No time to waste. Here are my predictions for Divisions 1-2-3. I broke down everything, match by match, though I include just total points and championship finals here. Agree, disagree?

DIVISION 1
Novi 30, Brother Rice 25, Troy 25, Ann Arbor Huron 22, Ann Arbor Pioneer 17, Bloomfield Hills 13, Rochester Adams 13, Northville 10, Port Huron Northern 10, Troy Athens 9, Ann Arbor Skyline 9, Grand Blanc 9, Grosse Pointe South 7, Holland West-Ottawa 6, Traverse City Central 5, Rochester 4, Grandville 4, Midland 3, Eisenhower 2, Livonia Stevenson 1, Utica 0, Livonia Churchill 0

Flight Finalists
1S — Tim Wang (Novi) d. Connor Johnston (Northville)
2S — Koushik Kondapi (Novi) d. Steve Forman (Troy)
3S — Alex Wen (Novi) d. Jack Winkler (Brother Rice)
4S — Andre Liu (Novi) d. Henry Fuchs (Ann Arbor Pioneer)
1D — George Hamaty-Joe Paradiso (Brother Rice) d. Maxx Anderson-Daniel Yu (Novi)
2D — Will Brenner-Orion Sang (AA Huron) d. Brendan Dillon-Christian Abelarde (Brother Rice)
3D — Adi Das-Anidow Saha (Troy) d. Alex Cardigan-Brenden Chen (AA Huron)
4D — Chauncey Williams-Anders Rasmussen (AA Huron) d. Aneesh Rastogi-Brandon Guo (Troy)

My thoughts
When the season began, I was a firm believer in Novi's singles lineup and the team depth(s) of Brother Rice and Troy. But the Wildcats have proved to have some depth as well - two #1 seeds in doubles. There just isn't a scenario I see where Novi doesn't bring home the state title. There would have to be at least two upsets in singles and the 1-seeds in doubles would have to stumble. Could it happen? Sure. But I don't see that. Can't wait to see Wang-Johnston - Part 3. I don't think the Tim Wang I saw at regionals is the one that will show up Saturday. Johnston looked great. Wang did not. I want to see them when they're both on. Kondapi is hungry, Wen is really good and Liu is due (see how that worked out?) I predict a Novi sweep in singles, but something tells me they'll get three titles there. Just couldn't figure out which one to take away. I liked Brother Rice's draws. I have them getting to three flight finals. I think Hamaty and Paradiso are hungry.

Related
State finals preview
Novi regional story/photos
Regional roundup
Clarkston regional story/photos
Wang-Johnston feature story


DIVISION 2
Midland Dow 31, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 25, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central  22, Portage Central 19, Detroit U-D Jesuit 17, Birmingham Seaholm 15, Birmingham Groves 15, Grosse Pointe North 13, North Farmington 11, Okemos 9, Portage Northern 7, Battle Creek Lakeview 6, Flushing 4, Walled Lake Western 3, Gibraltar Carlson 3, Holly 2, Berkley 1, Pinckney 1, Wyandotte Roosevelt 0, SCS Lakeview 0, Southgate Anderson 0, Edsel Ford 0

Flight finalists
1S — Steward Sell (Portage Northern) d. Varun Shanker (Midland Dow)
2S — Colin Angell (Midland Dow) d. Ben Orwin (Portage Central)
3S — Michael Szabo (Midland Dow) d. Justin Minzlaff (GRFHN)
4S — Aditya Middha (Midland Dow) d. Jacob Wiltjer (GRFHC)
1D — Nick Cusmano-Mitchell Zacharias (GPN) d. Sahil Tandon-Cameron Raedy (Portage Central)
2D — Ryan Roach-Daiki Adachi (GRFHN) d. Andrew Latessa-Will Geller (Seaholm)
3D — Humzah Azeem-Ryan Conner (GRFHC) d. Jalen Zeman-Jack Dolan (Groves)
4D — Sanjay Balijepalli-Daniel Zhang (Midland Dow) d. Joey Preston-Reed Aleck (GRFHC)

My thoughts
Full transparency here. Division 2 is always the hardest to predict - for me. I don't have many results from the west side of the state. And there are more great teams over there than here on the east side. So I rely on the great work of the seeding committee to guide myself. Not many upsets picked here. Dow has won five straight state championships and should win No. 6 on Saturday. Local teams Seaholm and Groves will see the quarterfinal round in a handful of flights each, but I have them reaching the semifinals in just two apiece. Just not enough points to compete with the top five.

