Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The Dow varsity tennis team is proving that it doesn’t rebuild, it reloads. The four-time defending Division 2 state champions are off to another fine start, sitting with a 14-1 record as of September 23.
“Last year, we lost a lot of senior talent,” seventh-year head coach Terry Schwarzkopf said. “In fact, three of last year’s graduates are now playing at the collegiate level. My seniors were determined to leave with a perfect record, and they trained and played all all season with that goal in mind. They left with four state championships as a team, which is where we stand today.”
Though they lost four players from last year’s team, the Chargers are still standing plenty tall.
Julian Guerra (three-time defending singles champion in either number four or number three) returns for his senior season, having lost just one match at number two singles so far this year.
Vikram Shanker is playing first-flight doubles as a senior, after finishing undefeated in the same spot last year to win a state championship. Jason Chang, another senior, is playing with Shanker to fill out the other half of their championship pairing. Chang also won state titles as a doubles player as a freshman and as a sophomore. He has set the state record this season for consecutive doubles wins and is 11 matches away from securing the most doubles wins in state history.
The last two senior returnees are Patrick Eschbach, who will play second doubles and who won a state title in third doubles last year, and Seamus Bartlett, who will be playing third doubles after playing as a reserve last year.
The lone returning junior is Daniel Magno, who will be playing with Bartlett at third doubles after playing as a reserve last year.
Sophomores returning to the team are Michael Szabo (fourth singles, 40-1 record last year, fourth singles state champion) and Colin Angell (third doubles), who was a reserve last year.
Schwarzkopf welcomes four new players this season and hopes they help continue the team’s storied tradition.
Cole Williamson (junior) will play fourth doubles, William Kirkman (sophomore) will play first singles, Spencer Bouck (sophomore) will play fourth doubles, and Varun Shanker (freshman) will play third singles.
“[Williamson] has a ton of size,” Schwarzkopf said. “He has the arm span of an orangutan and a fierce competitive spirit. [Kirkman] transferred from the Dominican Republic and, though only a sophomore, he brings a ton of experience and obvious talent, as he is playing number one singles. That allowed us to shift our entire team down, creating a much stronger unit. [Bouck] is a consistent and methodical player; he moves well and complements Williamson’s game perfectly. [Shanker], though a freshman, he brings intelligence, determination, and unity to the team. He works as hard as anyone and helps uplift his teammates constantly. He has respect and honor for both the sport and the program.”
The Chargers’ lone blemish has come at the hands of Brother Rice, to whom Dow’s first doubles lost its first match ever.
Dow is undefeated in Saginaw Valley League play.
“We have looked really strong against other Division 2 teams that we have faced,”said Schwarzkopf, who recently reached his 100th career win. “I believe that if we were to see [Brother Rice] again, we would be victorious. Forest Hills Central is always our main competition, and Detroit Jesuit looks pretty strong this year. However, we have seen both of them this year and we won 7-1 and 8-0. I think we just need to maintain our focus and avoid overconfidence or a sense of entitlement. None of those previous matches matter once we are at the state tournament.”
So far, it hasn’t been hard for his team to stay on task.
“I would say they are pretty focused on one goal – win states again,” Schwarzkopf said. “We lost half the team last year and nobody wants to be the team that breaks the streak, so they have been playing focused and with a purpose. We have seen most of the Division 2 competition and have only dropped two total matches. I think we have a strong chance at five.”
As for the kids themselves, Schwarzkopf already feels like they’re winners. “I love these kids, I love their personalities, our conversations, and the closeness,” he said. “Winning the tournaments has been a wonderful addition to an already fantastic job. I am most proud of how my boys succeed in life, how they give back to their community, and how they treat each other as family. God has truly blessed me.”