MIDLAND – The men’s varsity tennis team has a successful showing at the MHSAA Division 1 State Tennis Championship at the Midland Tennis Center this past Saturday, Oct. 21. Falling a few points short of state champion Bloomfield Hills, the Colts had victories in both singles and doubles play. Their second place finish was the team’s best performance at the state championship to date.

“It’s the best finish in Troy High history, so even though we came up just short it still feels pretty cool to be number two in the state,” senior varsity player Shankar Prabhu said.

While the team finished in a narrow second, several players came away with state titles in their own right. Senior Steven Forman repeated as the No. 1 singles champion, and sophomore Brennan Cimpeanu won the No. 2 singles title, defeating Kobie Mueller of Ann Arbor Huron in the finals.

“My biggest struggle of this season was after my only loss against Ann Arbor Huron to Mueller,” Cimpeanu said. “ I was nervous and worried that I would end up losing again playing him in the state finals. I really wanted to make my coach, team and school proud.”

Senior Charlie Peng and junior Marvin Jiang were also victorious, knocking off pairs from first seed Bloomfield Hills and third seed Ann Arbor Huron en route to the No. 4 doubles title. Ranked as the fourth seed in the tournament, the two were not favored to win the title.

“Winning the state championship was really exhilarating because everyone was cheering us on and because it was against teams that Marvin and I had lost to previously,” Peng said. “We weren’t supposed to win, but we ended up destroying them somehow.”

In addition to enjoying the team’s success this season, some players have come to appreciate the bonds they’ve made with teammates.

“My favorite part of playing tennis is the people,” Prabhu said. “Some of my closest friends are on the team, and I will cherish the memories our tight-knit group has made for the rest of my life.”