Liggett’s) tournament and they beat us in this tournament. They were the better team this year.”
Liggett finished with 32 points to Greenhills’ 30. Traverse City St. Francis and Whitehall tied for third with 22 points.
It was the 35th title overall for Liggett.
Knights coach Mark Sobieralski has a talented core of seven juniors who have been preparing three years for Saturday’s Final.
“These guys came in as freshman two years ago,” he said. “They were good, but they didn’t know how to close out (matches). Last year, we got closer, got more of a taste. We finally beat Greenhills in a dual, and that gave us a lot of confidence.”
The Knights have just two seniors, and got an especially gutty performance from the one at the top of the lineup.
T.J. Dulac, playing at No. 1 singles, competed despite a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. He injured it in the Regional, having to withdraw after a fall while leading 5-0 in his match.
He was cleared to play earlier this week and took the court Friday with his right wrist bandaged.
“It hurt, but it’s all for the team,” said Dulac, who played last year with a broken bone in his left foot. “I worked my backhand more than I’m used to. It worked (Friday) and it almost worked today, so I was happy with how it worked out.”
Dulac got to the semifinals, getting three crucial points for the Knights.
“That really was an incredible, gutsy performance,” Sobieralski said. “It was three points, and it was huge, huge, huge for him to get to the semis when he was hurt. I give him a lot of credit for that.”
Another stellar performance came at No. 1 doubles, where the Greenhills team of Mitchell Gajar and Jack Harris won the title after being seeded fifth.
It was the second Finals title in a row for both, and their first as a team after competing with different partners last year.
For Eric Gajar, watching his son, Mitchell, win another title was special.
“Tough to describe,” Eric Gajar said. “That was a special moment, (but) I think he would trade that title to keep the team title for his teammates.”
“Our coach told us that if seeds determined how the tournament would go, there would be no need to play,” Harris said. “We worked on the match we were playing in and didn’t look too far ahead.”
Williamston’s Oliver Weaver won the No. 1 singles title in straight sets, beating Austin Koenes of Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 6-4, 6-1.
“Last year, I lost in three sets,” the junior said. “It was a tough match and I was really upset about that. I was really motivated to win it this year, and I’m really happy with how I played today.”
Saturday marked the fifth time in the last seven years a player from the Capital Area Activities Conference’s White division had won the No. 1 singles crown.
For Dulac, the fall season isn’t over. He will compete for the Liggett cross country team during the final three weeks of the season, something he has done the last couple of autumns after the end of the tennis season.
Only one player on the Liggett roster plays only tennis, and Sobieralski says his players’ multi-sport participation served them well Saturday.
“It makes you tough, mentally tough and strong,” he said. “And they’re competitive. That’s important. I think tennis, a lot of times, is 80 percent mental and 20 percent ability. You win a lot of matches with guts and just hanging in there. I always say a good player can win even when they’re not playing their best, because they’ll try something different and they keep fighting. That’s the team I’ve got. I’m really proud of their fight.”
“My hat’s off to Liggett,” Gajar said. “They’re good players, and they’re going to have most of them back next year, unfortunately for the rest of the state.”
PHOTO: (Top) University Liggett poses with its championship trophy Saturday after ending Greenhills’ title run. (Middle) Williamston’s Oliver Weaver returns a shot during Friday’s play. (Top photo courtesy of University Liggett school.)