2015-16 hockey coverage

Check back often to see what high school hockey games we've covered on MIPrepZone. Links to all of our coverage can be found below (previews, game stories, photo galleries). Just click on the scores.

2015-16 Oakland County Hockey Preview
2014-15 All-County Hockey Team

GAME COVERAGE
Country Day 7, Riverview 4
Stoney Creek 5, Farmington 3
Brother Rice 5, Trenton 1
Catholic Central 5, Cranbrook 0
Bloomfield Hills 2, Marysville 1
Royal Oak 10, Notre Dame Prep 3
St. Mary's 2, Brother Rice 1
Catholic Central 2, Trenton 0
West Bloomfield 6, Oxford-Avondale 2
Notre Dame Prep 7, Bishop Foley 1
Troy 3, Bloomfield Hills 2 (OT)
Rochester United 7, Lake Orion 0
Cranbrook 4, U-D Jesuit 3 (OT)
Hartland 5, Walled Lake Central 2
Berkley 6, Lake Orion 2
Allen Park Cabrini 4, Notre Dame Prep 3
Lakeland 5, Walled Lake Northern 0
Brother Rice 3, Catholic Central 0
Bishop Foley 8, Grand Rapids Flames 0
Bloomfield Hills 6, West Bloomfield 4
Stoney Creek 5, Rochester United 3
Hudsonville 4, Bishop Foley 1
Berkley 9, Clarkston 2
Cranbrook 3, Plymouth 2 (OT)
Country Day 4, Lake Orion 2
Bloomfield Hills 4, Shrine 2
Notre Dame Prep 5, New Boston Huron 3
Royal Oak 9, West Bloomfield 3
Farmington 6, Berkley 3
Walled Lake Central 6, Walled Lake Western 0
Shrine 9, Bishop Foley 1
Notre Dame Prep 2, Cabrini 1
Berkley 5, Rochester United 2
Walled Lake Central 4, Walled Lake Northern 1
Lakeland 9, Milford 1
Birmingham Unified 3, Oxford-Avondale 0
Utica 8, Bishop Foley 3
Notre Dame Prep 4, Shrine 3
U-D Jesuit 2, Detroit Catholic Central 1
Rochester United 5, Clarkston 0
Roosevelt 6, Berkley 3
Notre Dame Prep 6, Bishop Foley 0
Lakeland 6, Waterford United 5
Farmington Hills Unified 7, West Bloomfield 0
AA Gabrield Richard 11, Bishop Foley 0
Birmingham Unified 4, West Bloomfield 3
Stoney Creek 4, Marysville 0
Rochester United 6, Eisenhower 3
Romeo 5, Rochester United 3
Eisenhower 3, Stoney Creek 1
Hartland 3, Brother Rice 1
Novi 3, Berkley 2
AA Gabriel Richard 8, Bishop Foley 0
Lakeland 5, Pinckney 2
Oxford-Avondale 3, Shrine 3
Troy 5, Royal Oak 2
Cranbrook 4, St. Mary's 3
L'Anse Creuse North 2, West Bloomfield 1
South Lyon Unified 4, Waterford United 2
Jackson United 7, Clarkston 4
Stoney Creek 6, Walled Lake Northern 0
Lake Orion 5, Farmington Hills Unified 1
Brother Rice 2, Northville 2
Country Day 7, Royal Oak 2
Walled Lake Central 5, Walled Lake Northern 0
Warren-Mott 7, Bishop Foley 1
Bloomfield Hills 10, Oxford-Avondale 2
Cabrini 6, Bishop Foley 0
Farmington 2, Berkley 1
St. Mary's 4, Brother Rice 3 (OT)
Brother Rice 6, Trenton 2
Clarkston 3, Stoney Creek 1
Royal Oak Shrine 3, Bishop Foley 1
Lake Orion 6, Grand Blanc 0
Bloomfield Hills 4, Birmingham Unified 4
Catholic Central 4, Trenton 2
Royal Oak 8, St. Clair Shores Unified 0
Carleton Airport 9, Bishop Foley 1
Bishop Foley Unified 14, Grand Rapids 2
Brighton 6, Cranbrook-Kingswood 2
Livonia Stevenson 3, Rochester United 0
Stoney Creek 2, Rochester United 1
Trenton 4, Cranbrook-Kingswood 3
Utica 5, Bishop Foley 3
Romeo 3, Stoney Creek 1
Farmington 3, Novi 1
South Lyon Unified 6, Farmington Hills Unified 0
Warren-Mott 6, Bishop Foley 1
Troy United 5, Stoney Creek 2
Troy United 9, Woodhaven 6

Time is running short, so I'm going to scale back this fall. Here are my predictions on each of the four divisions - Top 10 teams and flight finalists. Good luck to all this weekend.