Related
State finals preview
Groves regional story/photos
North Farmington regional story/photos
Regional preview story/photos


DIVISION 3
Country Day 39, Cranbrook 31, East Grand Rapids 23, Grand Rapids Christian 16, Holland Christian 17, Coldwater 11, Sturgis 11, St. Joseph 10, Petoskey 9, Zeeland East 9, Haslett 8, DeWitt 7, St. Clair 6, Parma Western 6, Trenton 5, Mt. Pleasant 5, Chelsea 4, Hamilton 4, Richmond 4, Armada 2, Yale 2, Goodrich 2, Allegan 1, Charlotte 1, Cadillac 0

Flight finalists
1S — Noah Karoub (Country Day) d. Benji Jacobson (C-K)
2S — Marc Sable (C-K) d. Davis Wong (Country Day)
3S — Jakob Gahn (Country Day) d. Ryan Rhoades (Holland Christian)
4S — Michael Khaghany (Country Day) d. Max Condon (EGR)
1D — Blake Burstein-Damian Runkle (Country Day) d. Chase Ghesquiere-Matthew Gerard (C-K)
2D — Rishabh Nayak-Adam Junn (Country Day) d. Nolan Trepeck-Joe Cavataio (C-K)
3D — D.J. Bailey-Andrew Joslyn (Country Day) d. Alex Hubers-Steven Meng (C-K)
4D — Anand Prabhu-Jack Mettler (Country Day) d. Colin Petzold-Brandon Kerr (C-K)

My thoughts
The separation between Country Day and Cranbrook - and the rest of the state - is staggering. The Yellowjackets are arguably the best team in the state, depending on who you ask. It would be fun to break down a Novi-Country Day matchup involving all their starting parts. That aside, the Yellowjackets have a chance to sweep here, something they have not been able to do over their past three championship runs. This team is as or more balanced as any of those teams. The #1 singles final could go either way. Jacobson is really, really talented, but Karoub is so steady. The 2-singles final should be good too. I liked the way Sable looked at the regional. Enjoy Burstein and Runkle at 1-doubles. They're the best pairing in the state - all divisions.

Related
State finals preview
Cranbrook regional story/photos


For all of our tennis stories and photos, go to our Tennis home page on MIPrepZone

The tennis postseason is here - if you can believe it. The season has come and gone so quickly. Now it's time to see if all the hard work has paid off. Regionals are being held today (Thursday) and Friday. I will now give my predictions (below).
To qualify, a team must finish among the top two at its regional, or finish with 18 or more points. At those regions where there are eight teams or fewer, any team with 10 or more points - in addition to the automatic qualifiers - also makes it out.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY REGIONAL TENNIS PREVIEW
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST STATE TENNIS RANKINGS

DIVISION 1

at Livonia Stevenson - Thursday
(Birmingham Brother Rice, Dearborn, Dearborn-Fordson, Detroit Cass Tech, Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, Livonia Stevenson, Wayne Memorial, Westland John Glenn)
Automatic qualifiers: Birmingham Brother Rice, Livonia Stevenson
Additional qualifiers: None
My thoughts: It's kind of nice that Brother Rice is shipped south - instead of north to Clarkston. Now the state needs to send West Bloomfield south or Rochester Adams east to disperse the immense talent in Oakland County.

at Novi - Friday
(Brighton, Hartland, Howell, Lakeland, Northville, Novi, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern)
Automatic qualifiers: Novi, Northville
Additional qualifier: None
My thoughts: Novi swept the region last year and it's quite possible the Wildcats could do it again. They are the best team in the state. Northville will join them. It's entirely possible Catholic Central could sneak in as well. I think it falls just short.

at Grosse Pointe South - Thursday
(Fraser, Grosse Pointe South, Sterling Heights-Utica Ford II, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Troy, Troy-Athens, Warren Mott, Warren-Cousino, Warren-De La Salle)
Automatic qualifiers: Troy, Grosse Pointe South
Additional qualifier: Troy Athens
My thoughts: Kind of a repeat of last year, the Colts will take the regional title. South will score well. And Athens will get another well-earned trip to Midland.

at Clarkston - Thursday
(Bloomfield Hills, Clarkston, Lake Orion, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Stoney Creek, Waterford Kettering, Waterford Mott, West Bloomfield)
Automatic qualifiers: Rochester Adams, Bloomfield Hills
Additional qualifier: None
My thoughts: Last year Clarkston joined Adams and Bloomfield Hills in advancing on to Midland. I don't see that happening this year. The Wolves, along with Rochester, Lake Orion and West Bloomfield will eat each other alive - and steal valuable points from each other in the process. It's a shame one or two of these teams can't be shipped to another region.

