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30 | DECEMBER 23 • 2021 

I

t takes a team effort to win 
a high school team state 
championship in tennis.
The Birmingham Groves 
boys tennis team lived up to 
that statement at the Division 
2 state tournament this fall at 
Hope College.
“We had awesome balance. 
Quality singles and doubles 
players. Normally a team 
is weighted one way or the 
other,” said Groves coach 
Dave Farmer.
Groves singles players 
scored 14 points at the state 
tournament. Groves doubles 

players scored 13 points.
Those 27 points were just 
enough for the Falcons to 
edge out runner-up Grand 
Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 
the two-time defending state 
champion, which had 26 
points, and give Groves its 
first team state championship.
Groves came close to 
winning a team state 
championship in 2017 and 
2018, finishing second both 
years.
Nine of the 12 players who 
filled out Groves’ lineup in 
this year’s state tournament 

are Jewish, including all four 
singles players.
Freshman Michael Liss won 
a state championship at No. 3 
singles and later was named 
All-State by the Michigan 
High School Tennis Coaches 
Association.
Junior Nolen Kovan (No. 1 
singles) and senior RJ Carrel 
(No. 2 singles) also were 
named All-State. They were 
two of Groves’ three team 
captains.
Kovan was a state finalist 
and Carrel was a state 
semifinalist.
Sophomore Jake 
Rosenwasser (No. 4 singles) 
was a state quarterfinalist.
Senior Gabe Klein and 
junior Drew Weitzman 
were state finalists at No. 4 
doubles.
The other three Jewish 
players in Groves’ state 
tournament lineup each made 

up one-half of a doubles 
team.
Senior Mitchell 
Greenberger teamed with 
senior Dylan Brown at No. 
1 doubles. They were state 
quarterfinalists and All-State 
selections.
Junior Dylan Wolf teamed 
with senior Alexandras 
Abarius at No. 2 doubles. 
They were state finalists even 
though they weren’t seeded in 
the tournament.
Senior Logan Edelheit 
teamed with senior Marc 
Canellas at No. 3 doubles. 
They were state semifinalists.
This was a battle-tested 
Groves team that went to the 
state tournament.
“We were fortunate to 
have a lot of juniors and 
seniors who already had state 
tournament experience,” 
Farmer said. “It was a good 
group of guys. Good tennis 

Time for a 
Tennis Title 
for Groves

Nine Jewish players help Falcons soar 
to first team state championship.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE LEFT: Drew Weitzman (left) and Gabe Klein played No. 
4 doubles for the Birmingham Groves boys tennis team. Klein is 
holding the team’s state championship trophy. ABOVE RIGHT: The 
Birmingham Groves boys tennis team’s singles lineup included (from 
left) Nolen Kovan, Michael Liss, RJ Carrel and Jake Rosenwasser. 
Liss is holding the team’s regional championship trophy.

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER LISS