DIVISION 1
Novi 30, Ann Arbor Pioneer 25, Bloomfield Hills 22, Ann Arbor Huron 22, Troy 20, Northville 18, Brother Rice 14, Grosse Pointe South 13, Port Huron Northern 10, Clarkston 9, Grandville 5, Traverse City Central 4, Eisenhower 3, Midland 2, Grand Blanc 2, Troy Athens 1, Holt 1, Livonia Churchill 1, Rockford 1, Caledonia 1, Kalamazoo Central 1, Utica 0

Flight Finalists
1S  — Connor Johnston (Northville) d. Koushik Kondapi (Novi)
2S  — Alex Wen (Novi) d. Chris Adams (PHN)
3S  —  Constantine Hemmrich (Bloomfield Hills) d. Sid Amarnath (Novi)
4S  —  Brad Silverman (Bloomfield Hills) d. Henry Fuchs (AAP)
1D  —  Maxx Anderson-Daniel Yu (Novi) d. John Sullivan-Nick Costakis (GPS)
2D  —  Aditya Chitta-Robert Chen (Novi) d. Austin Choi-Robert Dong (AAH)
3D  —  Gabe Kleer-Josh Lee (AAP) d. Michael Song-Spencer Liu (Troy)
4D  — Matt Kelley-Henry Zhou (AAH) d. Nikhil Kaila-Grant McLean (AAP)

My thoughts
It took Novi a long, long time to get its first tennis state championship. It may take just one year to get #2. The Wildcats certainly earned their great seeds with solid wins over Troy, Ann Arbor Pioneer and Bloomfield Hills. Getting good seeds can mean all the difference. Bloomfield Hills was seeded top-four in all four singles and picked up another two seeds in doubles. Troy has seven seeds, but none higher than a 4-seed. The Colts will have to overachieve to finish in the top three.

Related
State finals preview
Novi regional story/photos
Clarkston regional story/photos

DIVISION 2
Portage Central 31, Midland Dow 26, Forest Hills Central 26, U-D Jesuit 20, Seaholm 19, Groves 18, Forest Hills Northern 17, Okemos 15, North Farmington 8, Grosse Pointe North 6, Wyandotte-Roosevelt 5, Holly 3, East Lansing 3, Walled Lake Western 2, Riverview Gabriel Richard 2, Gibraltar Carlson 1, Farmington Hills Harrison 1, Lakeview 1, Warren Cousino 0, Zeeland East 0, Temperance Bedford 0, Port Huron 0

Flight Finalists
1S  — Bill Duo (Portage Central) d. Connor Genschaw (FHC)
2S  — Michael Szabo (Midland Dow) d. Ben Orwin (Portage Central)
3S  — Tyler Conrad (Midland Dow) d. Michael Caserio (U-D Jesuit)
4S  — Jacob Wiltjer (FHC) d. Aditya Middha (Midland Dow)
1D  — Louis Wyre (U-D Jesuit) d. Kento Hirakawa-Cameron Raedy (Portage Central)
2D  — Andrew Latessa-Will Geller (Seaholm) d. Joey Liu-Sahil Tandon (Portage Central)
3D  — Brian McHale-Josh Belfer (FHN) d. Elijah Lentz-Cody Lewis (Portage Central)
4D  — Peyton Herbert-Mike Battiste (FHC) d. Kyle Wang-Andrew Beering (Portage Central)

My thoughts
It's been 7 years since Portage Central last won a state title (2007). I don't see any reason why the Mustangs won't win another on Saturday. The seeds favor them in a big way. Midland Dow has a great singles lineup, and both Forest Hills Central and Northern have rock-solid doubles lineups. But no one is more complete than PC. I think U-D Jesuit can make a splash here and there (3-singles and 1-doubles) and Seaholm's Andrew Latessa and Will Geller are on the verge of capping off a spectacular season at 2-doubles.