DIVISION 2

at Birmingham Groves - Thursday
(Avondale, Berkley, Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Detroit U-D Jesuit, Royal Oak, Southfield, Southfield-Lathrup)
Automatic qualifiers: U-D Jesuit, Birmingham Seaholm
Additional qualifier: Birmingham Groves
My thoughts: Don't have the draws in front of my, but I'm sure they're balanced. If the seeds played out as they are potentially laid out, it's possible four teams could get through. But it's highly unlikely that would happen. Jesuit, Seaholm or Groves could win this regional. My money - or lack thereof - is on Jesuit. But not by much. I don't see any team scoring more than 17 or 18 points.

at Holly - Friday
(Alpena, Bay City-Central, Davison, Fenton, Flint-Kearsley, Flushing, Holly, Ortonville-Brandon, Swartz Creek)  
Automatic qualifiers: Holly, Flushing
Additional qualifier: None
My thoughts: I see a repeat of last year's regional, which the Bronchos won by two points over Flushing. Holly is coming off a Flint Metro League title, where it beat out Flushing.

DIVISION 3

at Cranbrook - Thursday
(Cranbrook, Detroit Country Day, Detroit Mumford, Ferndale, Madison Heights Lamphere, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Redford Union, South Lyon East)
Automatic qualifiers: Country Day, Cranbrook
Additional qualifier: None
My thoughts: I'd like to think Notre Dame Prep would have a chance - as it has in the past - of scoring enough points to advance out. But Country Day and Cranbrook are rock solid this year and I see it being another dual between the two schools in the flight finals. That being said, the Fighting Irish will have to wait another year.


OTHER REGIONS
West Bloomfield Jewish Academy is competing in Ann Arbor. And when nearly a third of the field are teams from that city, it doesn't bode well for the Jaguars. No. 1 ranked Greenhills will win it. Gabriel Richard or Rudolf Steiner will also qualify. And over at Almont, Clawson is part of a small field, but a very capable one, led by Liggett.

PHOTOS FOR PURCHASE:  Check out our tennis home page and look through our photo galleries. If you like a photo and would like to purchase a copy, you may do so by clicking on the "Purchase Photos via SmugMug" button on the bottom right. Or check out our stories/photo galleries listed below:

OAA Red tournament - with photos
OAA Red tournament photo gallery
OAA White tournament - with photos
OAA White tournament photo gallery
Country Day vs. Brother Rice
Troy vs. Groves
Rochester tennis feature
Royal Oak vs. Lamphere
Novi Quad (Brother Rice, Troy)
Brother Rice vs. Cranbrook
Troy Athens vs. Groves
North Farmington vs. Berkley
Bloomfield Hills vs. Cranbrook
Cranbrook gallery
Country Day gallery

I've got to say, I hate rain. And if you were a tennis fan this weekend, I'm sure you're with me. Rain played a big part in the festivities. Indoor tennis is tolerable, but not for 20 straight hours. There's nothing like seeing 200-plus people surrounding a court late on Day 2 of the finals.
Regardless, I spent my weekend up in Midland watching some great tennis. And I've got to start things off by saluting the performance Ann Arbor Huron put on for the crowd. They far exceeding everyone's predictions, probably even their own. I know they exceeded mine. I underestimated their "ability to finish." I believed they had the talent, and the draws, to put themselves in a position to be there in the end. But I felt Brother Rice and Novi had the top-end talent to pull away.
But instead, that's exactly what Huron did. The River Rats clinched the title with seven flight finals yet to be played. Six of their eight semifinalists scored wins, and three of them went on to win it all. I didn't see any winning flight championships. So congratulations to Huron, which, as I was told, will return a plethora of talent next year, starting at the top with No. 1 Jack Petersen. Consider them the favorite, starting now.
As for Novi and Rice, which I had picked to finish 1-2, they each had their troubles in head-to-head matchups with Huron. Rice was the first to fall, dropping semifinal matches to the River Rats at three flights. In two of those three, Huron went on to win titles. Novi directly controlled its own destiny as well, but dropped two semifinal matches to Huron and three more in the finals.
Again, Kudos to the River Rats. They definitely deserved to win their second-straight state title.

