I have to admit, I'm a high school tennis writer. In the grand scheme of things, high school tennis is just a footnote to elite tennis players. I know this. Yet it is what I do. I cover high school tennis.
But I decided to follow this week's Midwest Closed tournament - from afar. I tracked results several times a day on the USTA's website. I spoke to and exchanged text messages with coaches and parents to get the latest updates.
And as I saw some of Oakland County's best players bow out of the main draw, I began to wonder if anyone would make it through to Day 5, or perhaps Day 6. In the end, just one player in Indianapolis reached Thursday's championship match. Tim Wang, of Novi, not only made it, but won the Boys 16 singles title in straight sets, beating Austin Hussey of Kentucky.
I exchanged emails with Tim. He was obviously excited. Here' some of what he had to say, some of which I used for my story on his title run:

• "I knew that I was good enough to win it all if I was on point both mentally and physically, but it never dawned on me that it would actually happen."
• "I prepared really well, and over in Indiana I had the support of coach Josh Molino (he always finds a way to get me motivated) as well as my friends from (Southeast Michigan Tennis Association) - Jack Murray, Michael Dube', Max Fliegner, Brett Forman and Blake Burstein. They're always rooting for me and keeping me in check."
• "This tournament definitely gives me a boost in confidence. It really opened up my mind to see what I could accomplish when I play my best tennis, and I look to carry that over to the rest of my USTA tournaments. High school-wise, it also gives me confidence that I could do well at states next season to help Novi come out with the championship. We were second last year and being a runner-up as the No. 1 team in the state still hurts."
• "Kalamazoo is going to be my first super nationals, and I'm really excited about it. I don't really have many expectations, but if I just keep working hard and playing my game, I'm sure something good could happen and that I'll have a great time over there."

Wang wasn't the only player to play well this past week. Alexandria Najarian reached the Girls 18 singles semifinals and also punched her ticket to Kalamazoo for the Super Nationals. She won five straight matches in the tournament.
Marybeth Hurley beat Halle Hyman in the consolation semifinals to collect an automatic berth in Girls 16 singles play. Both players battled their way back through the consolation draw to put themselves in a position to earn a bid to Kalamazoo.
Jack Murray, the 2-seed in the Boys 18 draw, reached the backdraw finals to earn his automatic bid to Kalamazoo. Last year Murray won his first match at nationals, then dropped his next two.
Dipping down to the 14 and 12 Closed tournament in Okemos, Julian Hyman reached the Boys 12 singles championship match. He defeated Joe Stafford in the semfinals of the main draw.
Tia Mukherjee won the Girls 12 championship, capping off her seven-match run to the title.
Josh Mukherjee - yes the name is the same - won the Boys 14 championship. The No. 1 seed won his last three matches all in straight sets.
And Raven Neely (West Bloomfield) won five straight matches to reach the finals of the back draw and earn a berth at nationals.
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Within three weeks of the high school season finishing up, a slew of the county's best girls (and boys) will be competing in their second big USTA tournament this weekend in Indianapolis.
Area players garnered some solid seeds for the tournament, which opens up tomorrow morning. Below are the Oakland County players competing (in seeded, then alphabetical order) in the Girls and Boys 18- and 16-singles draws:

Girls 18
#13 Lexi Baylis (Clarkston) - won first match 6-0, 7-5
#21 Alex Najarian (Cranbrook) - won first match 6-1, 6-4
#31 Mollie Fox (Bloomfield Hills) - won first match 6-4, 6-1
Alex D'Ascenzo (Jewish Academy) - won first match 6-1, 6-0
Kerry Hu (Bloomfield Hills) - won first match 6-0, 6-4
Tiffany Huber (of West Bloomfield) - lost first match 1-6, 0-6
Christina Jordan (of West Bloomfield) - won first match 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Dana Olsen (Clarkston) - lost first match 0-6, 0-6
Labina Petrovska (Seaholm) - lost first match 0-6, 1-6

Girls 16
#3 Dominique Vasile (of Oakland Twp.) - won first match 6-1, 6-2
#4 Marybeth Hurley (of Novi) - won first match 6-1, 6-1
#18 Sophia Abelson (of West Bloomfield) - won first match 6-1, 6-1
#23 Anna Short (Cranbrook) - won first match 6-2, 6-1
Eliza Brown (Jewish Academy) - won first match 6-0, 6-2
Hannah Cimpeanu (of West Bloomfield) - lost first match 2-6, 5-7
Halle Hyman (Adams) - won first match 6-1, 6-2
Claire Markley (Seaholm) - lost first match 6-7 (1), 1-6
Allison Motea (Cranbrook) - won first match 6-3, 6-2
Haley Mullins (Country Day) - lost first match 1-6, 6-3, 1-6
Marina Selenica (Country Day) -  won first match 6-1, 6-0
Isabella Spindler (Clarkston) - lost first match 3-6, 1-6
Alex Whall (Clarkston) - lost first match 0-6, 0-6

Boys 18
#2 Jack Murray (of Beverly Hills/Roeper) - won first match 6-0, 6-1
#15 Max Fliegner (Country Day) - won first match 6-1, 6-2
#20 Brett Forman (Troy) - won first match 6-1, 6-0
#24 Michael Dube' (Catholic Central) - won first match 6-1, 6-2
Alex Kim (Lakeland) - won first match 7-6 (10), 6-4
Tucker Massie (of Bloomfield Hills) - lost first match 1-6, 0-6
Rishi Patel (Country Day) - lost first match 1-6, 3-6
Gunnar Peery (Brother Rice) - won first match 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5
Max Shanbrom (Country Day) - lost first match 2-6, 5-7
Richard Zhang (Troy Athens) -  won first match 6-1, 6-2

Boys 16
#3 Connor Johnston (from Novi-Northville HS) - won first match 6-0, 6-1
#5 Tim Wang (Novi) - won first match 6-1, 6-1
#17 Kevin Rothstein (West Bloomfield) - won first match 6-1, 6-1
Justin Hyman (Adams) - won first match 6-1, 6-0
Noah Karoub (Country Day) - lost first match 3-6, 1-6
Koushik Kondapi (Novi) - lost first match 4-6, 2-6
Andre Liu (Novi) - lost first match 6-3, 5-7, 1-6
Chase Peery (Brother Rice) - lost first match 2-6, 2-6
Vinai Reddy (Troy) - lost to Sable in first match 2-6, 6-2, 3-6
Marc Sable (Cranbrook) - beat Reddy in first match 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

If you want to follow the action over the next several days, CLICK HERE, scroll down to the Draws tab and then when you see the "Choose and Event," select your division. Good luck players.