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

DIVISION 3
Cranbrook 39, Country Day 33, Holland Christian 23, East Grand Rapids 15, Coldwater 13, Haslett 13, St. Joseph 12, Allegan 11, Forest Hills Eastern 11, Hamilton 9, Parma Western 6, Petoskey 6, Trenton 5, Charlotte 5, Chelsea 4, St. Clair 3, Coopersville 2, Armada 1, Cadillac 0, Yale 0, Grand Rapids Christian 0, Hudsonville Unity Christian 0

Flight Finalists
1S  — Marc Sable (CK) d. Noah Karoub (DCD)
2S  — Benji Jacobson (CK) d. Jakob Gahn (DCD)
3S  — Michael Khaghany (DCD) d. Michael Bian (CK)
4S  — Justin Luo (CK) d. Alex Mettler (DCD)
1D  — Nolan Trepeck-Matthew Gerard (CK) d. Damian Runkle-Adams Junn (DCD)
2D  — Chase Ghesquiere-Steven Meng (CK) d. Ryan Murakawa-Ricky Warnicke (DCD)
3D  — Brandon Kerr-Colin Petzold (CK) d. Kavon Rahmani-Joe Zhang (DCD)
4D  — Andrew Du-Jacob Yellen (CK) d. Millind Rao-Anirudh Chitale (DCD)

My thoughts
After four years atop the Division 3 world, it's time for Detroit Country Day to step aside. Cranbrook is back and will win its 19th boys state tennis title. Its doubles, and singles, lineups are the best in the state - all divisions. Sable and Jacobson are a lethal combination at 1-2 singles. And the 1-2 doubles teams may be even better for the Cranes. Novi is going for its second straight state title in Division 1, and should get it. And this Cranbrook team handled Novi, fairly easy, 6-2. There's no doubt that DCD is the second best team in the state - and it will prove that as well.

Related
State finals preview
Cranbrook regional story/photos

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

As has been tradition over the past couple seasons, I took a stab at predicting the outcome of the Division 1-2-3 state finals. So let's see just how much I do, or do not, know about the great sport of tennis.

READ MY DIVISION 1 FINALS PREVIEW
READ MY DIVISION 2 FINALS PREVIEW
2012 BOYS FINALS PREDICTIONS
2011 BOYS FINALS PREDICTIONS


DIVISION 1
Ann Arbor Huron 30, Birmingham Brother Rice 30, Novi 25, Troy 15, Rochester Adams 13, Ann Arbor Pioneer 13, Bloomfield Hills 12, Novi Detroit Catholic Central 12, Port Huron Northern 9, Troy Athens 8, Clarkston 8, Traverse City Central 8, Grand Blanc 7, Grosse Pointe South 6, Northville 6, Grand Blanc 6, Midland 6, Holland West-Ottawa 5, Rockford 4, Livonia Stevenson 0, Utica Eisenhower 0, Livonia Churchill 0

Flight finalists
1S — Tim Wang (Novi) d. Michael Dube' (Novi Detroit Catholic Central)
2S — Kevin Mei (AA Huron) d. Oliver Li (Rochester Adams)
3S — Koushik Kondapi (Novi) d. Colin Williams (AA Huron)
4S — Jack Winkler (Brother Rice) d. David Gandham (AA Huron)
1D — Aaron Brodkey-Akhiro Ota (AA Huron) d. Connor Parks-George Hamaty (Brother Rice)
2D — Joey Hildebrand-David Weatherford (Brother Rice) d. J. Chen-A. Luker (AA Huron)
3D — Brendan Dillon-Joe Paradiso (Brother Rice) d. M. Bondin-D. Friedman (AA Huron)
4D — Patrick Hamil-Dan Lunghamer (Brother Rice) d. Will Brenner-Orion Sang (AA Huron)