One of the big reasons I wanted to be in Midland on Friday-Saturday was the draw at No. 1 singles. I can't remember a more talented, or deep, top draw. By the end of the weekend, it included three different No. 1 singles state champs. Troy's Brett Forman won it all in 2010. Tyler Gardiner won it as a junior a year ago. And on Saturday, Utica Eisenhower's Ed Covalschi picked up a pair of impressive victories, beating Forman and Gardiner back-to-back to claim his title.
Fans packed the stands, and wall, to watch both matches, starting at 9 a.m. Gardiner beat Petersen in one semifinal on the first court, while Covalschi beat Forman in an exciting three-setter on the next court over. Forman beat Covalschi in the first set in what his coach said was his best match of the season. But Covalschi eventually wore out the Troy senior, who cramped up in the third set. I was excited to get a chance to see Covalschi play, and he lived up to the reputation that preceded him.
Some of the best tennis - aside from that semifinal match - at No. 1 singles took place on Day 1. While on my way up to Midland, I was notified that Rochester Adams sophomore Justin Hyman was up a set and had a 6-5 lead on No. 3 seed Tim Wang of Novi. Despite facing two match points, Wang rallied to win the match and secure two big points for his team. This was a match I thought could be trouble for the Wildcats.
Also on Friday, Stoney Creek's Nick Fiaschetti beat Catholic Central's Michael Dube' in three sets in a bit of an upset. Though anyone who's seen Fiaschetti play the past few weeks wasn't surprised. He's one of a few players in the draw that in most years would have been seeded - Hyman and Troy Athens Richard Zhang to name a couple others.

Congratulations to Oakland County's three flight champions on Saturday. Novi's Pavan Rao won at No. 4 singles, while Brother Rice's Nos. 3-4 doubles teams walked away as winners. Joey Hildebrand and Johnny Cameron knocked off Ann Arbor Huron at No. 3, while David Weatherford and Brendan Dillon went through their draw losing just seven games in four matches.

As a team, Huron made my predictions look a little silly. I didn't want to reveal my individual predictions before the draws because I didn't want to put any undue pressure on the kids. But I'll reveal them now. I hit some, and missed on some, thanks in large part to the success of the River Rats.

No. 1 singles
My prediction: Covalschi (UE) over Gardiner (NOR)
Actual: Covalschi (UE) over Gardiner (NOR)

No. 2 singles
My prediction: Connor Johnston (NOR) over Michael Trupiano (DCC)
Actual: Connor Johnston (NOR) over Jack Hamaty (BBR)

No. 3 singles
My Prediction: Koushik Kondapi (NOV) over Colin Williams (AAH)
Actual: Colin Williams (AAH) over Koushik Kondapi (NOV)

No. 4 singles
My Prediction: Pavan Rao (NOV) over Jon Seyhun (AAH)
Actual: Pavan Rao (NOV) over Jon Seyhun (AAH)

No. 1 doubles
My Prediction: Jason Carless-Andrew Ying (NOV) over Akihiro Ota-Aaron Brodkey (AAH)
Actual: Akihiro Ota-Aaron Brodkey (AAH) over Jason Carless-Andrew Ying (NOV)

No. 2 doubles
My Prediction: George Hamaty-Connor Parks (BBR) over Nishant Kakar-Michael Chang (NOV)
Actual: Max Teener-Ryan Stark (AAH) over Nishant Kakar-Michael Chang (NOV)

No. 3 doubles
My Prediction: Joey Hildebrand-Johnny Cameron (BBR) over George Lu-Michael Bondin (AAH)
Actual: Joey Hildebrand-Johnny Cameron (BBR) over George Lu-Michael Bondin (AAH)

No. 4 doubles
My Prediction: David Weatherford-Brendan Dillon (BBR) over Shashank Chitta-Kevin Xu (NOV)
Actual: David Weatherford-Brendan Dillon (BBR) over Austin Luker-Will Brenner (AAH)


I will try to blog about the Division 2 and 3 finals later today. Because I was on site in Midland, I was unable to communicate with my other coaches. Country Day did dominate in Division 3, while Birmingham Seaholm was one of five Oakland County teams to finish among the Top-12 in Division 2.

A year ago, I predicted the boys state finals. I'm back to try it again. Everyone likes predictions, right? So I'm gonna give it a shot, here, now.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY STATE FINALS ADVANCE

Division 1
Novi 30, Birmingham Brother Rice 28, Ann Arbor Huron 27, Northville 18, Troy 17, Novi Detroit Catholic Central 14, Traverse City Central 13, Port Huron Northern 13, Rochester Adams 11, Ann Arbor Pioneer 10, Utica Eisenhower 9, Holland West-Ottawa 8, Troy Athens 6, Ann Arbor Skyline 6, Midland 5, Grosse Pointe South 3, Romeo 2, Grandville 2, Grand Blanc 1, Kalamazoo Central 1, Stoney Creek 1, Livonia Stevenson 0, Livonia Churchill 0

