Sometimes writing up an all-county team - be it boys or girls tennis, or hockey - doesn't give the time or effort I put into the teams justice. I spend a lot of time throughout the season trying to accumulate match and tournament results. I try to keep in touch with coaches via phone calls and emails.
I try to see some matches, get out to some practices. I do try my best to see the best.
That being said, I still make mistakes. I may overlook certain individuals or teams. I can't be everywhere, or know everything. I do rely on that information from coaches to help me make good decisions. Sometimes I fail, however.
This year's all-county boys tennis team is loaded with talent. Some of it is old talent (seniors), but a good chunk of it was made up of sophomores and juniors. That bodes well for the future of high school tennis in this county. I had looked forward to seeing how the Division 1 draw at No. 1 singles would play out this season in Midland. You had Ed Covalschi (Eisenhower), Tyler Gardiner (Northville) and Brett Forman (Troy) all in the draw. They were the headliners - all three graduated having won an individual #1 singles state championship.
But beyond that the field was stacked with young talent, some of which was located right in Oakland County, and some of which were on our all-county team. If nothing changes (no transfers, no high-profile players coming into high school tennis, or incoming freshmen I'm not aware of), Oakland County could have a few of the best players returning to the Division 1 draw. I expect Novi's Tim Wang and Rochester Adams' Justin Hyman to be two of the best next year. Don't expect them to meet in a quarterfinal next year like they did last month. They should be top-four seeds. Catholic Central's Michael Dube' should also be a top-four seed. And Athens' Richard Zhang could be a sleeper. One thing I'm hoping is that somehow, someway, Lakeland's Alex Kim gets a shot at competing in Midland. He's a great player who's been stuck in the toughest region in the state these past two years. When you've got players such as Tyler Gardiner, Tim Wang, J.P. Mullane and Michael Dube' in your draw, you've got your work cut out for you.
I explained to a coach earlier today that my decisions when putting the all-county team together are based on what I know, and what I'm presented, when I seek out information from all the coaches heading into the selection process. That being said, some deserving players may be left off the team.
Some of the toughest decisions when finalizing a team are those at the end of the second team. We had some great individual and doubles talent that missed making the team. Some very well may have been deserving of a spot. Take for example, Birmingham Groves' Calvin Greer. He's a very good player who had a good year. He won a regional championship and took a couple of the players on the second team to three sets.
In doubles, it was extremely difficult to decipher who should or should not make the second team. Troy and Andover's top teams were solid and were no brainers. But Stoney Creek, North Farmington, Seaholm and Rochester Adams all had good No. 1s. Stoney Creek peaked at the right time, winning the OAA Red championship and finishing runner-up to a very good Brother Rice pair. North Farmington's Andrew Murtland and Rob Chapekis perhaps should have been on the second team, but I was unaware of a win over Birmingham Seaholm's Jason Mondry and Ben McDermott, who did make it. I wish I had five slots instead of four. But I cannot take anything away from Mondry and McDermott. They won OAA White and regional championships. A great season for sure.

Nevertheless, it was another great season of high school tennis and I want to thank everyone who helped me cover it along the way. There's always room for improvement, though. I still only hear from about half of our coaches - if that. There's no reason every coach shouldn't be calling in his/her match results. I don't care if you're from an elite school, or a developing program. Every kid deserves to read his name in the paper, or on MIPrepZone. Have a great winter and we'll see all you tennis lovers in the spring!

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.