Top-Flight Dow Returns to Top of D2
October 15, 2016
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – From 2009 through 2013, the Midland Dow boys tennis team ruled Division 2 tennis in the Lower Peninsula with five consecutive MHSAA Finals championships.
After placing second the last two seasons, the Chargers were determined to bring the title back to Midland this season.
That was exactly what Dow did, as the Chargers captured this year’s Division 2 tournament title at Hope College. Dow finished three points ahead of last year’s co-champions Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Portage Central.
Dow left no question as to which Division 2 team was the best. The Chargers totaled 35 team points, as they had players vying for championships in all eight flights. Forest Hills Central, winners of the last two Division 2 titles, placed second with 25 points, while last year’s other champion, Portage Central, and Okemos tied for third place with 18 points.
"Sometimes you forget how this moment feels,” said Midland Dow coach Terry Schwartzkopf. “Everything has to go just right. This feels really good.”
Dow received strong performances from its singles lineup as the Chargers won titles at No. 1 and No. 3 singles.
In one of the highlight matches of the finals, Midland Dow senior Varun Shanker held off Kalamazoo Loy Norrix freshman Reed Crocker in a marathon three-set match 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (8). Shanker, who won the No. 3 singles title as a freshman, closed out his high school career in a big way by outlasting Crocker in a grueling third set.
“I am really speechless at this time,” Shanker said. “I felt pretty balanced coming into the match today. It's a storybook ending. Our team had its share of ups and downs this season, but we pulled through at the end.”
Crocker, just a freshman, came into the tournament as the second seed behind Shanker and sent a message to the rest of the singles players in Division 2 that he will be a force to be dealt with the next three seasons.
At No. 3 singles, Midland Dow’s Tyler Conrad turned back Daniel Gorelik of Okemos 6-4, 6-2. Conrad was determined to claim the title as he finished runner-up at No. 3 singles last year.
Cameron Raedy of Portage Central proved to be a big surprise of the tournament in singles action. Coming in seeded fourth at No. 2 singles, Raedy upended top-seeded Gabe Vidinas of Birmingham Groves 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals. Raedy closed out his memorable weekend in the finals when he defeated second-seeded Anish Middha of Dow 6-2, 7-5.
The title was actually the second straight for Raedy as he was part of Portage Central’s No. 1 doubles team that won last year.
“It's surreal right now,” Raedy said. “Last year I was state champ as part of the No. 1 doubles team, and to win it as the No. 3 singles this year is quite a two-year run.”
A pair of familiar foes met each other at No. 4 singles. Deniz Kalfa of Okemos brought home a title in another match of a lower seed defeating a higher seed when he upended top-seeded Saketh Kamaraju of Midland Dow. Kalfa, seeded second, defeated Kamaraju 7-6 (4), 6-1.
“It was a pretty tough season, but I want to thank my team for all the support they gave me,” Kalfa said. “I had lost three times to the player I played today, but during today's match I saw I could win this one, and that eased my mind."
In doubles action, Midland Dow used the same formula for success. Dow won at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles and placed runner-up at No. 2 and No. 4.
At No. 1 doubles, Dow’s top-seeded tandem of JJ Kirkman and Aditya Middha teamed up to hold off the second-seeded Grosse Pointe South team of Jack Williams and Ben Zacharia in a three-set struggle 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
At No. 3 doubles, Dow pulled off an upset as the second-seeded team of Daniel Zhang and Gopal Parthasarathy turned back Forest Hills Central’s top-seeded duo of Peyton Herbert and Mike Battiste 6-2, 6-3.
At No. 2 doubles, Forest Hills Central turned the tables on Midland Dow. Central’s second-seed pair of Aidan Rynbrandt and Jack Ziegler held off Dow’s top-seeded duo of Sagar Kamaraju and Noah Nichols 6-4, 6-1.
The win was especially sweet for the Rangers duo as they had come up short during the regular season against the foes from Dow.
“I enjoyed every moment today,” Ziegler said. “We had lost to this Dow doubles team twice this year, but we were confident coming off winning the conference and Regional championships. Everything was clicking for us today.”
Ziegler’s partner was just as happy.
“This is an unbelievable feeling,” Rynbrandt said. “I am full of joy. We felt like they figured out us the first two times we played them this year, but today was our day. We executed this time; that was the difference.”
At No. 4 doubles, Birmingham Groves' third-seeded pair of Charlie Michaud and Aerik Joe downed Seaholm's fourth-seeded Aiden O'Neill and Will Appleford 6-2, 7-5. O'Neill and Appleford had downed Midland Dow's top-seeded Ryan Killmaster and Jeroen Uesback in three sets in the semifinal.
For Dow, regaining the Division 2 title was a total team and family effort with everyone pulling together.
“What I will remember about this group is the unity,” Schwartzkopf said. “It's been a while since we've had it, but this group really cared for each other. My captains and the parents also played a key role. They were the ones who paid attention to the little details, from stretching to nutrition. It made a difference this season.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Midland Dow’s Varun Shanker returns a volley during his championship match at No. 1 singles. (Middle) Portage Central’s Cameron Raedy pounds a return at No. 2 singles. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Built Right, No Rebuild Needed: Cornelius Taking Gull Lake Back to Tennis Finals
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2025
RICHLAND – Once the boys season ends later this week, Roger Cornelius will begin preparing for his 50th year as varsity girls tennis coach at Gull Lake High School.
That tenure may have been cut short at 22 years, if not for the Gull Lake tennis community.
