St Clair boys tennis team finishes their 2025 season at States!
St. Clair boys tennis finishes remarkable turnaround at MHSAA state finals
Brenden Welper
Port Huron Times Herald
MIDLAND — When Natalie Eifert took over as coach of the St. Clair boys tennis team in 2023, the program was on life support with very few players.
“I was thinking about moving schools (at the time), because we weren’t going to have a team,” said St. Clair senior Max Vargo, who plays No. 1 singles. “Then, Coach Natalie came in and we ended up having one.”
Two years later, the Saints just had the season of their lives.
St. Clair completed its remarkable turnaround at the MHSAA Division 3 state finals at Midland Tennis Center on Friday, Oct. 24.
“Our team put in a lot of work this season,” Eifert said. “Just having a team come together, and where they are coming from — we worked hard over the winter. We worked hard last season to gain this momentum … this group (of kids) is amazing. We earned our spot (to be here).”
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In addition to the state finals berth, the Saints clinched an outright MAC Blue championship earlier this season with a 5-0 league record. They finished 13-2 overall.
“It just shows our hard work,” said senior Ethan Murray, who plays No. 1 doubles with Gabe Cyplik. “We had a lot of new guys, two years ago, that came in and we worked hard — I think that’s why we’re here.”
“Being on the team for three years, (I was) one of the new guys when we started this whole rebuild,” said senior Luke Rhein, who plays No. 4 singles. “It’s really nice to be able to see myself and everyone else evolve.”
Below are the state final results for St. Clair.
The St. Clair boys tennis team is seen at St. Clair High School earlier this season.
No. 1 Singles — Max Vargo
In the first round, Vargo lost to Parma Western’s Lucas Parrott 6-0, 6-0.
No. 2 Singles — Noah Bean
In the first round, Bean lost to Ada Forest Hills Eastern’s Henry Elms 7-5, 6-0.
No. 3 Singles — Zach Postma
Postma had a first-round bye. In the second round, he lost to No. 5 seed Tai Singal of Ann Arbour Greenhills 6-1, 6-1.
No. 4 Singles — Henry Askew
In the first round, Askew beat Dewitt’s Will Grant 6-0, 6-1. In the second round, he lost to No. 4 seed Evan Chung of Ann Arbor Greenhills 6-0, 6-0.
No. 1 Doubles — Ethan Murray/Gabe Cyplik
The duo had a first-round bye. In the second round, it lost to No. 6 seed Carter Amash/Josh Fles of Grand Rapids South Christian 6-1, 6-1.
No. 2 Doubles — Cameron Boullard/Gavin Eifert
The duo had a first-round bye. In the second round, it lost to Haslett’s Thomas Mondro/Brahm Myrom 6-3, 6-3.
No. 3 Doubles — Austin Fiscelli/Collin Boullard
The duo had a first-round bye. In the second round, it lost to No. 5 seed Reuben Avery/Micah Avery of East Grand Rapids 6-4, 6-0.
No. 4 Doubles — Luke Rhein/Bodie MacIntosh
In the first round, the duo lost to Petoskey’s Conner Bingaman/Ethan Shelton 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.