Bay City John Glenn focused on Fun with Goals Accomplished, Legacy Secure
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 16, 2024
JT Breen and his Bay City John Glenn tennis teammates already have achieved all the goals they set for themselves this season.
The Bobcats won the Tri-Valley Conference title. They won the Bay County title. They even accomplished the goal that seemed most far-fetched at the time: Becoming the first John Glenn boys tennis team to qualify for the MHSAA Finals – they made the Lower Peninsula Division 3 field that will play Friday and Saturday at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
So now what?
“The goal for me (this weekend) is to play as many games as I can and have fun playing those games,” said Breen, a senior who plays No. 2 singles for John Glenn. “The legacy I want to leave is helping everyone know that the gift of playing tennis is a gift in and of itself. Having fun is the most important part of the game, and I think that’s something I’ve tried to cement into the younger players.”
John Glenn has had plenty of fun in what coach Kevin Miller called a “season dreams are made of,” and no matter the results at Cranbrook, that’s going to continue.
Not because the Bobcats don’t care about winning. But because having fun with one another on and off the court is just what they do.
“We just want to go out there and end our senior year for tennis on a good note,” said senior Nick Naylor, who plays No. 3 doubles with senior Will Gallagher. “We want to have fun with it, and not worry much about what happens. Honestly, I want to win, but it’s just amazing that we got here.”
Led by six seniors, John Glenn placed third at their Regional, also held at Cranbrook, to qualify for the Finals. Miller admitted he wasn’t sure if that would be enough to get his team to championship weekend, and the Bobcats left the tennis courts that day unsure. They had finished with 13 points, behind champion Cranbrook and Goodrich, and two points ahead of Auburn Hills Avondale, St. Clair and Clio.
It wasn’t until Lee Thompson of MLive contacted Miller for an interview later that night that he became aware. And for some Bobcats, it wasn’t until that story published that they knew.
“Our captain (Breen) said something about it in the middle of the season, and we kind of looked at him like, ‘Yeah right, keep dreaming,’” senior No. 4 singles player Lance Neigh said. “In the middle of the season, I didn’t think we were going to get there. Even now, it’s kind of surreal.”
Neigh joined the program as a sophomore, while four of his classmates – Breen, Owen LaCourt (No. 3 singles), Collin Meyer (No. 2 doubles) and Will Gallagher (No. 3 doubles) – are in their fourth year.
Senior number six, Nick Naylor, is in his first season and playing No. 3 doubles along with Gallagher. A three-year varsity baseball player, Naylor said he hadn’t picked up a racket in nearly five years before Gallagher convinced him to play. He’s taken to the game quickly, though, and he and Gallagher advanced to the Regional Final. While Miller and Breen marveled at Naylor’s ability to translate his baseball experience and athleticism to tennis, Naylor added that the chemistry he and Gallagher have from years of friendship also played a big role.
“We’re not afraid to call each other out or bring each other up,” he said. “We’re not afraid to talk to each other. We can have a good conversation when we’re down and get back up and forget about it.”
Sophomore Thomas Dwan is at No. 1 singles for the Bobcats, while junior David Ferrio and freshman Jack Pfifer are at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Patrick Dwan plays No. 2 doubles with Meyer, and the No. 4 doubles team is made up of junior Dylan Werner and sophomore Corbin Sanborn.
So, while half the team will move on after this season, the well is far from dry for the Bobcats. Add in a group of 45 middle school players who have been practicing under the direction of Miller and several of his boys and girls varsity players, and the future is actually pretty bright.
“Honestly, I think it’s pretty inspiring,” Meyer said. “When I came in freshman year, we barely had enough for a varsity team. There’s so many people interested in playing tennis right now, I think it’s amazing. I’m happy to be able to help out and give them what I know.”
Their goals are accomplished, and they’re helping build the future of the program. You can see why this weekend, the Bobcats aren’t focused on results, but on enjoying every point they get to play.
“There’s not many more accolades these guys can do,” Miller said. “We’re going to go to states and do the best we can. But they’ve already left their legacy.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) The Bay City John Glenn boys tennis team shows off its newly-won Bay County championship trophy this season. (Middle) Seniors Nick Naylor and Will Gallagher have teamed up to form a Regional runner-up pair at No. 3 doubles. (Photos courtesy of the Bay City John Glenn boys tennis program.)