My thoughts
Where to begin? First off, breaking down match-by-match, I came to the conclusion that — on paper — Huron and Brother Rice will tie with 30 points. But honestly that was giving Brother Rice the benefit of the doubt at a few flights. Rice is the 1-seed at 2-3-4 doubles, and I gave them the victories at each of those flights. But just a year ago Huron came in and displayed nearly impeccable tennis. I could easily see them snagging one of those two flights, or even 4-singles. Also, these predictions include what some may say is an upset — quite an upset. The potential for Bloomfield Hills' Josh Mukherjee to upset sixth-seeded Jack Petersen of Huron is there. I picked it, but perhaps I'm giving Mukherjee too much credit here. Petersen is the veteran. He was a semifinalist last year. He should win this match. But it should be a good one. I saw Mukherjee put West Bloomfield's Kevin Rothstein away in a regional semifinal, 6-4, 7-5. He then jumped out to a 5-2 lead on Adams' Justin Hyman in the final, before losing a first-set tiebreaker and the match in two. If that Mukherjee shows up, it'll be delightful for Brother Rice.
I had CC's Michael Dube', Wang, Hyman, Athens' Richard Zhang and Mukherjee all ranked among my Top-10 Oakland County players entering the season. They'll all be in the No. 1 singles draw on Friday. I'm very much looking forward to a potential Zhang-Hyman quarterfinal, followed by a matchup of the winner versus Wang in a semifinal. Dube' and Mukherjee could face off in a quarterfinal. And if all goes to my predicted plan, Wang and Dube', my 1-2 ranked players in Oakland County, may face off in the final.
Last year, Huron took care of its own business while Novi and Brother Rice stole points off each other — leaving them six points behind the River Rats. The same could happen this season, with Novi's obvious strength in singles, while Rice excels in doubles. Though I predicted a tie at the top, on paper, if forced to make a call — I think Huron wins its third-straight title by two three points.

DIVISION 2
Midland Dow 39, Detroit U-D Jesuit 27, Forest Hills Northern 23, Forest Hills Central 20, Birmingham Seaholm 13, Portage Central 11, Okemos 10, Grand Rapids Northview 10, North Farmington 9, Birmingham Groves 8, Berkley 5, Holly 5, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 5, Grosse Pointe North 4, Zeeland East 3

Flight finalists
1S — Davis Crocker (KLN) d. William Kirkman (MD)
2S —Julian Guerra (MD) d. Thomas Sheeren (UDJ)
3S — Varun Shanker (MD) d. Will Christian (FHN)
4S — Michael Szabo (MD) d. Freddy Heegan (UDJ)
1D — Jason Chang-Vikram Shanker (MD) d. Sam Kozulis-Travis Beach (FHC)
2D — Patrick Eschbach-Colin Angell (MD) d. Parneet Gogireddy-Alex Winks (FHN)
3D — Seamus Bartlett-Daniel Mango (MD) d. Carson Schmidt-Andrew Fox (FHC)
4D — Cole Williamson-Spencer Bouck (MD) d. Joey Wilson-Andy Stefani (UDJ)

My thoughts
I spoke with one area coach on Wednesday and said it's really no fun — waiting to see who's going to win Division 2. That answer is easy. However, the race for 2-3-4 could be exciting. U-D Jesuit has certainly proven it can play with the best teams. The Cubs were seeded at all eight flights and should score well enough to finish a solid second overall. I believe Birmingham Seaholm — once again — should be the top-finishing Oakland County team. The Maples are looking to finish where they were last year (fifth overall) or better. I've got them locked in at No. 5. The draws look favorable in doubles, where I see Seaholm scoring eight of their 13 team points.
Birmingham Groves and North Farmington — ranked among the top-10 teams in the state — could make a push for a top-10 finish this weekend. I've got them at ninth and 10th come Saturday afternoon.
In the end, Midland Dow will most likely clinch its fifth-straight state title in impressive fashion Saturday. 

DIVISION 3
Birmingham Detroit Country Day 38, East Grand Rapids 28, St. Joseph 26, Cranbrook-Kingswood 23, Holland Christian 17, Spring Lake 16, Sturgis 12, Coldwater 12, St. Clair 7, Allegan 6

Flight finalists
1S — Garrett Goldman (EGR) d. Rishi Patel (DCD)
2S — Noah Karoub (DCD) d. Grant Bailey (EGR)
3S — Kenny Garstecki (SJ) d. Jakob Gahn (DCD)
4S — Davis Wong (DCD) d. Ahmeir Kyle (SJ)
1D  — Blake Burstein-Damian Runkle (DCD) d. Taylor Ghesquiere-Stephane Teste (CK)
2D — Rishabh Nayak-Adam Junn (DCD) d. Nolan Trepeck-Chase Ghesquiere (CK)
3D — Matt Stebbins-D.J. Bailey (DCD) d. Thomas Bailey-Will Rea (EGR)
4D — Brendan Childress-Andrew Joslyn (DCD) d. Fangbo Yuan-Alex Lubeck (SJ)

