GP South, Pioneer's Miller Take Back Titles
June 1, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND – After disposing of reigning No. 1 singles champion Tia Mukherjee of Bloomfield Hills in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Greater Midland Tennis Center, 2017 champ Kari Miller of Ann Arbor Pioneer had to refocus her energy to take on Lily Jones of Grosse Pointe South.
Stunned in the first set 5-7, Miller regrouped and wore down Jones, winning the next sets 6-1 and 6-0, to claim her second Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals title at the top flight in three years.
“I knew she had gone through a tough three-set match in the semifinal,’’ said Miller. “In the first set she just ran everything down and hit some great shots. I tried to keep her running in the second set.
“This is just as special as my freshman year. I was glad my teammates stuck around, and some even came down to watch.’’
It’s rare that champions face off, but that was the case when Mukherjee faced Miller in the semifinals. Miller had defeated Mukherjee in the 2017 championship match, and in Saturday’s rematch prevailed again, 6-2, 6-4.
Miller didn’t play high school tennis last year, and Mukherjee assumed the role as the most dominant player in Division 1, winning 6-0, 6-0 in the 2018 final against Northville’s Shanoli Kumar. Miller spent her sophomore year playing in elite tournaments across the country, including in Palm Springs, Calif., Atlanta and Grand Rapids.
She fared well in those three events, finishing in the top five at all three venues.
"I've had some great ones,” said longtime Pioneer girls and boys head coach Tom Pullen. “It's special for her to come back and play high school tennis because she didn't have to do it. She's special.''
Since Miller had already determined that University of Michigan would be her college choice, coming back to play high school tennis at Pioneer became appealing.
“Since she has already committed to Michigan, I think it was a no-brainer that she came back to play for the team this year,’’ said Pioneer assistant coach Dan Goldberg. “This is a totally different dynamic from the national USTA scene. There were some nerves in her first match today. She wasn’t really used to this environment and everybody yelling and screaming. It affected her a little bit. She had to settle in and go about her business like this was any other tournament.’’
The third-seeded Jones may have fell just a set short of closing out the title at No. 1 singles, but her point from a three-set win over Plymouth’s second-seeded Jessica Braun in the semifinal played a significant role in deciding a tight team race.
Jones eventually won the match over Braun, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 to face Miller in the final. South, ranked No. 1 coming into the tournament, won the team title just ahead of Bloomfield Hills, 30-28.
“She’s getting tired now, but that was a big point for us,’’ said coach Mark Sobieralski during her match with Miller.
The championship was South’s first since 2014 and third this decade.
“It’s all about the mental,’’ he said. “We didn’t talk about where we were ranked. We try to keep things in small terms. (Friday) was phase 1. Today was phase 2. We had to take care of business today.’’
Top seed Miriam Gandham of Ann Arbor Huron dominated Savannah Matuszewski of Midland Dow, 6-0, 6-0 to clinch the No. 2 singles title.
Midland Dow’s Laura Leiti, the top seed at No. 3 singles, defeated Jenna Silverman of Bloomfield Hills, 6-2, 6-2 in that final.
“I had played her before so that helped, but states is so hectic,’’ said Leiti. “I just went out there and hit the best I could. I tried to adapt to her game, but it was a matter of me moving my feet and going for shots.’’
At No. 4 singles, top seed Moira Hix kept South in the running for the team title with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over three-seed Claire Earley of Midland Dow.
The No. 1 doubles title went to the Bloomfield Hills duo of Madison Narens and Hannah Tomina with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Northville’s Maya Mulchandani and Sophie Zhuang.
South claimed the No. 2 doubles title as Anna Dietz and Claire Beardslee defeated Northville’s Madison DeYoung and Andrea Nam, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Northville’s No. 3 doubles team of Connie Gao and Michelle Tong defeated South’s Kaitlin Ifkovits and Mairin Heimbuch, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to claim the crown.
At No. 4 doubles Bloomfield Hills’ top seeds Susan Baenen and Emma Gray knocked off Troy’s Lana Rihawi and Julia Macri, 6-0, 6-4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kari Miller lines up to return a volley during Friday’s rounds at Greater Midland Tennis Center. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South’s No. 1 doubles pair of Kate Beardslee and Maddie Hurley earned their team key points by reaching the semifinals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
St Catherine's Hehs Earns NFHS Honor
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 25, 2021
Longtime Detroit-area girls tennis coach Judy Hehs has been named one of 23 National Coaches of the Year for 2019-20 by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) Coaches Association.
Hehs was selected first at the state level and then from among the eight sections that make up the NFHS – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. She previously had been named national Coach of the Year for girls tennis for 2014-15.
The following brief bio includes an excerpt from Hehs’ coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
Judy Hehs coached girls tennis at Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart from Fall 1996 through Spring 2019 and served as co-coach of six MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship teams over her last eight seasons with the program. She was slated to coach the girls team at Wixom St. Catherine in Spring 2020, but that season was canceled due to COVID-19. She also coached Sacred Heart’s varsity girls basketball team from 1988-95 and two sports at Detroit Country Day – field hockey in fall 1987 and then junior varsity boys tennis (while also serving as the varsity assistant) from spring 1988-2000. Hehs was inducted in 2015 into the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame and her girls tennis teams have a record of 169-80-18. She is principal at Wixom St. Catherine and in her 34th year as an educator.
“Let me share my ‘why do I coach’ philosophy: Do I coach to ‘give back?’ Do I coach to ‘make a difference?’ Do I coach for ‘selfish reasons?’ Do I coach because I ‘love it?’ I coach for all those reasons and more. The tennis court is my classroom now; it’s the place where I can teach tennis and valuable life lessons. The challenge isn’t in making great tennis players. It is about building great people. And building great people doesn’t mean we’re looking at wins and losses. Don’t get me wrong, winning is great and fun and helps to build a great team and program. But there is no better place than a tennis court to teach real life lessons – lessons about work ethic, teamwork, problem solving, independence, and the moment when effort turns into belief and belief turns into accomplishment. Athletics is a vehicle to becoming a better version of one’s self. I believe that participating in athletics can change lives, and not just the lives of the athletes whom we coach, but also the person whom we become through coaching. I had coaches in a variety of sports from elementary school through college who inspired me and motivated me to become a better version of myself. Every time I step on that tennis court, I hope to be that person in the lives of my players who inspires and motivates, and helps them become better versions of themselves. That’s why I coach.”
Four more Michigan coaches earned honors in Section 4. Dean Blackledge was honored in boys cross country after leading Hanover-Horton to its second Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship in three seasons in 2019. Kent Graves was the honoree for girls golf after leading Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern to its third-straight LP Division 2 championship that fall. Livionia Stevenson’s David Mitchell was honored in ice hockey; Stevenson most recently won the Division 2 championship in 2012 and finished runner-up in 2015 and 2016. Dexter’s Michael McHugh was honored in boys swimming & diving; although the 2019-20 Lower Peninsula boys season didn’t conclude because of COVID-19, his teams have won four straight Division 2 championships.
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982.