BLOOMFIELD HILLS – Although tennis is generally considered a gentleman’s game, the Catholic High School League Bishop Division championship tournament was, for all practical purposes, a slugfest.
Many of the matches sported momentum changes, which drove play through three full sets, extending the tournament late into the afternoon. Five of the six participating schools won at least one flight. Only three of eight top seeds were able to prevail.
But when the dust settled, the teams’ order of finish matched that of the regular season, with Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood taking the top spot.
The Cranes – the top-ranked team among the state’s Division 3 schools – prevailed with 15 points on their home courts. Ann Arbor Greenhills – which shared last year’s Division 3 state title with Detroit Country Day – was close behind with 13. Novi Detroit Catholic Central (10), Birmingham Brother Rice (8), University of Detroit Jesuit (4) and Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett (2) followed in sequence.
“For us, it was getting good competition ahead of the state tournament,” Cranbrook head coach Steve Herdoiza said. “That’s the great thing about this event – it’s so pressure-packed and there are some skilled players and really, really strong teams. If you’re not on your A-game, they’ll take you down.”
Two of Herdoiza’s singles players – No. 1 Jace Bernard and No. 4 Josh Day – were able to live up to their top seed and win their flights. Cranbrook also got a first-place finish from the No. 4 doubles team of Dylan Popat and Andy Yu, who were seeded second entering the day.
Cranbrook players also reached the finals at No. 3, and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.
“We’ve got a very deep team, very sold from top to bottom,” Herdoiza said. “Even when we lose players (to graduation), we have alternates or junior varsity players ready to fill the void. They all play year-round, and they know if they don’t, they might not make the team because it’s so competitive.”
Bernard, a senior captain, knows the drill. He played at No. 3 last year but moved up into the top spot this fall. He earned the gold medal with his 6-4, 6-0 victory over Catholic Central senior Noah Thompson.
“Playing No. 1 is a lot different; there’s not been a match where I haven’t had to be fully engaged,” Bernard said. “Today was a mental battle with the heat, and not knowing when your next match is going to be. A lot of matches went the distance, but these are some good players and it’s a really good way to prepare us.”
Besides Bernard, Day, and Popat/Yu, other flight winners included Catholic Central’s Chase Scagnetti (No. 2 singles), University of Detroit Jesuit’s Roman Vuljaj (No. 3 singles), Brother Rice’s Spencer Seneker and Ben Waechler (No. 1 doubles), Greenhills’ Richard Wu and Kirtan Papapattu (No. 2 doubles) and Greenhills’ Lander Whelan and Deven Pimputkar (No. 3 doubles)
Seneker and Waechter’s come-from-behind triumph in the No. 1 doubles final avenged a defeat to Cranbrook’s Cole Kerschenbaum and Ryan VanDyke earlier in the season. That match appeared to attract the most attention from spectators.
“The matches were really high-level, with lots of energy,” Seneker said. “It was a good environment here and we had such a crazy (final) match. We went down 6-2, we both kind of knew something had to change, so we brought more energy, more fight. We both believe that we can beat anybody if we have the energy; we didn’t let them get to us.”
Meanwhile, Bernard said Cranbrook’s goal is to reclaim the state title, which the Cranes most recently won in 2023 before finishing third in a close Division 3 final last season with 30 points (two back of both Greenhills and Country Day).
“We didn’t get what we wanted last year,” he said.
The Cranes face Country Day in a match on Sept. 29, and look forward to the regional tournament Oct. 8 on their home courts.
Lumen Christi wins first CHSL tennis title
Jackson Lumen Christi seems to be riding the crest of a wave. Second-ranked in the state’s Division 4, the Titans have been able to elevate their program by playing tougher competition in the Catholic League, coach Austin Brinker said.
“I think it’s definitely helped us. It’s good, like-minded competition and teams that are pretty strong,” he said.
Saturday, the Titans elevated their game and won their Cardinal Division championship since joining the Catholic League in 2023. The Titans won six of eight flights and accumulated 22 points, ahead of Warren De La Salle (15), Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (9), Dearborn Divine Child (8) and Riverview Gabriel Richard (2).
“We knew we had a shot,” Brinker said. “Last year we came up short, but there are a lot of good teams and good players in this league. But we’ve got eight good flights this year and everyone contributes. The singles matches were close and competitive. Our doubles teams did some damage.”
The Cardinal competition, staged at Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills and Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Township, was a bit more orderly than the Bishop, as the top seeds at all eight flights became champions.
Junior Zack Tropea won the No. 1 singles title over Fr. Gabriel Richard’s Billy Heegan (6-4, 2-6, 6-4). Senior teammate Jason Gonerka won the gold at No. 3 singles by defeating De La Salle’s Mike Azzi (6-0, 6-1).
Lumen Christi swept all four doubles flights, getting victories from Gabe Cooper and Chase Schirmacher (first), Luke Dumont and Maden Brady (second), Holden Luce and Brogan Kelly (third) and Nolan Curtis and Theo McEldowney (fourth).
The other flight champions were Fr. Gabriel Richard’s Andy Marshall (second-singles) and De La Salle’s Brandon Hargis (fourth-singles).