My thoughts
Like Division 2, this division belongs to one team — Country Day. Despite losing their two best players from last year, the Yellowjackets are right back at the top. And I'm projecting six flight champions for DCD, one less than a year ago, when the team scored 39 out of a possible 40 points. Its once again the deepest team in the field, and a sweep by the doubles lineup will prove just that. Cranbrook will have a say, however, as the Cranes are seeded No. 2 at three doubles flights.

P.S. Make sure to watch our Tout video widget (below) as I'll be Touting from the Division 1 finals in Midland on Friday and Saturday.

Here we go again. The season has come (and nearly gone) so fast. But before the season ends for some teams tomorrow and Friday, I'm going to give my predictions on which teams will make it out to the state tournament next weekend.
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

DIVISION 1

 at Brownstown-Woodhaven - Friday
(Birmingham Brother Rice, Brownstown-Woodhaven, Dearborn, Dearborn-Fordson, Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, Livonia Stevenson, Southfield-Lathrup, Wayne Memorial, Westland John Glenn)
Automatic qualifiers: Birmingham Brother Rice, Livonia Stevenson
Additional qualifiers: None
My thoughts: What do I know about this region? Well, just one thing: Brother Rice could play with their opposite hands and still win the title. Short of playing in the Ann Arbor region, Rice would probably win any other region in the state.

 at Novi – Friday
(Brighton, Catholic Central, Hartland, Howell, Lakeland, Northville, Novi, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Western)
Automatic qualifiers: Novi, Northville
Additional qualifier: Catholic Central
My thoughts: Novi will win this region going away. Northville and Catholic Central aren't nearly as strong as they have been in year's past. They're both young. But they're still far ahead of the rest of the field. I could see either team finishing second, with the other qualifying with 20-21 points.

at Grosse Pointe South – Thursday
(Detroit Cass Tech, Fraser, Grosse Pointe South, Southfield-Lathrup, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Troy, Troy Athens, Warren-Mott, Warren Cousino, Warren De La Salle)
Automatic qualifiers: Troy, Troy Athens
Additional qualifier: Grosse Pointe South
My thoughts: The Colts are the class of this region and should roll to the title. Athens has really shown me a lot this fall and I think they'll edge out South for the second automatic spot. South will get through.

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: Clarkston
My thoughts: Adams wins going away, with Bloomfield Hills a solid second. But where it gets interesting is with Clarkston, Rochester and West Bloomfield. I had to look at the actual draws to see what may happen next. And the Wolves really lucked out on their draws. Clarkston doesn't really have one bad draw, whereas Rochester and West Bloomfield both have their work cut out for them. They'll be beating each other up all day. So if Clarkston's singles lineup handles its business, the Wolves should be in with 19 or 20 points.

DIVISION 2

at North Farmington – Thursday
(Dearborn Heights-Crestwood, Dearborn Divine Child, Dearborn Edsel-Ford, Dexter, Farmington, Farmington Hills Harrison, Garden City, Milford, North Farmington, South Lyon)
Automatic qualifiers: North Farmington, Dearborn Divine Child
Additional qualifier: None
My thoughts: I really wish I could have seen the draws for this regional. Better yet, I wish I knew more about the Dearborn schools. From what I know, Divine Child has a solid 1-2 punch. That might be enough for them to get through. North Farmington should have few troubles winning this region. Perhaps I'm wrong and Harrison makes a push. But I just don't know enough about the competition.

at Birmingham Groves – Thursday
(Auburn Hills Avondale, Berkley, Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Detroit Cody, Detroit Mumford, Detroit Renaissance, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Southfield)
Automatic qualifiers: Birmingham Seaholm, Birmingham Groves
Automatic qualifier: None
My thoughts: This is going to be a doozy between the the Falcons and Maples. Seaholm won an early-season dual 5-3, but the two teams tied 4-4 a couple weeks ago. The lines have been drawn. And I still don't know who's going to win. Flip a coin. What, is that a 'S' on top? OK, I'll go with the Maples - by a point.

at Flushing – Thursday
(Alpena, Bay City Central, Fenton, Flint Kearsley, Flushing, Holly, Lapeer East, Lapeer West, Ortonville-Brandon, Swartz Creek)
Automatic qualifiers: Holly, Flushing
Automatic qualifier: None
My thoughts: Holly is clearly the class of this region, as it has been for years. So there's no reason to thing the Bronchos will not romp once again. It's possible Holly could win 5-6-7 flights - and I haven't seen any draws. Flushing beat Fenton 5-3 recently, so I'll give it the nod for a second berth. Not sure if Fenton can squeeze in 18 points. Maybe it will.