Thoughts: Novi beat everyone in Division 1 this year - save for a 4-4 tie with Brother Rice - and it really showed in the respect the Wildcats received in their seeds. Novi received four top seeds, and I see them taking home three state titles, and finishing runner-up in two more flights. Brother Rice has had its mini ups and downs the last month of the season, but if the Warriors' depth can really come through for the team, I see them sweeping 2-3-4 doubles. It's unfortunate that No. 1 Gunnar Peery has the worst draw in the entire tournament - a second-round matchup with Eisenhower's Ed Covalschi, who I think will win this tournament without dropping a set.
I could very easily see Huron and Rice swapping positions, but I don't see either of them catching Novi at the top. The only way this happens is if Huron's doubles catch fire and outplay their seeds at three or four flights. OR, if Rochester Adams' Justin Hyman brings his A-game and pulls off an upset of No. 3 seeded Tim Wang in the second round. Hyman is a star on the rise and could just do it.
My pleasant surprise is Catholic Central, which, if it rides the momentum it gained at the regional tournament, could finish in the top-six. Michael Trupiano played great at the regional, as did Gabe Apaza. And the Shamrocks' doubles teams have some decent draws, giving the team some opportunities to scores additional points.

Division 2
Midland Dow 38, Portage Central 26, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 19, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 17, Detroit U-D Jesuit 16, Okemos 13, Birmingham Seaholm 12, Battle Creek Lakeview 12, Bloomfield Hills Andover 11, Birmingham Groves 8, North Farmington 6, Berkley 6, Bloomfield Hills Lahser 5, Grosse Pointe North 5, Kalamazoo Loy-Norrix 4, Holly 2, Ortonville-Brandon 2, Gibralter Carlson 0, Wyandotte Roosevelt 0, Southgate Anderson 0, Dearborn Divine Child 0, Dexter 0.

Thoughts: This was a no brainer as far as who will win it. And it was tough for me to pick against Midland Dow at any of the seven flights it is seeded No. 1 at. So I didn't. The Chargers will roll to their fourth-straight Division 2 title. Locally, eight of the 18 teams at Holly/Fenton this weekend are from Oakland County.
Though I don't see any of them contending for a title, I do see six finishing among the top 13. I like Seaholm's No. 2 doubles team of Zach Tayler and Griffen Neal reaching the finals at their flight.
It was also nice to see Berkley get a few breaks in the draw. The Bears have three flights (2-singles, 1-doubles and 4-doubles) where I like their second-round matchups. Win all three and the team might just finish Top-11.

Division 3
Birmingham Detroit Country Day 39, St. Joseph 31, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 26, East Grand Rapids 20, Grand Rapids Christian 16, Petoskey 15, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern 14, Holland Christian 10, Haslett 9, Richmond 8, Sturgis 7, DeWitt 6, Spring Lake 4, Cadillac 4, Hamilton 4, St. Clair 4, Otsego 3, Parma Western 2, Plainwell 2, Grosse Ile 1, Chelsea 1, Trenton 1, Charlotte 1, Riverview 0

Thoughts: I know, I know, Country Day's Max Shanbrom beat Cranbrook's Nithin Davuluri in the regional final to earn the No. 1 seed at 4-singles. But if the two do make it to the championship match, it'll be their third meeting, the tiebreaker.Though I'd like to see Country Day sweep the finals, I think Davuluri might prove to be the spoiler. Other than that, it's smooth sailing for the Yellowjackets. Too talented top (Max Fliegner and Sven Kranz) to bottom (Matt Stebbins-D.J. Bailey).
And St. Joseph, in any other year, might have a team worthy of winning a state championship. But this year it'll have to settle for second. The seeds and draws favor Cranbrook to sneak past East Grand Rapids. But the Cranes will have to play up to those seeds. I anticipate Cranbrook reaching the finals in all eight flights, with Davuluri's run at No. 4 capping things off.

On Thursday and Friday, 41 Oakland County schools will compete at nine different regionals in the hopes that they'll qualify for states, which will be played on Oct. 19-20. To qualify, a team must finish among the top two at its regional, or finish with 18 or more points. At those regions where there are eight teams or fewer, any team with 10 or more points - in addition to the automatic qualifiers - also makes it out.
Here's a look at all of Oakland County's teams and my predictions on who will make it out:

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY THOUGHTS ON THIS WEEK'S REGIONALS

Regionals
Division 1 at Novi - Friday
(Brighton, Detroit Catholic Central, Hartland, Howell, Lakeland, Milford, Northville, Novi, Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Western)
Automatic qualifiers: Novi, Northville
Additional qualifiers: Detroit Catholic Central

Division 1 at Grosse Pointe South - Thursday
(Fraser, Grosse Pointe South, Royal Oak, Sterling Heights, Troy, Troy Athens, Utica Ford, Utica Stevenson, Warren-Mott, Warren-Cousino, Warren De La Salle)
Automatic qualifiers: Troy, Grosse Pointe South
Additional qualifiers: Troy Athens

