Did you see that?

May 7, 2012

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan high school athletes are accomplishing great things so quickly this spring, we're missing one every once in a while -- which is why we'll kick off this week's "Did you see that?" with a finish from 10 days ago that we found out more about last week.

Girls Track and Field

Moving up fast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200-meter relay team of Haley Meier, Hannah Meier, Ersula Farrow and Kelsie Schwartz ran a blistering 8:59.69 to lead their team to a championship at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational on April 27. That's nearly six seconds faster than Rochester's all-MHSAA Finals record set in 2010. (Mlive Detroit)

Golf

This time, it’s FHC: Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and No. 2 Muskegon Mona Shores are waging a back-and-forth battle not just to be called west Michigan’s top team, but the best in Division 1 overall. Forest Hills Central won the Ranger Invitational by seven strokes Saturday over Mona Shores. (Grand Rapids Press)

Ram tough: The Capital Area Activities Conference includes four teams ranked either in Division 2 or 3 – Division 2 No. 1 DeWitt, Division 2 No. 4 East Lansing, Division 3 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi and Division 3 No. 4 Lansing Catholic. But it was unranked Division 1 team Holt that claimed the CAAC Open by four strokes Friday. (Lansing State Journal)

Soccer

Streak over: Scoring two goals in each half Tuesday, Traverse City Central broke Petoskey’s 35-game Big North unbeaten streak with a 4-0 win over the still first-place Northmen. (Petoskey News)

Football

Changes coming in the PSL: School closings and mergers this June will significantly change the football landscape in the Detroit Public School League, home of reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Cass Tech. The formerly four-division league will switch to two divisions. Two schools are closing and two more are forming a new school. (Detroit News)

Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].

Shaya Brothers Run Individual Title Count to 7 in Pacing Bloomfield Hills 3-Peat

By Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com

October 19, 2024

BYRON CENTER – There may not be a sibling rivalry, but there's plenty of talent.

Bloomfield Hills senior Pierce Shaya can definitively say there is no goal of one-upping his younger brother, Connor, when it comes to their impressive tennis careers. In fact, Pierce said having his brother on the team only makes him better.

"Motivation," he said. "There's definitely not a rivalry."

The two closed out stellar seasons in helping the Blackhawks win Saturday's MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championship in Byron Center. Pierce won his fourth individual flight title, while Connor added his third as Bloomfield Hills finished with 35 points to 27 for runner-up Troy. Northville was third with 20 points, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice next with 13, and Ann Arbor Skyline and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek had 12 points each.

Pierce, headed to Michigan next season, defeated Chad Anderson of Rochester 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Connor upped his career record to 81-0 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Quentin Rangi of Rochester Hills Stoney Creek at No. 2 singles.

Rochester Hills Stoney Creek’s Quentin Rangi volleys during a Friday match at No. 2 singles. Pierce had previously won No. 3 singles as a freshman, No. 1 doubles as a sophomore and No. 2 singles as a junior. Connor won No. 4 and No. 3 singles the last two years, respectively. The two represent arguably the best one-two punch in the state, Bloomfield Hills coach Greg Burks said. 

"As a coach, you're looking to have that type of talent at the top," said Burks, whose team title was its third straight. "Not every coach has that, and we're lucky as a team to have it."

The Shaya brothers took different paths this season. Pierce said he didn't play his best tennis until the last couple weeks, while Connor said Saturday’s was the toughest of his three titles. Pierce said he couldn't find any rhythm until playing in a recent USTA event in Midland.

"It's been my worst year," he said. "I wasn't able to find any rhythm, but a lot of it turned in that tournament. I came back from there, it was a changeup for me, and I kind of had to find my way. I won a couple matches, and I think it helped me get in the mood for this weekend."

Connor, who was seeded No. 2 despite his previous postseason success, said increased pressure after winning two previous titles was something he knew he had to overcome.

"Every year is different, and this is a lot off my shoulders," he said. "There was a lot of competition here. A lot of older players who hit the ball hard. The odds were against me; people thought I would lose."

Bloomfield Hills also earned titles in three other flights. Zev Spiegel defeated Ann Arbor Huron's  Aarav Dalal 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, while two Black Hawks doubles teams won. The No. 1 pair of Asher Langwell and Dominic Pascarella defeated Nick Song and Josh Kim of Northville 6-4, 7-6 (2), and Meyer Saperstein and Sajan Doshi downed Northville's Nathan Shields and Anderson Herdoiza 6-5, 6-2 at No. 3 doubles.

Bloomfield Hills'  Brady Winston also made a final before losing to Troy's Dheera Yelleti 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.

Northville’s Alex Boules gets into a ground stroke at No. 4 singles Friday.Troy's Jackson Kraus and Raghav Karur defeated Suraj Makunar and Shreyan Muddappa of Troy Athens at No. 4 doubles 6-0, 6-3. Northville's No. 2 doubles team of Nikhil Karmani and Brian Zang defeated Troy's Varun Shetty and Anthony Wu  7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5..

Burks, finishing up his 20th year as coach, said another team title was anything but a certainly three months ago when the season opened. Bloomfield Hills had to plug numerous holes from last year's championship lineup.

"I told the kids what they did was nothing short of spectacular," he said. "I don't if they realize how hard this was and what we did. Every match we grew as a team. It was a learning process, and we weathered the storm.

"We have depth, a lot of depth. We have a lot of neighboring clubs who've done a great job. We wouldn't have done this without their amazing jobs."

Spiegel, a sophomore, said the coaches did an outstanding job nurturing a young team.

"It was a great season," he said. "The coaches told us we weren't always going to win, but that we were here for a reason. Coach said we could win it all if we didn't do silly things."

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills poses with its latest team championship trophy, won this weekend at Byron Center West Sports Complex. (Middle) Rochester Hills Stoney Creek’s Quentin Rangi volleys during a Friday match at No. 2 singles. (Below) Northville’s Alex Boules gets into a ground stroke at No. 4 singles Friday. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)