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.

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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.

Preseason rankings are never easy, especially when trying to gauge the competition from all across the state. I had just Oakland County to deal with. And that was a chore in itself. There were the obvious choices. And then there were the not-so-obvious ones.
When it comes to the state rankings, it takes a couple weeks for things to shake out. Some of what the coaches have to go on is how a team fared the previous season. And some has to do with how a team performs in the first week or two of this season. But scores are hard to come by (yes coaches, we need you to call or email your scores in please) and teams are still finalizing their lineups. Most first-week matches are scrimmages.
That being said, I'll give the Coaches' Association a pass and offer up a little advice moving forward - as it pertains to Oakland County's teams. That includes 13 teams (of 35 ranked in Divisions 1-3).

DIVISION 1
1. Ann Arbor Huron
2. Birmingham Brother Rice
3. Novi Detroit Catholic Central
4. Novi
5. Northville
6. Ann Arbor Pioneer
7. Saline
8. West Bloomfield
9. Rochester Adams
T-10. Troy Athens
Port Huron Northern
Traverse City Central

First off, in Division 1, please move Brother Rice up to No. 1. With all due respect to Ann Arbor Huron - which lost eight starters off last year's state championship team (accounting for 21 of the team's 30 points) - Brother Rice is the best team in the division. The Warriors return a ton of talent and are very deep, as was evidenced in their match against Country Day Wednesday.
The next-best team is probably Novi, with Northville right there as well. Huron and Ann Arbor Pioneer will be in the hunt come the end of the year, but for now I'd rank them 4-5. And I'm sorry Catholic Central, but graduation hit you hard and it's purely your reputation that has you ranked No. 3. We could very well see the Shamrocks bumped from the Top-10 in the coming weeks - until the team starts to jell and the doubles lineup starts to mature.
West Bloomfield and Troy Athens might be ranked a little high, at least this early in the season. I'd slide Rochester Adams up a spot or two and maybe replace the Lakers and Red Hawks with Troy, with maybe Stoney Creek earning a No. 10 ranking.


DIVISION 2
1. Midland Dow
2. Bloomfield Hills Andover
3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
4. Okemos
5. Portage Central
6. Birmingham Groves
7. North Farmington
8. Battle Creek Lakeview
9. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
T-10. Bloomfield Hills Lahser
East Lansing
Detroit U-D Jesuit

I have no problem with Midland Dow atop Division 2. They've earned that right with three-straight dominating victories at the state tournament. It doesn't hurt that I played with and then coached its head coach, Terry Schwartzkopf.
After that, it's tough to say who should be No. 2. Last year six teams finished just three points apart, behind the Chargers. Among those were Oakland County representatives Andover, Groves and North Farmington. Groves just beat Andover in a tight, 5-4 match on Thursday. So I'd give the Falcons the slight nod. Their No. 6 ranking is too low. I'd slide them up to No. 3 or 4 at this point, with Andover right behind them. I'd say Lahser is about right, maybe slide them up to No. 9.

DIVISION 3
1. Birmingham Detroit Country Day
2. St. Joseph
3. East Grand Rapids
4. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
5. Grand Rapids Christian
6. Petoskey
7. Holland Christian
8. Allegan
9. Richland Gull Lake
T-10. South Lyon East
Sturgis

The most definitive thing about this Top-10 is the team at the top. No one is going to beat Country Day this season - wishing them good health of course. Too talented, and too deep, the Yellowjackets might just win 6-7 flight championships at the state finals. The rest of the usual suspects - St. Joseph, East Grand Rapids and Cranbrook included - are behind Country Day. Always tough to rank these teams early on, so this looks about right. Even Cranbrook coach Jeff Etterbeek would admit his team is a work in progress, albeit a talented work in progress. Expect his doubles to get better and better throughout the season and, combined with a good singles lineup, this team is Top-3 in my mind.
Oh, and someone let the committee know that South Lyon East (currently T-10th) has just seven players back - one starter - from last year's team, and it's not No. 1 state singles champion Kevin Renehan!

DIVISION 4
1. Ann Arbor Greenhills
2. Kalamazoo Christian
3. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
4. Armada
5. Portland
6. Lansing Catholic
7. Almont
8. Traverse City St. Francis
9. Williamston
T-10. Essexville-Garber
North Muskegon