Division 1 at Rochester - Thursday
(Brother Rice, Clarkston, Lake Orion, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Stoney Creek, Walled Lake Central, Waterford Kettering, Waterford Mott, West Bloomfield)
Automatic qualifiers: Brother Rice, Rochester Adams
Additional qualifiers: Stoney Creek

Division 2 at North Farmington - Thursday
(Avondale, Bloomfield Hills Andover, Bloomfield Hills Lahser, Dexter, Farmington, Farmington Hills Harrison, North Farmington, Pinckney)
Automatic qualifiers: Andover, Lahser
Additional qualifiers: North Farmington

Division 2 at Birmingham Groves - Thursday
(Berkley, Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Dearborn Heights Crestwood, Dearborn Divine Child, Detroit Cody, Garden City, Redford Union, Southfield-Lathrup, Southfield)
Automatic qualifiers: Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm
Additional qualifiers: None

Division 2 at Fenton
(Alpena, Bay City Central, Fenton, Flint Kearsley, Flushing, Holly, Lapeer East, Lapeer West, Ortonville-Brandon, Saginaw Arthur Hill, Swartz Creek)
Automatic qualifiers: Holly, Flushing
Additional qualifiers: Ortonville-Brandon

Division 3 at Chelsea
(Adrian, Carleton-Airport, Chelsea, Dearborn Heights Robichaud, Grosse Ile, Jackson Northwest, Milan, Parma-Western, Riverview Community, South Lyon East, Trenton)
Automatic qualifiers: Chelsea, Trenton
Additional qualifiers: Parma-Western

Division 3 at Cranbrook-Kingswood
(Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Detroit Henry Ford, Detroit Collegiate Prep, Detroit Pershing, Ferndale, Goodrich, Hazel Park, Madison Heights Lamphere, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, West Bloomfield-Frankel Jewish Academy)
Automatic qualifiers: Detroit Country Day, Cranbrook-Kingswood
Additional qualifiers: None

Division 4 at Ann Arbor Greenhills - Thursday
(Allen Park Cabrini, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Ann Arbor Greenhills, Ann Arbor Rudolph Steiner School, Clawson, Plymouth Christian, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, River Rouge)
Automatic qualifiers: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Liggett
Additional qualifiers: None

Finally. I've been waiting a couple weeks to see Novi and Birmingham Brother Rice square off on the tennis court.
It finally took place Wednesday afternoon. But nothing was necessarily decided. The teams tied, 4-4. I thought it would be a 4-4, perhaps a 5-3 match. The lineups were mostly intact, with the exception of Novi missing regular Andre Liu at No. 2 singles. George Hamaty beat Liu's replacement, Moynawk Gangopadhyay 6-1, 6-0.
Would Liu have given Hamaty a better match? No doubt. But that's going to be a key flight at states. Liu lost to Ann Arbor Huron's Kevin Mei last week at No. 2 singles. Hamaty will get his chance to see Mei next week when Brother Rice hosts the Hurons.
The good thing about Wednesday's match was that there were four three-set matches. Those are the kind of matches that could go either way the next time around. Novi's depth at singles was evident, with the Wildcats winning three of four matches. And Brother Rice's doubles showed some depth too, winning at 2-3-4.
Here's the box score from the match:

NOVI 4, BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE 4
SINGLES — Tim Wang (N) d. Gunnar Peery 6-4, 6-2; Jack Hamaty (BR) d. Moynawk Gangopadhyay 6-1, 6-0; Koushik Kondapi (N) d. Chase Peery 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Pavan Rao (N) d. Michael Ciraci 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
DOUBLES — Jason Carless-Andrew Ying (N) d. Blake Hildebrand-Gavin McNulty 6-0, 6-2; George Hamaty-Connor Parks (BR) d. Michael Chang-Nishant Kakar 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Joey Hildebrand-Johnny Cameron (BR) d. Jon Thompson-Maxx Anderson 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; David Weatherford-Brendan Dillon (BR) d. Shashank Chitta-Kevin Xu 6-1, 6-4
RECORDS — Novi 9-1-1 overall; Brother Rice 14-1-1

Wildcats now No. 1
Last week's win over Ann Arbor Huron propelled Novi into the No. 1 spot in the latest Division 1 state tennis rankings. As I've said before, it was really just a matter of time. Brother Rice will get its chance to show the committee it belongs above the Hurons itself. The Warriors remained No. 3 overall. Troy stayed still at No. 5.
Rochester Adams entered the rankings, at No. 6, while Stoney Creek moved up a couple spots to No. 8.
In Division 2, Andover (#6), Seaholm (#7) and Groves (#10) remain in the rankings. And Country Day (#1) and Cranbrook (#4) held their positions in Division 3.

