No. 1-ranked North
Farmington tennis
team heads for state
finals June 4.
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to the Jewish News
N
orth Farmington s tennis team is
used to success, having reached
the Division II state finals the
past two years. But when they
were ranked first in the state in early May,
the players weren't sure they deserved the
honor.
"We thought we were a good team but we
didn't think we were that good," said senior
Brandon Finkel.
The Raiders didn't have long to ponder
the question before facing third-ranked
Saline the following day. North Farmington .
won again,
b , 6-2.
"That was a real big booster for us,"
recalled senior co-captain Brad Jaffe. "And
that really solidified our spot."
The Raiders won the remainder of their
matches, finishing 17-1-1, and won the
Birmingham Seaholm and Novi tourna-
ments. North Farmington also won the
Western Lakes Activities Association
(WLAA) tournament, taking 31 out of a possible 32 points, then
won their third straight state regional tournament, achieving 27
points out of 28. The regional victory secured the Raiders' spot in the
state finals, which begin June 4 in Midland.
Most of the team's leaders are Jewish, including Jaffe, who plays
No. 1 singles; Finkel at No. 4 singles; the No. 1 doubles team of
senior Mark Frankel and sophomore Jay Berman, and Josh Wool,
a junior who plays on the No. 3 doubles team. Also on the team
are sophomore Steve Jaffe, freshman Rob Frankel and junior Mike
Levy.
Although Brad Jaffe is the team's top player, he's not the most
6/4
1999
114 Detroit Jewish News
'
experienced. He said he ''just caught on real quick" after picking up a
racquet at age 12.
Jaffe has since competed in three Maccabi events plus the
Maccabiah in Israel, where he was a respectable 3-2 in singles match-
es. He's won several Maccabi medals, including silver in singles and
gold in doubles at the 1997 regional games in Pittsburgh. He's also
earned a tennis scholarship to Division III Emory University in
Atlanta.
At North Farmington, Jaffe played No. 2 singles as a freshman,
then No. 1 singles the past three years. He was a quarterfinalist in
last year's state tournament and finished 23-2 this season, losing
only to league rival Ryan Shade of Farmington Harrison. Jaffe