RETIREMENT LIVING
SPORT
"It's been
one of the
best years
of my life."
Juggling Act
Lakers overcome a net full
of difficulties to place at states.
Steve Stein
Special to The Jewish News
F
finishing in a tie for sixth
place at the Division 1 state
boys tennis tournament is an
impressive feat in itself. Considering
what the West Bloomfield High School
team had to overcome this season
makes the accomplishment nearly
miraculous.
One of their top singles players left
the team early in the season. A doubles
player played most of the year with a
broken arm. A player suffered a seizure
in practice. Another player lost a parent
just before the state tournament.
Through it all, West Bloomfield went
6-1 in Oakland Activities Association
Division I matches, finished second
in regionals, and tied with three other
schools for sixth place at states.
"We played our best tennis of the
year at the state tournament. As a
coach, you can't ask for more than that','
said Greg Kopec.
The season didn't get off to a great
start for Kopec. After No. 2 singles play-
er Peter Rothstein played in a couple
of matches, he told Kopec he wanted to
sit out the year.
"Peter told me his heart wasn't in
high school tennis:' Kopec said. "He
said part of the problem was not hav-
ing a break because of the change of
our seasons. We had just played in the
spring. I'm confident Peter will be back
with us next year."
With Rothstein gone, Kopec had to
shuffle his lineup. That's lethal for some
teams. "Tennis isn't like, say, basketball,
where you just substitute someone into
a spot',' Kopec said. "When someone
is out of a tennis lineup, you have to
bump up players to higher flights. The
kids who moved up for us really rose to
the challenge."
Alex Simmons jumped from No.
3 singles into Rothstein's spot at No. 2
singles, and Mike Brodsky went from
No. 4 to No. 3. Brodsky made it all the
way to the state semifinals.
Ben Eilender moved from No. 3
doubles to No. 4 singles because Kopec
wanted to keep his No. 1 and 2 doubles
teams intact.
Jordan Goodman joined with Eric
Wu at No. 3 doubles. Goodman broke
his left arm over Labor Day week-
end. He was able to continue playing
because he's right-handed, but his
backhand suffered.
"Jordan normally hits a two-handed
backhand, so he had to go one-handed
until his arm got better," Kopec said.
"Once he was healthy, Jordan really
played well:"
Dustin Goldenberg played No. 1
singles for West Bloomfield and com-
piled a 17-10 record against tough
competition. Three of the defeats were
inflicted by state champion Magnus
Hallahan of Troy, who beat Goldenberg
in the state quarterfinals.
West Bloomfield's No. 1 doubles
team of Scott Jurewicz and Matt Ruza
advanced to the state semifinals before
losing a three-set match to the eventual
champions from Port Huron Northern.
The Lakers' No. 2 doubles team of
Joel Siegel and Josh Zeman got to
the state quarterfinals. Scott Berlin
and Spencer Schram made up West
Bloomfield's No. 4 doubles team.
Maccabi Meetings
Two kickoff meetings will be held later
this month for area youths who are
interested in competing in next year's
Detroit JCC Maccabi Games.
The meetings are at 4 p.m. Nov. 18
at the JCC in West Bloomfield and 7
p.m. Nov. 19 at the JCC in Oak Park.
Prospective athletes need to attend just
one meeting.
Youths ages 13-16 (as of Aug. 1,
2008) are needed for Detroit's boys
baseball, basketball, in-line hockey
and soccer, and girls basketball, soccer,
softball and volleyball teams. Youths
ages 12-16 (as of Aug. 1) are needed for
Detroit's bowling, dance, golf, swim-
ming, table tennis, tennis and track and
field squads.
The Detroit Games will be held Aug.
17-22.
For more information, prospective
athletes and their families can visit
www.maccabidetroitorg or contact
Lindsey Fox at Lfox@jccdet.org or
(248) 432-5499. Li
Please send sports news to
sports@thejewishnews.com.
"Living at The Park at
Trowbridge has been a
wonderful change for
me. I've made a lot of
new friends through
fitness classes, crafts
and other things going
on here. It's like being
with friends all day
long. I never dreamed
my life could be so
much fun!"
Letter written by
Edith S. — resident
For more information
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