Congrats to Holly, Spencer Navarre
The Holly boys made it look easy on Tuesday, winning its 20th-straight Flint Metro League championship. The Bronchos had seven of eight flights reach the finals, with all four doubles teams taking home flight championships. Parker Rowse and Craig Richards, Taylor Mills and Zac Goodrich, Parker Cuthbert and Aaron Vergith and Gunnar LaFave and Morgan Baylis were all victorious for Holly.
Ortonville-Brandon senior Spencer Navarre became the first player in league history to win four straight No. 1 singles league titles. So congratulations to Spencer.

OAA Red and White hold serve
There weren't too many surprises at the top at Tuesday's OAA Red and White tournaments. Troy was unbeaten in league play and finished atop the tournament in the Red. Adams, which finished 5-2 in league play, finished a solid second. Groves was third in the league, and finished the same in the tournament.
The same could be said for the White. Seaholm and Athens were 1-2 in the league season and finished far and away on top of the tournament. Each won four flight championships.
Click here for the complete story.

Upcoming league tournaments
The OAA Blue Tournament is being held today (Thursday) at Farmington (1-4 singles) and Harrison (1-4 doubles). Farmington enters the tournament unbeaten in league play and the favorite to take home the title. Harrison may provide a challenge, with Royal Oak and Ferndale behind them.
The KLAA Association Tournament will be played Saturday at Plymouth Canton Educational Park. Novi enters as the favorite - as the No. 1 team in the state should. Its biggest challenge will come from No. 4 Northville.
The Catholic League Tournament will be held Saturday as well. Brother Rice earned top seeds at seven of eight flights, with Catholic Central's Michael Dube' earning the top seed at No. 1 singles.

There's no doubt that Oakland County teams partake in a lot of great tennis tournaments throughout the season. But I can't wait for Saturday's Novi Quad, where the top-3 teams in Division 1 and the best team in the state (Country Day) will battle it out.
The action will take place at both Novi High School and at the Middle School. The host Wildcats, Brother Rice, Ann Arbor Huron and Country Day will all square off to see who the best team in the state is.
Currently, Huron, Novi and Brother Rice are 1-2-3 in Division 1, while Country Day is No. 1 in Division 3 and were recently ranked No. 1 overall in the Coaches' Poll (see below). The Yellowjackets have already beaten Novi (5-3) and Brother Rice (6-2) earlier this season.
I've been a firm believer that Novi and Brother Rice are the two best teams in Division 1. This will be their chance to prove me right. I expect them both to beat Huron. I also expect Country Day to hold serve against all three of its opponents.
The match I'm most excited about is Brother Rice-Novi. I have them ranked 2-3 in the county - in that order. But I could see it being a 5-3, or 4-4 match, either way. I would never put undue pressure on the kids by predicting their individual matches, but I am looking forward to Rice's Gunnar Peery and Novi's Tim Wang duking it out at No. 1 singles.
I've heard Rice may have made some changes to its lineup since I last saw it play, so I'm interested to see how they play out. Blake Hildebrand and Gavin McNulty are now playing No. 1 doubles together. Their match against Novi's Jason Carless and Andrew Ying should be a good one.

The battle for second
As league seasons begin to wind down over the next week and conference tournaments take place next weekend, the leagues are starting to shake out a bit. In the OAA Red, Troy has looked dominant this season. The Colts are 6-0 in league play with a big one against Groves Thursday afternoon.
Troy has beaten West Bloomfield (8-1), Stoney Creek (7-2), Rochester Adams (7-2) and North Farmington (8-1), but coach Brian Miska admitted to me that all of his team's league doubles' matches have been tight. So it should make for an interesting league tournament.
Groves enters its match against Troy with just two losses in league play (Adams, West Bloomfield). Andover has also lost just twice (Groves, Troy). Adams, the other piece in this crazy-tight league, is 4-2 with its losses coming to Troy and Andover.
UPDATE:  Troy beat Groves 8-1 to finish a perfect 7-0 in OAA Red play. The Colts are off for a week and will look to repeat as league champions at the Red Tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Farmington dominating the OAA Blue
Last Thursday, Farmington beat Ferndale 8-0. With earlier wins against Royal Oak (6-2), Harrison (6-2), and Southfield (8-0), only an October 2nd match with Southfield Lathrup separates FHS from capturing the OAA Blue regular-season title.

Another thank you
I want to again thank everyone who contacts us with results after every match. I've noticed an increase over the past two weeks - particularly in the OAA. It really does make my job of following the kids easier and will help me come the end of the season with all-county selections. Every once in awhile I do have some issues on our end with a result missing or messed up. Please let me know and I'll try to fix it.

Where has the season gone? Seems like just yesterday that I was making phone calls and sending out emails to the coaches for my preview story. Now we're heading down the home stretch of the regular season. Won't be long before league tournaments are here, followed by regionals and then states.
Enjoy it while it lasts - cuz it won't last long.

