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.

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.

It really is too bad that tennis doesn't follow the same state tournament format as high school wrestling. There's something about the excitement of a dual match that you just can't get in a tournament format. So we're left to enjoy great matchups during the regular season, just like the one I got to see Wednesday at Country Day.

(The Oakland Press/VAUGHN GURGANIAN)

Country Day junior Max Fliegner beat Brother Rice's
Gunnar Peery 7-6 (7), 6-3 Wednesday
as his Yellowjackets beat the Warriors, 6-2.

The host Yellowjackets welcomed in Brother Rice in what I consider a matchup of the two best tennis teams in the entire state - regardless of divisions. Country Day is the best team - bar none - as was evidenced in its 6-2 win over the Warriors. Its strength at the top (Max Fliegner, Sven Kranz and Rishi Patel) is unmatched. And its depth is just as impressive. Seniors Alex Gruskin and Patrick Adams anchor what could be a doubles lineup that does some big damage at the Division 3 state tournament.
But I was just as impressed with Brother Rice. When you're playing a team that's as talented, and deep, as Country Day is, it would be easy to just roll over and look ahead to the next match. But Rice didn't do that Tuesday. Gunnar Peery really impressed me with his play against Fliegner - who is one of the best players in the state in all divisions. It was a really entertaining first set - which Fliegner took in a tiebreaker. Peery is going to be lumped into what I would venture to say will be the most talented No. 1 singles draw at the Division 1 state tournament in many, many years. If he continues to play the way he did Wednesday, he could be a darkhorse to score a few points for the Warriors.
And though Country Day did win three of four singles matches Wednesday, I think the quartet of Peery, Jack Hamaty, Chase Peery and Michael Ciraci is going to give most Division 1 teams a fit this season. Same thing goes for Warriors' doubles teams. Juniors Blake and Joey Hildebrand played Gruskin and Adams tough and are easily a top-four seed at the state tournament, with a chance to go all the way. George Hamaty and Johnny Cameron, Brendan Dillon and Connor Parks and David Weatherford and Dan Lunhamer proved Rice will have the depth in doubles to beat anyone - other than Country Day - this season.

That brings me back to the Yellowjackets, who I ranked No. 1 just ahead of Brother Rice in my preseason rankings.  Fliegner, Kranz, Patel and Max Shanbrom - who was committed to another event and did not play Wednesday - are uber talented. I see a possible sweep at the Division 3 finals.
And the doubles are extremely deep as well. Gruskin and Adams looked really good Wednesday. They were my No. 1-ranked doubles team, just ahead of the Hildebrands. And they didn't disappoint. Max Lee and Lorenz Gahn beat a Rice tandem (Hamaty-Cameron) that I think will win a state title in Division 1. Blake Burstein and Rishab Nayak dropped their match to Brendan Dillon and Connor Parks. But I think that's another pair that may win a state title. And Matt Stebbins and D.J. Bailey rolled in their No. 4 doubles match.
It was great to see the best play each other. Country Day - if it stays health - will win a state championship. This was a chance to see how it stacked up against what I consider the favorite in Division 1. As fun as it is to watch a team compete for a state title, I found yesterday's match to be just as exciting.
The complete results of the match are below. And they also ran in today's Oakland Press and on MIPrepZone - with a couple photos and some video highlights of the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles matches at the bottom.

BIRMINGHAM DETROIT COUNTRY DAY 6, BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE 2
SINGLES: Max Fliegner (CD) d. Gunnar Peery 7-6 (7), 6-3; Sven Kranz (CD) d. Jack Hamaty 6-0, 6-2; Rishi Patel (CD) d. Chase Peery 6-1, 6-4; Michael Ciraci (BR) d. Noah Karoub 6-3, 7-6 (4)
DOUBLES: Alex Gruskin-Patrick Adams (CD) d. Blake Hildebrand-Joey Hildebrand 7-6 (6), 6-2; Max Lee-Lorenz Gahn (CD) d. George Hamaty-Johnny Cameron 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5); Brendan Dillon-Connor Parks (BR) d. Blake Burstein-Rishab Nayak 7-5, 6-3; Matt Stebbins-D.J. Bailey (CD) d. David Weatherford-Dan Lunghamer 6-2, 6-3
RECORDS: Country Day 2-0, Brother Rice 7-1