44 | NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 J
N

T

he remarkable success 
story of the Frankel 
Jewish Academy boys 
tennis team continued to be 
written this fall, with the Jaguars 
adding some new chapters.
After qualifying for the 
Division 4 state tournament 
for the eighth time in 10 years, 
Frankel finished in seventh place 
among 24 teams and had players 
reach the semifinals in three 
flights.
The seventh-place finish at 
state was the highest in team his-
tory. The Jaguars had never had 
semifinalists in three flights.
All that is quite impressive for 
a school of 145 students, and a 
team that doesn’t get to practice 
or play as much as its opponents 
because of Shabbat and Jewish 
holidays.
“We pack a lot in when we get 
the chance,
” said Frankel assis-
tant coach Monica Stark.
Stark’s husband is Frankel 
coach Larry Stark, whose arrival 

at the West Bloomfield school 
10 years ago coincided with 
the stretch of state tournament 
appearances. The Frankel boys 
tennis team had never made it to 
state before Larry Stark became 
coach.
After the loss of seven seniors 
to graduation last year, Frankel 
entered this season an inexperi-
enced team. 
That didn’t stop the Jaguars, 
who went 9-1-1 in regular-sea-
son dual matches; won their 
Catholic League division; fin-
ished second at their regional 
tournament; and with only five 
of 12 players with prior state 
tournament experience, scored 
more points than 17 teams at the 
state tournament in Holland.
Many of Frankel’s regular-sea-
son dual matches were against 
bigger schools to prepare the 
Jaguars for state competition. 
Among their nine wins was a 5-3 
victory over West Bloomfield.
“Larry thought this team was 

special,
” Monica Stark said. “He 
reserved hotel rooms for the 
state tournament a month before 
we went there.
”
Senior Harry Shaevsky, one of 
Frankel’s team captains, said the 
Jaguars had an underdog men-
tality this season despite their 
long history of success.
“There weren’t a lot of expec-
tations for us because we lost all 
those seniors,
” he said. “But we 
thought, ‘Why not us?’”
Shaevsky was one of Frankel’s 
state tournament semifinalists, 
at No. 4 singles. Unseeded in his 
flight, he upset the No. 3 seed 
and No. 6 seed before losing to 
the No. 2 seed in the semifinals.
Senior Tony Carson, another 
Frankel team captain, made it to 
the semifinals at No. 3 singles. 
Seeded No. 6, he upset the No. 3 
seed before also losing to the No. 
2 seed in the semifinals.
Frankel sophomore Robbie 
Feldman and freshman Brandon 
Witt advanced to the semifinals 

at No. 2 doubles. Seeded No. 5, 
they fell to the No. 1 seed in the 
semifinals.
The Jaguars’ state tournament 
lineup also included junior 
Ethan Schwartz at No. 1 singles, 
junior Hayden Dean at No. 2 
singles, senior Jonah Miller and 
junior Eli Rosenzweig at No. 1 
doubles, senior Ryan Rubin and 
sophomore Hudson Rosner at 
No. 3 doubles, and sophomores 
Louis Kowalski and Austin 
Squarcia at No. 4 doubles.
Because Shabbat always falls 
in the middle of the weekend 
state tournament, accommoda-
tions needed to be made once 
again for the Frankel players 
by the Michigan High School 
Athletic Association.
Frankel’s opening matches 
were played Thursday night 
(Oct. 19) instead of Friday (Oct. 
20), the scheduled first day 
of the state tournament. The 
Jaguars’ opening-match oppo-
nents came from eight schools, 
which also made accommoda-
tions for the Frankel players.
This was the third time 
Frankel players advanced to 
semifinal matches. Those match-
es were moved to Saturday 
night (Oct. 21), after the sched-
uled end of the tournament.
The logistics of shifting 
Frankel’s matches to Saturday 
night this year was made easi-
er, ironically, by the miserable 
weather that descended over the 
western part of Michigan during 
the weekend.
The entire tournament sched-
ule was disrupted because of the 
bad weather. Instead of matches 
being played on 24 outdoor 
courts, they had to be moved to 
six indoor courts.
Carson and Shaevsky played 
their quarterfinal and semifinal 

‘Why Not Us?’

MARLO SHAEVSKY

Frankel boys tennis team overcomes the odds 
again to make a statement at the state tournament.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SPORTS

Frankel boys tennis coach Larry 
Stark and assistant coach Monica 
Stark celebrate with their state 
tournament semifinalists. From 
left are Robbie Feldman, Harry 
Shaevsky, Tony Carson and 
Brandon Witt.

