Boys tennis: Troy goes back-to-back behind day one surge

A strong group effort powered Troy to its second straight Division 1 boys tennis state title Thursday at the Midland Tennis Center. All eight of the team’s flights made at least the semifinal round on the way to a team score of 29.

The program started strong by posting 24 match wins and zero losses on day one of the tournament, jumping out to a seven point lead over the rest of the field.

“So many schools had great singles lineups,” Troy coach Brian Miska said. “So, for us to get through to the semis in all those flights with the depth in Division 1, I was really proud of all those guys. We won some close matches, and they showed their true colors of being fighters.”

Senior Jesse Hao and junior Sourish Daruri capped their impressive season with a 32-1 record and the No. 1 doubles individual title. They were dominant from the top seed, winning all four matches at the state final in straight sets.

Junior Stas Barodka and sophomore Vivaan Shah won the No. 4 doubles flight to also finish the season at 32-1.

Juniors Jyotiraditya Kashyap and Siddarth Manikandan rounded out the individual winners for Troy, with the pair taking home the No. 2 doubles crown.

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“That’s just the depth of our program,” Miska said. “I’m proud of those guys for buying into doubles … they’d be phenomenal singles players and we’re lucky that those guys buy into the team.”

Along with the champions, Metro Detroit dominated the top half of the team leaderboard. Every flight was won by an individual from the area as well.

Birmingham Brother Rice was runner-up with 20 points, led by No. 3 doubles winners Dylan Fisher and Sam Dimerman.

Ann Arbor Pioneer finished third, posting 19 points as a team. Pioneer sophomore Grant Miller avenged his finals loss as a freshman, cruising to the No. 1 singles title without dropping a set to finish 26-1 this season.

Novi and Clarkston tied for fourth with 17 points apiece. Rochester Adams followed in sixth while Ann Arbor Huron and Ann Arbor Skyline finished in a tie for seventh.

Clarkston had two individual winners, with sophomore Evan Geisz prevailing in the No. 2 singles final after three hard-fought sets and freshman Athan Brozovich winning the No. 4 singles title.

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Skyline freshman Marc Mocanu capped off the individual winners in Division 1. Mocanu also impressed in his first finals action, taking the No. 3 singles title to post a perfect 23-0 record this season.

Troy now has three state titles in the last six seasons.

“We’re hoping not to be done, that’s for sure,” Miska said. “We’re still hungry.”

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Boys tennis: Troy goes back-to-back behind day one surge