Varsity tennis traveled to Grosse Pointe Northern for a tournament with eight teams in the mix, six of which are ranked top 10 in the state. Tough competition like this brings the team closer than ever. 

“The team is growing closer every day, and they support each other well,” Coach Dan Bolhouse said. “I am very pleased to see how tight the guys are.”

The team took 2nd overall in the GPN Invite; Senior Noah Kriekard and sophomore Willem Knoester—at two doubles—won their flight, and junior Will Hoffman and freshman Austin Rowland won the flight in five doubles. FHC took third place at four doubles as well. 

“I feel we will continue to improve as we play more matches,” Noah Kriekard stated. “ We have a really good shot at the state championship come October.” 

The singles players also played with grit to ensure a high rank in the end. Senior Chris Shang, freshman Franklin Feng, and juniors Philip Murdock, Alex Chen, Nico Notarnicola, and Owen Godley all placed second in their flights. 

“I am playing better as the season continues,” Chris explained. “So I can play better against people I lost to earlier in the season, such as my opponent today.” 

The continued determination seen by the boys shows fans that they have more than just a conference championship on their minds. Coach Bolhouse has shown great praise for his players and their attitudes.

“I have a lot of confidence [for] this season, and we had a very good day against some top division two competition,” Coach Bolhouse exclaimed. “We have some great players, and my goal is to have us playing our best tennis at the end of the season. I truly believe we can win our conference, regionals, and states if the boys are peaking at the end of the season!”

Varsity tennis begins a busy week of four meets. The next meeting will be at Northview, at 4:15 p.m., on Monday, September 12.