Tennis: Ann Arbor teams net top-10 finishes at D-1 State Finals

By Terry Jacoby/weloveannarbor.com

The three Ann Arbor tennis teams netted top 10 finishes at the MHSAA Division 1 Tennis State Finals at a chilly Hope College’s Etheridge Tennis Complex in Holland.

Bloomfield Hills captured titles in five of eight flights and took runner-up in two others to finish first with 35 points to win going away. Northville was runner-up with 25 points, followed by Troy (24) and Novi (17).

Huron finished with 13 points and finished sixth overall. Skyline and Pioneer each finished with nine points to tie for 10th place in the 25-team field.

At one singles, Skyline senior Anthony Van Oyen won his opening match 6-0, 6-4 before falling to Bloomfield Hills 6-0, 6-7, 6-2. Huron senior Nick Pauken won his opening-round match 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 before falling to Brother Rice 6-2, 6-2. Pioneer junior Carson Strauss one his first match 6-1, 6-1 before falling to Novi 6-1, 6-1.

Both Pioneer senior Jose Alcocer and Huron senior Vedanth Kallakuri reached the quarterfinals at two singles before losing. Alcocer lost 6-0, 6-0 to BH and Kallakur lost 6-3, 6-1 to Brother Rice. Skyline freshman Connor Wilcox won his opening match before falling to Northville 6-4, 6-3.

At three singles, Pioneer sophomore David Loh and Skyline senior Arya Joshi reached the quarterfinals. Loh, who beat Troy Athens 6-3, 6-3, lost 6-4, 6-1 to Catholic Central. Joshi, who beat Brother Rice 6-3, 6-3, lost 6-2, 6-2 to BH. Huron senior Kevin Joo won his opening match (6-4, 6-3) but lost 6-0, 6-0 to Troy.

Pioneer sophomore Henry EckHause beat Plymouth 6-3, 6-1 before falling 6-3, 6-0 to Troy in the quarterfinals at four singles. Huron freshman Sean Miao won his first match 6-1, 6-4 over Holt before falling to Northville 6-0, 6-1.

At one doubles, Huron’s Ahmed Hejazi(12) and Ajay Dass(12) won 6-1, 7-5 over Grand Haven before losing 6-1, 6-2 to Novi in the second round. Skyline’s team of Luke Williams (12) and Arjun Joshi (11) beat Athens 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 before falling 6-0, 6-0 to BH.

Huron’s two doubles team of Max Parkin(12) and Kevin Zhang (12) lost 7-5, 7-6 to Troy after winning 6-4, 6-2 over West Ottawa. Pioneer’s team of Wes Roberts (9) and Ashmit Deb (12) beat Grand Haven 6-4, 6-1 before falling 6-0, 6-3 to Brother Rice.

At three doubles, Huron’s duo of Warren Gunnar (10) / Hassan Hejazi (11) reached the semifinals before falling 6-2, 6-4 to Troy. They defeated Rochester 6-4, 6-2 and Brother Rice 6-2, 7-6. Skyline’s team of Daniel Zhou (9) / Sina Sarabandi (10) defeated Salem 6-0, 6-3 before falling 6-1, 6-2 to BH. Pioneer’s team of Ryan Hong (12 )/ Dylan Li (10) beat Troy Athens 7-5, 6-4 before losing to Northville 6-3, 6-1.

Huron’s four doubles team of Nihar Gundala (9) / Trevor Nelson (10) defeated Salem 6-3, 6-2 and Holt 6-3, 6-0 before falling 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 to BH in the quartefinals. Skyline’s team of Nehith Kumar (10 ) / Michael Howard (12) won 6-4, 7-6 (4) over Rochester before falling 6-2, 6-2 to Troy.