Boys varsity tennis ended its season with a 6th place finish at States. Throughout the season, they faced top teams in the state such as University of Detroit Jesuit, Seaholm, and of course the crosstown rival Forest Hills Northern Huskies. Despite the tough losses and difficult circumstances, the boys fought through all season and earned a high finish in states.

“The team worked incredibly hard all season, and we were playing our best tennis towards the end,” head coach Dan Bolhouse said.

From the start of the season, the Rangers knew they would be one of the dominant teams in the area; what was unknown, however, was just how lethal they actually were going to be in the future. It all started with a 2-1 win at their first quad. Not only did they place second, but they also established who their strongest flights are. 

One singles junior Jeremy James and senior Ali Azeem were consistently crucial to the team from start to finish. Their close chemistry and strong talent gave them and the team big wins against Brother Rice, Rockford, and other dominant teams.

“Ali and I had a great season, and I could not have asked for a better partner,” Jeremy stated. “We won some big matches down the stretch and improved a lot since the start of the season.”

Senior Nick Sjolin and freshman Sammy Yin flip-flopped all season with the one and two singles spot, but both of them showed their dominance against nearly every opponent they were faced up against. In their first quad, these two both went 3-0 against their opponents and proved this as a common trend throughout the season.

At three singles, senior Suchir Gupta was huge for the Rangers this season. At every single match, his consistent efforts and precise hits would stun his opponents and give the Rangers an upper hand at many of the tournaments. Unfortunately for the program, this is Suchir’s last year playing Ranger tennis. 

“The guys on the team meant the world to me,” Suchir said. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way for my senior season.”

Two doubles junior Chris Battiste and senior Advith Reddy not only placed highly at states, but they also helped lead the team. These two were consistently crushing quality opponents from day one. After a successful season, the duo went to States to compete against the top programs in the state, where they would end up advancing all the way to semifinals. 

“This season was a lot of fun,” Chris said. “Advith and I crushed it at States, and we almost defeated Detroit Jesuit, which would have been really cool. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”

The junior duo of Ben Koning and Nick Stockenauer were one of the many underdogs for the Rangers playing at four doubles. These two were consistently beating some of the best teams at every single tournament. In one of the bigger tournaments of the year, they achieved a goal that had been in place the entire season: beating U of D Jesuit.

The Rangers are returning a lot of talent next year and are looking for some new upcoming freshman to join the team as well. The future for this program is in good hands and is looking to further their conquest to the State Finals next year.

“It was a fun group to be around, and I’m excited to return a lot of multiple year varsity players next fall,” coach Dan said. “I think we will have another strong season in 2020, and I’m very excited about that.”