This past weekend
I don't have my schedule in front of me, but we didn't get many results called in from tennis tournaments this past weekend. Cranbrook did report its results from the Ann Arbor Pioneer Quad, finishing third among a field that included the host Pioneers (No. 8 in Division 1), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (No. 5 in Division 2) and Grand Blanc. Will Dube' finished unbeaten at No. 3 singles and Stephane Teste and Joe Cavataio won at No. 1 doubles.
Over at Grosse Pointe North, Seaholm finished fifth in a stacked field that included three-time defending Division 2 state champion Midland Dow. The Maples' No. 2 doubles team of Griffen Neal and Zac Tayler won their flight championship (see complete results below)

Birmingham Seaholm's Zach Tayler and Griffen Neal
won the No. 2 doubles flight championship
Saturday at the Grosse Pointe North Invitational.
(Photo courtesy of Mitch Mondry)

 

Grosse Pointe North Invitational
TEAM SCORES: Midland Dow 22, Portage Central 15, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 15, Detroit U-D Jesuit 12, Birmingham Seaholm 11, Battle Creek Lakeview 10, Grosse Pointe North 6, East Lansing 5
CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES: John Templeton (MD) d. Evan Taylor (FHC) 6-3, 7-5; Austin Woody (MD) d. Rob Stevens (PC) walkover; Trevor VanderKlok (PC) d. Alek Askounis (UDJ) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1; Michael Szabo (MD) d. Freddy Heegan (UDJ) 6-2, 6-7, 6-2
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES: Vikram Shanker-Jason Chang (MD) d. Connor Maks-Evan Beale (UDJ) 6-0, 6-1; Griffen Neal-Zach Tayler (BS) d. Kento Hirakawa-Ben Orwin (PC) 7-5, 6-2; Patrick Eschbach-Mark Gorte (MD) d. Amey Vrudhula-Nico Finelli (FHC) 6-0, 6-4; Andrew Camp-David Read (MD) d. Joey McClure-Mitchell Timyan (FHC) 7-5, 6-1

This next weekend
Holly and Grand Blanc will be hosting their invitational on Saturday. The eight-team field include the two host schools, along with Clarkston, East Lansing, Grand Rapids Christian, Port Huron Northern, Stoney Creek and Traverse City Central. Grand Rapids Christian is ranked No. 5 in Division 3, Traverse City Central No. 5 in Division 2 and Port Huron Northern No. 10 in Division 1.

Rankings update
I will be updating my Oakland County rankings later this week. The state rankings came out Monday, and someone must've been doing their homework in Division 1. Novi leapfrogged Brother Rice, moving into the No. 2 spot behind Ann Arbor Huron. The Wildcats fell to Country Day, 6-2, last week. That was the same margin of victory the Yellowjackets had over Brother Rice a couple weeks back. I tried to compare scores to see if one team played Country Day tougher than the other. It was very close, but I'd have given Novi a slight (5-3) edge in the head-to-head matchups against the Yellowjackets.
Regardless, it's going to be exciting next weekend as all three of these teams travel to Novi to play in a quad. That's the three top-ranked teams in Division 1 and what I consider the best team in the state (Country Day) regardless of division. When things shake out at the end of the season, I think you're going to see Novi and Brother Rice battling it out at the Division 1 finals. If you asked me right now, I'd give Rice the slightest of edges. But we'll see how it shakes out next weekend.

The future, now
Rochester Adams beat West Bloomfield 6-3 this past week in an OAA Red matchup. But all eyes were centered on the match between Adams' Justin Hyman and West Bloomfield's Kevin Rothstein at No. 1 singles. Hyman won the match in three, tough sets.
The two battled it out at No. 2 singles a year ago as freshmen and will be going head to head for league supremacy the next two seasons. Neither can beat Brett Forman or Nick Fiaschetti this year, but Hyman made a statement against Troy Athens' Richard Zhang a couple weeks ago, taking the first set before Zhang retired due to an injury early in the second.
Oakland County is loaded with sophomore talent. Joining Hyman and Rothstein among the elite are Novi's Tim Wang, Lakeland's Alex Kim and North Farmington's Griffin Mertz.

Coaches' reminder
Some of you have been great in reporting scores this year. Some have been good. Yet I haven't heard from a few coaches out there. I encourage you to submit every dual during the week and I'm really interested in your weekend tournaments. It gives me a chance to see how you fare against the state's best. So please, email them in to prepsports@oakpress.com or call us at (248) 745-4775 between 7-9 p.m. on weeknights.
Thank you Cranbrook for calling in your results this past weekend.