By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Buchanan varsity tennis team couldn't be happier with their seventh place finish at the Division 4 state finals over the weekend.
For the past two seasons, the team has been disappointed with its 14th and 16th place finishes and this year the Bucks were determined to do something about it.
"Plain and simple – we played out best tennis on the right day. We overachieved, we worked so hard for this," Buchanan head coach Steve Bender said.
This is Buchanan's 15th top 10 finish at the state finals.
Ann Arbor Greenhills won the championship with a score of 31 points. Grand Rapids North Pointe Christian was second with 24 points, while Flint Powers Catholic was third with 20 points. Buchanan ended the day with 13 points.
"We had the most difficult schedule ever, including Division 2 state champion Portage Central and Division 3 runner-up St. Joseph. We overcame adversity when we lost our potential All-State No. 1 singles player True Sulier to a knee injury days before the regional tournament," Bender added.
Mario Bonardi was even with the No. 2 seed at No. 2 singles when he succumbed to cramping in the third set.
Eric Lentz defeated a player from Portland who had beat him just two0 weeks ago at No. 3 singles.
Brad Burns finished the season with a 30-5 record. He was the No. 6 seed at No. 4 singles, but easily upset the No. 3 and 4 seeds before falling to the No. 2 seed in the semifinals.
Dillon Bailey and Andrew Frederick had their best day Friday at No. 2 doubles. The two were seeded No, 4 and played very well on the first day of competition. On Saturday in the semifinals, they ran into a buzzsaw team from Lansing, who went on to win easily in the finals.
Sean Thornton and Gabe Meirelles beat a very talented Kalamazoo Christian team and then lost to the No. 2 seed from Lansing.
Buchanan's No. 4 doubles team of Andrew Scoggin and Josh Niven had been playing well all week, beating St. Joe and destroyed Armada in their first match Friday. The two then ran into the No. 1 seed from Greenhills and played their best match ever. It was 5-5 in the first set, but Greenhills was just too solid throughout.
"Considering that we were pushed out of the rankings three weeks ago, this seventh place finish establishes this team's credibility. Our seniors left a legacy to be proud," Bender added.
Division 4 State finals
Team scores – 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 31; 2. Grand Rapids North Pointe Christian, 24; 3. Flint Powers Catholic, 20; 4. Grosse Ile, 19; 5. Lansing Catholic, 17; 6. Almont, 14; 7. Buchanan, 13; 8. Portland, 10; 9. Armada, 8; 10. Essexville Garber, 7.