DIVISION 3

at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood – Friday
(Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Center Line, Detroit Henry Ford, Detroit Northwestern, Detroit Osborn, Ferndale, Madison Heights Lamphere, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Redford Union, West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy)
Automatic qualifiers: Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
Automatic qualifier: None
My thoughts: Same ol', same ol' at Cranbrook Friday. The two big dogs will dominate the field and play in a dual for the regional title. Unfortunately for Cranbrook, Country Day is just too good. The Yellowjackets should sweep the region. But have no fear Cranes, you'll be going to the state tournament as well. That's where you can show the rest of the state just how good you are.

OTHER REGIONS

South Lyon East will be competing in the Grosse Ile (Division 3) region on Thursday. Grosse Ile and Chelsea may be the best this region has to offer. Clawson will be at Almont for a Division 4 regional on Friday. With Liggett, Algonac and Almont competing, the Trojans season will come to an end.

Rochester Adams' Oliver Li beat
Clarkston's Matt Dahl Monday.

Adams gets well-deserved boost
Rochester Adams, which was ranked among Division 1's Top-10 teams earlier this season, re-appeared in this week's rankings. I'm not quite sure why the Highlanders had dropped out, but their playing some good tennis now and moved back up to No. 5.
The team is coming off a recent stretch where it tied Troy (4-4), beat Groves (6-2), West Bloomfield (7-1) and most recently, Clarkston (6-2) on Monday. Led by Justin Hyman at No. 1, the team split its four matches with the host Wolves. Hyman and No. 2, Oliver Li, picked up wins for Adams, while Ian Stuart and Alexis Haselwanter accounted for Clarkston's lone wins on the afternoon. Adams' doubles lineup looked awfully good, winning all four flights in straight sets. Matt and Scott Lillie, Sylvester Jaing and Ashish Tripathi, Austin Trieu and Rishi Mehta and Kritin Arya and David Wang were near flawless on the day.

Huron tops loaded field at Novi
I'm sifting through the results from Saturday's Novi Invitational quad and Ann Arbor Huron positioned itself as the team to - once again - beat at the Division 1 state tournament. The River Rats swept three flights and scored a pair of victories at all eight flights. Rice wasn't far behind, winning three flights itself. Novi (Tim Wang) swept one flight - 1-singles. Below are complete, match-by-match - if you will - results from the tournament. Along with Wang, Huron's Kevin Mei and Colin Williams, along with Brother Rice's Jack Winkler, all won singles titles. In doubles, Huron's Aaron Brodkey and Akihiro Ota were unbeaten at 1-doubles. Rice's Joey Hildebrand and David Weatherford (2-doubles) and Brendon Dillon and Joe Paradiso (3-doubles) were perfect on the day, while Huron's Will Brenner and Orion Sang won 4-doubles based on a tiebreaker (fewest games lost) after winning two of three matches.

NOVI INVITATIONAL (QUAD)

Ann Arbor Huron 19, Birmingham Brother Rice 17, Novi 10, Troy 2

BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE 5, NOVI 3

SINGLES — Tim Wang (N) d. Blake Hildebrand 6-0, 6-1; Chase Peery (BBR) won by default; Koushik Kondapi (N) d. John Ciraci 6-1, 6-2; Jack Winkler (BBR) d. Maxx Anderson 6-1, 6-3

DOUBLES — Connor Parks-George Hamaty (BBR) d. Andrew Ying-Michael Chang 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-2; Joey Hildebrand-David Weatherford (BBR) d. Shashank Chitta-Kevin Xu 6-3, 6-4; Brendan Dillon-Joe Paradiso (BBR) d. Tim Lu-Sri Gotur 6-4, 6-2; David Mehl-Raymond Wen (N) d. Patrick Hamil-Dan Lunghamer 7-5, 6-4

BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE 8, TROY 0

SINGLES — Blake Hildebrand (BBR) d. Michael Faber 6-2, 6-3; Chase Peery (BBR) d. Vinai Reddy 6-4, 7-6 (7); John Ciraci (BBR) d. Tarun Kalyaranman 6-4, 6-3; Jack Winkler (BBR) d. Sai Kagithala 6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES — Connor Parks-George Hamaty (BBR) d. Connor Dubay-Alex Balte 6-0, 6-1; Joey Hildebrand-David Weatherford (BBR) d. Vince Thieu-Sachin Ketkar 6-0, 6-3; Brendan Dillon-Joe Paradiso (BBR) d. Pramod Mulabagula-Andrae Ingram 7-5, 6-4; Patrick Hamil-Dan Lunghamer (BBR) d. Kevin Fietsam-Mark Elinski 7-5, 6-1

NOVI 6, TROY 2

SINGLES — Tim Wang (N) d. Michael Faber 6-0, 6-4; Vinai Reddy (T) d. Andre Liu 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4); Koushik Kondapi (N) d. Tarun Kalyaranman 6-1, 6-1; Maxx Anderson (N) d. Sai Kagithala 6-2, 6-4

DOUBLES — Andrew Ying-Michael Chang (N) d. Connor Dubay-Alex Balte 6-1, 6-0; Shashank Chitta-Kevin Xu (N) d. Vince Thieu-Sachin Ketkar 6-1, 6-1; Pramod Mulabagula-Andrae Ingram (T) d. Tim Lu-Sri Gotur 6-1, 6-4; David Mehl-Raymond Wen (N) d. Kevin Fietsam-Mark Elinski 6-4, 6-2

ANN ARBOR HURON 4, BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE 4

SINGLES — Jack Petersen (AAH) d. Blake Hildebrandt 6-1, 6-2; Kevin Mei (AAH) d. Chase Peery 6-1, 6-1; Colin Williams (AAH) d. John Ciraci 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; Jack Winkler (BBR) d. David Gandham 6-2, 6-1

DOUBLES — Aaron Brodkey-Akihiro Ota (AAH) d. Connor Parks-George Hamaty 6-4, 6-4; Joey Hildebrand-David Weatherford (BBR) d. Austin Luker-Jason Chen 7-6 (4), 6-3; Brendan Dillon-Joe Paradiso (BBR) d. Michael Bondin-Danny Friedman 7-5, 7-6 (2); Patrick Hamil-Dan Lunghamer (BBR) d. Will Brenner-Orion Sang 6-4, 7-6 (5)

ANN ARBOR HURON 7, NOVI 1

SINGLES — Tim Wang (N) d. Jack Petersen 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Kevin Mei (AAH) d. Andre Liu 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Colin Williams (AAH) d. Koushik Kondapi 7-6 (3), 6-1; David Gandham (AAH) d. Maxx Anderson 6-4, 6-2

DOUBLES — Aaron Brodkey-Akihiro Ota (AAH) d. Andrew Ying-Michael Chang 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Austin Luker-Jason Chen (AAH) d. Shashank Chitta-Kevin Xu 6-4, 6-3; Michael Bondin-Danny Friedman (AAH) d. Tim Lu-Sri Gotur 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; Will Brenner-Orion Sang (AAH) d. David Mehl-Raymond Wen 6-2, 6-3

ANN ARBOR HURON 8, TROY 0

SINGLES — Jack Petersen (AAH) d. Michael Faber 6-0, 6-0; Kevin Mei (AAH) d. Vinai Reddy 6-1, 6-1; Colin Williams (AAH) d. Tarun Kalyaranman 6-0, 6-4; David Gandham (AAH) d. Sai Kagithala 6-0, 6-0

DOUBLES — Aaron Brodkey-Akihiro Ota (AAH) d. Connor Dubay-Alex Balte 6-1, 6-1; Austin Luker-Jason Chen (AAH) d. Vince Thieu-Sachin Ketkar 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-1; Michael Bondin-Danny Friedman (AAH) d. Pramod Mulabagula-Andrae Ingram 7-5, 6-1; Will Brenner-Orion Sang (AAH) d. Kevin Fietsam-Mark Elinski 6-3, 6-4