In January 1998, Cornelius’ 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay, died as a result of a winter car crash.
He had recently ended the fall season with the girls team and “I didn’t know if I could (coach) the boys that spring,” he said, still emotional when talking about the tragedy.
One of his former students, Jason Ryan, now a vascular surgeon at Beacon Kalamazoo Hospital, contacted Cornelius.
“He and one or two other guys talked with me and, if not for them, I would have quit tennis,” Cornelius said. “I decided to continue with tennis, and I’m glad I did. I found out that God was going to carry me through the toughest time of my life. The tennis community was really big for me back then. Richland, especially, came beside me and lifted me up.”
Although tennis is his sport of choice, Cornelius played football at Western Michigan University and was first hired at Gull Lake in 1975 to help with the football program. He jumped at the chance to coach the tennis team that spring and has coached either the boys or girls, and sometimes both, every year since.
He has been named Regional Coach of the Year several times and was enshrined in the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association (MHSTeCA) Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cornelius will lead the boys (12-2-1) to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals this Friday and Saturday at Midland Tennis Center. The Blue Devils finished 10th the last two years, earning eight points both times.
In a rebuilding year after losing all four singles and two doubles players to graduation, Cornelius was surprised and thrilled that this year’s team earned 20 points at its Regional, finishing second to St. Joseph and qualifying for the Finals.
At the beginning of the season, senior Peyton Orley said he wasn’t sure how good the team would be.
“Last year at the beginning of the season, we could tell we had a really good team,” Orley said. "This year, we lost a lot of our seniors and it didn’t look promising for states.
“Everyone on the team was mission-motivated to get to the state tournament.”
Orley pairs with senior Sullivan Abegg at No 1 singles and the pair did their part, winning their Regional flight. For Abegg, it was a three-peat after taking the title at No. 3 doubles two years ago and No. 2 doubles last year.
The Blue Devils are led at No. 1 singles by freshman Kade DeMaagd, whose father also played for Cornelius.
“Kade’s got the best strokes on the team,” the coach said.
Lucas Nichols, at No. 4 doubles, is the other freshman in the lineup. The other three seniors are Max Uppal (No 3 singles) and Dylan Piwko and Evan McCann, both doubles players. Three juniors, who all play doubles, are Jaden Jones, Jackson McDermott and McGuire Abegg. Two sophomores round out the singles flights: Jake Worgess at No. 2 and Jacob Nichols at No. 4.
Comparing old & new
Cornelius said there isn’t much difference between the tennis players today compared to those 50 years ago.
“I think what’s changed the most is today’s athletes have so many different options, so many different interest areas,” he said. “A lot of the kids have early college classes, some of them have to come to practice from off site and so many things are happening, whether it’s the Model United Nations or tutoring someone at the high school or DECA. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
While the boys are competing in Division 3, the girls are in Division 2, a more difficult road to the Finals, Cornelius said.
“It does make it pretty tough for the girls to make it out of Division 2 with the Mattawans, Portage Central, St. Joe, Battle Creek Lakeview,” he said.
Orley’s sister, Ava, a junior who plays at No. 1 doubles, said the girls team has already bonded.
“We build our team off loving each other,” she said. “It’s not everyone out for themselves, it’s all of us (working together). We focus on being a good role model.
"We’ve had coaches tell us how we played with class and how it’s an honor to play us because we learned from (Cornelius) that you always want to be a good sport.”
Competitive, compassionate
Cornelius, who taught French at the high school for 32 years, currently tutors French-speaking African and Haitian families for the district.
“I tutor the kids and work with the families,” he said. “It’s vastly different than what I did in the classroom. The greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my nearly 50 years working with Gull Lake schools was working with a little African boy who was blind.”
Cornelius and some friends pooled money to take the boy to a specialist in Grand Rapids. The specialist asked Cornelius to translate for the mother that he thought he could help the young boy regain some sight.
“The two surgeries were successful,” said Cornelius, choking up a bit with emotion. "He has to wear glasses, but he can see. It’s the high watermark of my life.”
That compassion is visible on the tennis courts, said retired Allegan coach Gary Ellis, now a volunteer assistant tennis coach at the school.
“I’ve known Roger since 1977,” Ellis said. “We started competing against each other when he started coaching the boys.”
He said that although Cornelius wants to win and likes to compete, “at the same time, he’s got a good perspective on the whole thing and the value of high school sports, and tennis in particular. He’s very positive, both with his team and with the opponents.”
Cornelius was so supportive of opponents that one year Ellis’ girls team invited the Gull Lake coach to their awards banquet at the end of the season.
“He had a conflict and couldn’t attend, but he sent a really nice letter to the girls,” Ellis said.
Cornelius makes it a point to talk with opponents, both coaches and players.
“I love to get to talk to the kids that I would never get to talk with,” he said. “My favorite is Battle Creek Central because they have struggles that most of us at Gull Lake don’t know about.
“For them to commit their spring or their fall to tennis, that’s a major decision. I want to make darn sure that after the match, I get to meet every one of them, talk with them, talk with their coach.”
Cornelius doesn’t expect this to be his last season.
“I will step down when the good Lord says, ‘I think it’s time,’” he said. “And I don’t think it’s time quite yet.
“I wouldn’t mind if they put on my gravestone ‘Loved God, Loved People.’”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Richland Gull Lake tennis coach Roger Cornelius hits with his players during practice this season. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Cornelius, assistant Gary Ellis, junior Ava Orley and senior Peyton Orley. (Below) Cornelius talks things over with his team. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)