KALAMAZOO – The Big Rapids doubles team of Eli Haynes and Ari Ziska won their Division 4 No. 4 doubles state finals championship, and the Cardinal team finished fourth affer two days of state finals action in Kalamazoo Friday and Saturday.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett won it with 30 points, followed by Hudsonville University Christian (27), Traverse City St. Francis (22) Big Rapids (18) and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (17).
Haynes-Ziska had a first-round bye and then won four straight matches. They beat Kendal Hampton and Liam Agnew of Williamston 6-3, 7-6; Ryan Wiers and Josh Fles of GR South Christian 6-4, 7-6; Levi Wielhouwer and Spencer Westdorp of Hudsonville Unity Christian 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the semifinals and Ryan King and Niko Cooksey of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggitt in the finals 6-3. 6-4
“Ari and Eli have been fantastic all year long,” Big Rapids coach Jon Cole said. “They’re calm, cool, collected demeanor makes them unshakable whatever the circumstance is. They are smart, athletic, and play with tremendous determination. The entire team knew they could win it all if they played their normal selves.”
Here’s how Big Rapids did in the other flights:
SINGLE
No. 1: Owen Westerkamp beat Anthony Davis of Midland Bullock Creek 6-3, 6-1 and then lost to Ben Timmerman of Hudsonville Unity Christian 7-6,6-2.
No. 2: Nathan Sanders drew a bye and in his second round match, he defeated Ben Radgens Grand Rapids Catholic Central 6-2, 6-1 He lost in the next round to Levi Yaffey of Grand Rapids South Christian 6-4, 6-3 .
No. 3: Logan Fuller dropped his first match to Hayden Dean of West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy 6-4. 6-4
No. 4: Preston Younge drew a bye and beat Phil Seo of Berrien Springs 6-3, 7-6 before losing to Charlie Cooksey of Grosse Pointe Woods University Leggett 6-3 6-0.
DOUBLE
No. 1: Austin Hinkley and Carson Coles won 7-6 7-6 over Trent Chlebek and Calib Johnson of Grosse Ile and then fell to Luke Toweson and Jude Coffman of Kalamazoo Hackett 0-6, 7-5, 7-5.
No. 2: Isaac Zocco and Noah Sweppenheiser beat Asher Zakhen and Hayden Riley of Lansing Catholic 6-0, 6-0 and defeated Ryan Waite and Sebastion Deimel of GR Catholic Central 6-2, 7-5. They lost their semifinal match to Neil Murphy and Luca Marciano of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggitt, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 3: Dylan Walsh and Mason Sleeper had a bye and then beat Jackson Jobe and Don Van Kovering of Lansing Catholic 6-3, 6-4 and topped Drew Blake and Jacob Dean of Armada 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. They lost in the semifinals to Carson Poole and David Ansley of Traverse City St Francis 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
“When I accepted the job in the spring, I met with three of the seniors and I asked what their goal was,” Coles said. “They quickly responded with, ‘hang a banner’ which means finish in the top four of the State Finals. This had never been accomplished in school history and the best finish was last year at seventh. We had an extremely tough schedule which tested our mental toughness and prepared us well for playing pressure filled matches in the state finals.
“This is a team accomplishment and it would not have been possible without the hard work, commitment, and team first attitude from every single player. Too many times, tennis is thought of as an individual sport. It certainly can be but if played the right way with the right group of players, it is 100 percent, without a doubt, a team game. This team accomplished their goal because of teamwork and sacrifice for one another. We would not have done it as a group of individuals.”
Comments are closed.