Still on Top: Greenhills Boys Tennis Heads to States Proud of Big Wins and Overcoming Setbacks

Even after graduating a top slate of seniors and battling illness throughout key matches, the Greenhills boys varsity tennis team is once again proving why it’s one of the premier tennis programs in Michigan, and definitively the top team in Ann Arbor.

“This team has really stepped up in ways we didn’t expect back in August,” said longtime head coach Eric Gajar. “It’s a different roster than we thought we’d have, and guys who might have been playing JV or lower in the lineup have stepped into big roles. And they’ve delivered.”

Greenhills not only held its own this fall, it thrived. Despite losing multiple starters to illness and unforeseen roster changes at the start of the school year, the team powered through a tough regular season and came away with major wins over top-ranked competition, including victories over powerhouses Northville, Okemos, and Brother Rice.

The Gryphons continued to prove they were among the best programs in the state. They fell just short in a pair of heartbreakers, narrowly finishing behind Cranbrook in the Catholic High School League tournament and lost by a single point to Detroit Country Day in the regional playoffs. But that second-place finish at Regionals was enough to earn them a bid to the MHSAA Division III State Tournament at the Midland Tennis Center on October 24–25.

“Those were close, close matches,” Gajar said. “In both tournaments, one match going the other way could’ve flipped the outcome. And the guys fought through it all—through injuries, through illness. It wasn’t ideal, but they still put us in a position to contend at States.”

In fact, the team’s regional result marked a dramatic turnaround from their regular season match against Detroit Country Day. In that earlier matchup, Greenhills only managed to win two of eight flights. At Regionals, the Gryphons swept the doubles flights and split the day evenly at four wins apiece. That’s all the more impressive considering that nearly the entire team was sick.

“Out of our 12 regional players, nine weren’t in school the next day,” Gajar said. “But you can’t sit out the regional—you’ve got to play through it. And they did.”

The team enters the state tournament ranked fourth in Division III, a strong position for a squad that has reinvented itself this fall.

“Our second doubles team, Kirtan Palapattu (’27) and Richard Wu (’26) , are the number one seeds,” he said. “They’ve had a really good year. Ajay Purohit (’26) and Charlie Rich (’26), our number one doubles team, won a state title last year at number two doubles and are seeded third. And our third doubles team, Lander Whelan (’27) and Deven Pimputkar (’27), are seeded third and have had a pretty good year, too. Any of them could get hot at the right time and do well, as could our four doubles team of Royal Seal and Jacob Handelsman.”

Beyond the stat sheets and seeding charts, the Gryphons have proven something larger this year: they are a resilient, elite program.

They’ve now beaten (or tied) every other Ann Arbor school—Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline—for the seventh year in a row, a streak that marks a dramatic shift in local tennis power.

“The guys take pride in that city title—even if it’s unofficial,” Gajar said. “We haven’t lost to an Ann Arbor school in a long time. The guys like that, because they’re players they know and they’ve got bragging rights for another year.”

With a deep and tested doubles lineup, an adaptable singles group, and the experience of weathering a difficult season, the Gryphons are headed into the state tournament with confidence.

“Last year, we were ranked third and came out state champs,” Gajar said. “Anything can happen in the tournament. That’s why we play.”