Patience Pays Off for Soaring Orioles
September 28, 2012
Ludington boys tennis coach Cliff Perez had high hopes for the future. But the challenge during the 2010 season was convincing his players to hang on for it.
With eighth sophomores in the lineup, the Orioles learned on the fly and won only two team matches that fall.
“I was giving Knute Rockne speeches after the match every day,” Perez said, referencing the famous Notre Dame football coach. “(Saying) if we hold on to the philosophy, we’ll prevail.”
He was right, and they have – and the best could be yet to come.
Ludington followed up that tough 2010 finish by winning its Regional last season for the first time in roughly a quarter century and then tying for 15th at the MHSAA Division 4 Finals.
The Orioles get a Second Half High 5 this week after sweeping a pair of matches against ranked opponents at the Almont Invitational on Saturday, and then knocking off another in a match that could eventually decide the Coastal Conference championship.
Ludington, ranked No. 8 in Division 4 at the time, downed then No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5-3 and co-No. 10 Almont 6-2 to finish first at the Raiders’ tournament. The Orioles stayed on a roll by beating Division 3 No. 9 Spring Lake 5-3 on Thursday to go to 8-0 overall and remain atop the league standings with one more match and the conference tournament to play.
But those are just the latest wins of an impressive run. After finishing third at a quad at Portland to start the season, Ludington earned a 5-3 win over No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis and tied current No. 2 Armada at St. Francis’ tournament later that month. On Sept. 8, the Orioles finished first (using the least sets lost tie-breaker) at a quad against No. 8 Kalamazoo Christian, No. 9 Grand Rapids South Christian and co-No. 10 Portland. Ludington also won its home tournament for the first time in at least four seasons.
The only ranked Division 4 teams Ludington hasn’t faced yet are No. 1 Ann Arbor Greenhills, No. 3 Lansing Catholic and No. 5 Jackson Lumen Christi.
The tough slate is by design. As Perez sat in on the MHSAA Finals seeding meeting last season, he learned how other top teams frequently face each other, and how doing so was the key to getting their players seeded highly for the postseason. So he re-did his schedule this spring to give his guys that opportunity.
“We knew this year we’d have to travel all over the state and take on as many Division 4 powerhouse schools as possible,” Perez said. “It’s the only way to compete. You’ve got to find the best schools.”
Nine of 12 starters from last season’s Finals qualifier are back this fall, led by Perez’ son Jake at No. 1 singles. He’s 20-7, followed by senior Spencer Knudsen, who is 25-3 at No. 2.
A couple additional factors helped Perez keep the Orioles moving forward two years ago. He had relationships with them already, in part because they were Jake’s friends and classmates but also, coincidentally, because he had coached most of them to an elementary recreational league basketball championship years before.
He said all of his players have grade-point averages above 3.0 and two are among the top 10 students in their class, making them easy to teach at a school that doesn’t benefit from having players trained at early ages at outside clubs like many cities in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula.
Most of his athletes play multiple sports, but Jake Perez and Knudsen play year-round at Ferris State, about a 90-minute drive away. Perez went there to play at the indoor facility at least twice a week last winter.
And there’s some tradition to bring back as well. Ludington’s program was built by Howard Jensen, a former NFL player for the New York Giants whose sons Luke and Murphy won the French Open doubles championship in 1993. Howard led the tennis team to 10 Regional championships.
Perez took over the program 14 seasons ago, and guided it to a 10-0-1 record in 2002. That also was the last time the Orioles won a league title, something they’ll try to remedy next week. They’ve never won an MHSAA championship, wishful thinking perhaps, but something worth considering given how the team has succeeded against most of the rest of the best already this fall.
“We feel like we’re in the movie ‘Hoosiers,’ the little country kids that go into the big arena and take on these giants,” Perez said. “But we tell the guys it’s still the same court, still the same ball, and we’ve just got to outplay these guys.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ludington No. 1 singles player Jake Perez competes earlier this season. He's 20-7 this fall. (Middle) The Orioles celebrate this season's Ludington Invitational championship, their first in at least four seasons. (Photos courtesy of the Ludington High School tennis program.)