This page will feature articles
from the news media and information for parents
Thursday, April 4, 2002
By JOHN HEUSER
NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
HURON RIVER RATS
Key players: Ray Wu (sr.), Jason Waldinger (sr.),
John Riley (sr.), Tim Hubbard (so.).
Comment/prognosis: With depth, experience and talent, the
River Rats carry some lofty goals this season. Wu is a three-year
player at No. 1 singles. Two freshmen,
Andrew Berriz and John Davis, made the team, and Ryan Pirooz
is a returning doubles state finalist from a squad that tied for
seventh at the Division 1 state meet. The team added a new
assistant, Ann Hubbard.
Coach Jim Burdelski says: "We want to challenge Pioneer at the
regional and think we can make it to the top four in the state this
year."
Holland Invitational
1 Huron 55 
2 Holland Christian 35
3 Holland 34
4 Mona Shores
5 East Kentwood
6 Allegan
6 Traverse City Central
8 Holly
Pioneer, Huron win in tennis
Sunday, April 21, 2002
From Local Reports
The Huron and Pioneer high school boys tennis teams both
won invitationals Saturday.
Pioneer won its tourney with 21 points. Okemos was second
(17).
Pioneer was 3-0 with all four of its doubles flights and Kevin
Hayward at No. 3 singles, Saline's Chris Dilks was 3-0 at No.
2 singles.
Huron won the Holland Invitational with 55 points. Holland
Christian was second (35).
Ray Wu, a senior, led the charge by winning all his matches in
straight sets at No. 1 singles, despite bruised ribs.
Tim Hubbard (No. 2) and Javier Magdalena (No. 3) also won
singles titles, while Eric Sturgis and Ryan Pirooz won at No. 1
doubles.
Ann Arbor Invitational 4/27
The Pioneers scored
25.5 points to beat
second-place Okemos
(18) and third-place
Huron (16.5). There
were eight teams in the
event at the University of
Michigan Tennis Center and Pioneer.
"This is a great tournament for us, considering that six of the
top seven teams in Division 1 were there," Pioneer coach
Tom Pullen said. "Every match was like a semifinal at the
state tournament."
Pioneer got singles titles from Kevin Hayward at No. 2 and
John Seyferth at No. 3. Winning doubles crowns were Mike
Kelly-Sell and Colin McIntyre at No. 3 and the substitute team
of Ben Glass and Jason Hitchcock at No. 4. Freshman Adam
Monich lost in the No. 1 singles final to defending champion
Mike Brown of Portage Central 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Also second was
Scott Swanson at No. 4 singles.
Huron's champions were Ryan Pirooz and Eric Sturgis at No.
2 doubles. Javier Magdalena was second at No. 3 singles.
River Rats' singles players lead 7-1 rout over Grand
Blanc
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
From Local Reports
Ray Wu's straight-set win
at No. 1 singles led
Huron High School to a
7-1 tennis win over
Grand Blanc on Monday.
Wu beat Thomaz
Menesec 6-2, 6-3. Each
of Huron's singles
players also won in
straight sets. Tim
Hubbard beat Arvind
Chakravarthy 7-6, 6-4,
Javier Magdalena beat
Matt Chung 6-3, 6-3 and Andrew Berriz topped Bharat Rao
6-1, 6-1.
The No. 1 doubles team of John Riley and Jason Waldinger
beat Jacob Kuiper and Brian Morrison 7-5, 7-6.
Huron: We have shot at tennis title
Thursday, May 16, 2002
Huron High School boys tennis coach Jim Burdelski said
entering the season that his goal at the Division 1 state meet
was a top-four finish.
With the meet barely two weeks away, the River Rats have
jacked their coach's already high expectations.
"I think it's possible to get up there and challenge (for the state
title)," Burdelski said. "It will be very exciting for the guys. They
now know they have a shot at it. Four or five weeks ago, we
weren't thinking that way."
So what's changed?
Impressive victories against higher ranked teams, mainly.
When Huron was ranked fourth in the state coaches poll, it
finished third at the prestigious Ann Arbor Invitational, behind
Pioneer and Okemos and ahead of third-ranked Midland
Dow. Last weekend, the third-ranked River Rats won the Dow
Invitational in convincing fashion to set the stage for Monday's
dual meet at No. 2 Okemos.
"It's a tough place to play," Burdelski said. "They have a lot of
screaming parents. It's distracting, basically."
Huron calmed the atmosphere with a convincing 6-2 win,
despite missing two of its top doubles players. No. 2 singles
player Tim Hubbard claimed a three-set victory, as did John
Riley and Eric Sturgis at No. 1 doubles and Peter Grace and
Aaron Silver at No. 3 doubles.
On Tuesday, Burdelski called Huron's triumph at Okemos the
greatest dual-meet win in his 14 years as head coach.
"They just came in really confident," said Burdelski of his
team. "They really sensed they could do it."
May 4, 2002
BY BILL L. ROOSE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
A Saginaw County man was arraigned Friday on a
charge of felony assault after a high school baseball
coach was attacked with an aluminum bat.
Robert Dale Buxman, 51, of Hemlock, was accused
of striking Hemlock coach Ed LaJoice with a bat
Tuesday following a doubleheader at Richland
Township Baseball Park. LaJoice was treated and
released from a medical facility for injuries to his
head and face.
If convicted, Buxman faces a maximum 10-year
prison sentence. He is free on a $25,000 personal
recognizance bond with restrictions that prohibit him
from going within 500 feet of the high school and all
athletic events involving the school. District court
Judge Christopher Boyd also ordered Buxman to
wear an electronic tether.
Police reports said Buxman became incensed before
the start of the second game against Merrill, which
won the opener, 16-10.
LaJoice juggled the lineup for the second game,
pulling both of Buxman's sons. Some parents cursed
LaJoice's decision, but settled down as Hemlock
won, 12-5.
After the victory, LaJoice took his team into
centerfield for a talk. Buxman allegedly charged
onto the field, grabbed two bats and headed for the
coach. Police witnesses said he dropped one bat and
swung the other, striking LaJoice in the arm before it
glanced off his head.
Prosecutor Mike Thomas said that to the best of his
knowledge, this was the first time a parent had
attacked a prep coach in Saginaw County.
Buxman would not comment Friday. LaJoice was
unavailable.
Contact BILL L. ROOSE at 313-223-4413 or
roose@freepress.com.
MORE PREP SPORTS COVERAGE
FREEP FRONT | SPORTS FRONT
BY MICK McCABE
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
When did the rules change?
Coaches used to be off limits. Parents might not
have agreed with game strategy or their kids' playing
time, but for the most part they kept their displeasure
to themselves.
Now coaches have become open targets for
discontent. Parents yell and scream at them during
games, and some follow with verbal confrontations
afterward.
Unfortunately, a new barrier might have been broken
last week. Robert Buxman has been accused of
picking up two bats, racing into the outfield after a
doubleheader, and taking a swing at Hemlock
baseball coach Ed LaJoice.
A few days later, Buxman was arraigned on a
charge of assault with intent to commit great bodily
harm.
Pioneer, Huron both advance
Pioneers dominate regional tennis tournament. Huron
second
Saturday, May 18, 2002
BY JOHN HEUSER
News Sports Reporter
LIVONIA - Though the scene at Livonia Stevenson High
School was hardly ordinary for mid-May - with temperatures
pinned below 50 and spectators bundled in blankets - the
results of the Division 1 Region 2 boys tennis tournament
reflected the same old thing: Powerful teams from Pioneer
and Huron advancing to the state meet.
Ranked No. 1 and No. 3
in the latest Division 1
coaches poll,
respectively, the two
Ann Arbor schools left
no doubt they're ready
for greater things.
Pioneer, which has held
the No. 1 spot all
season, was particularly
dominant, winning
seven of eight flights, a
superb feat considering
the quality of the
regional field. Only a
victory by Huron senior Ray Wu at No.1 singles prevented a
Pioneer sweep.
The Pioneers finished with 31 of out of 32 possible points,
followed by Huron with 20 points. A strong Saline team wound
up third with 14 points, four fewer than the number needed to
earn a state berth. Other area teams included Plymouth
Salem, which finished fourth, Plymouth Canton (7th) and
Belleville (t-10th).
"We had a great day," Pioneer coach Tom Pullen said. "I don't
think we took anybody for granted."
Remaining undefeated for Pioneer were the No. 3 doubles
team of Mike Kelly-Sell and Colin McIntyre and the No. 4
doubles pair of Julian Darwall and Dan Fleszar. Both doubles
squads lost sets for the first time this season, however, in
championship victories over Huron.
On the singles side, Pioneer's No. 2 player, freshman Kevin
Hayward and No. 3 John Seyferth also kept their season-long
unbeaten streaks intact.
"It's definitely an honor to win regionals," Hayward said after
topping Huron's Tim Hubbard. "This is a new thing for me."
Pioneer's other wins came at No. 4 singles (Scott Swanson),
No. 1 doubles (Luke Marker/Evan Levine) and No. 2 doubles
(Mike Wagner/Colin Mark-Griffin). Huron's Wu claimed his
victory against Pioneer's Adam Monich.
"Overall, we played really well," said Huron coach Jim
Burdelski, whose players reached the finals in six of eight
flights. "We're ready for the state tournament."
John Heuser can be reached at jheuser@annarbornews.com
or (734) 994-6812.
Preps News
Huron tennis team tunes up for
states, lambastes Liggett
Doubles teams could be sharper, says coach
Friday, May 24, 2002
From Local Reports
In its last match of the regular season, the Huron High School
boys tennis team resembled the team coach Jim Burdelski
envisions challenging for the state title - mostly.
The River Rats won their
10th consecutive match
Thursday with a 7-1
defeat of Grosse Pointe
Woods University
Liggett. Besides
nationally ranked Alex
Conti's victory over Ray
Wu at No. 1 singles, the
River Rats won every
match in straight sets.
Huron's singles players
are the River Rats'
strength, said Burdelski.
Tim Hubbard, Javier Magdalena and Andrew Berriz won
easily.
Huron's doubles teams, despite sweeping through Liggett,
played beneath themselves, Burdelski said.
"They win pretty dramatically in the first set and struggle in the
second set," Burdelski said. "They allow more games or get
into tiebreakers unnecessarily."
Huron's No. 3 team of Aaron Silver and Peter Grace is the
only duo that improved its score from the first set to the
second.
"We're just not sharp sometimes," Burdelski said, "But, like I
tell them, even when we're not sharp, we're still winning. So
that's a good sign."
Wu, Hubbard and Magdalena are all seeded in this weekend's
state tournament. In doubles play, the No. 2 team of Ryan
Pirooz and Eric Sturgis, the No. 3 unit of Aaron Silver and
Peter Grace and the No. 4 team of Joel Abramson and John
Davis are all seeded.
"We still have a lot of work to do to get ready for states, but
we're ready to play good tennis," Burdelski said.
© 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission
