Miss Tennis Serving Now as 'Hero Coach'

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

July 17, 2020

PORTAGE — One high school match continues to stick out for Kathleen Hawkins. She played it not as a senior, but as a sophomore, and not to win one of her three MHSAA Finals championships for Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central, but just to get a chance to claim the first.  

Seeded fifth at No. 1 singles at the 2008 Lower Peninsula Division 4 tournament, Hawkins won her semifinal over top seed Rachel Denny, from Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (4).

Hawkins then won the title, defeating second seed Adrienne DiVito, of Madison Heights Bishop Foley, 6-1.6-0.

“(The semi) felt like a final,” Hawkins said recently, a big smile on her face as she remembered. “It

was crazy. It was a great match. Both teams were cheering super loud.

“It was intense but so much fun. Then Rachel Denny and I became teammates at Western (Michigan University), which is the funny part.”

Hawkins said she will never forget the excitement.

“I think that was the most anticipated match of the weekend,” she said. “It was awesome.

“I haven’t played very many matches where there was so much going on and so many people cheering. It was great.”

Two years later, and now a decade ago, Hawkins graduated from Hackett with two more championships and the Michigan Miss Tennis title.

These days, Hawkins is back where her tennis career started: the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo, where she teaches aspiring young players hoping to follow in her footsteps.

She began lessons at age 9, working with Maurice Palmer for nine years at the Maple Street Y, before she headed off to college.

Three years ago, she returned to the Y as the junior tennis coordinator at the Portage branch, working with youth ages 3 to 18.

Returning as a coach was a no-brainer for the personable Hawkins.

“Kat went through the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo tennis program as a youth player, excelling herself to the top collegiate level,” said Erik Anderson, Association Tennis Director. “She is a direct representation of achievement and success for youth tennis players.”

He added that Hawkins has developed into an elite adult player that people look up and want to learn from.

“There is a spot for everyone at any age and any level of tennis in our programs, and Kat finds the right spot for our youth to get in the sport, enjoy the sport, and excel at the sport,” he said.

One of those students is Ellie Skwiat, a rising junior on Hackett Catholic Prep’s tennis team. (The school changed its name in 2014.)

“She’s amazing,” Skwiat said of Hawkins. “She’s my hero coach, and I’ve only been hitting with her for a year.

“She helps me stay consistent and focus on the game more mentally instead of physically.”

Hawkins said she has incorporated the lessons she learned from Palmer while working with today’s young athletes.

“He was much more than just a tennis coach for me,” she said. “He was somebody I could go to, somebody I could talk to about anything.

“He was somebody who pushed me to be the very best, not just on the tennis court, but off the court, too. I think that’s super important.”

She said she hopes to instill those same values in her students.

“Confidence in every aspect of their lives,” she said. “I’m not just a tennis coach, I’m a life coach.”

Although 10 years have passed since her high school years, she remembers it all and keeps in touch with those teammates.

“I’m one of those types of people that really remember fierce competition,” she said. “I remember states every year. It was an exciting time of my life, probably the peak of my tennis career.”

After claiming that first championship at No. 1 singles in 2008, Hawkins went on to win Finals titles at No. 2 singles in 2009 and again at No. 1 singles in 2010.

Earning the Michigan Miss Tennis Award was the perfect end to her high school career.

“That was something I always wanted, something I always strove for,” she said. “I used to read the paper when I was younger and see ‘Mr. Basketball,’ ‘Mr. Baseball’ and rarely saw ‘Miss’ except ‘Miss Volleyball.’

“I don’t think I found out I got that award until July 8, my birthday. It was the best birthday present I think I ever received. It still holds a place in my heart.”

Making the transition from high school to college was an eye-opener, she said.

“When I was in high school, I was kinda starting to hit the peak of my game at the end of my career,” she said. “I didn’t even know there was so much further I could go.

“I had no clue, but I was willing to do the work. I was willing to trust my coaches and have complete faith in my coaches. That’s why it worked so well for me.”

While at WMU, Hawkins had an Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranking of 55, making her the first Bronco to break into the top 60.

After graduating with a degree in recreation and minor in business, Hawkins left tennis for a job in marketing with Wyndham Vacation Rentals in Colorado, but returned to Michigan in 2016.

The current pandemic put a stop to her coaching for three months, but not her interaction with the community.

“As a department in Portage, under the whole Y umbrella, the tennis department and the aquatics department teamed up to help deliver meals to low-income communities,” Hawkins said. 

“It was nice to do in the midst of all this happening to think about other people. It felt good to do; it felt right.”

As for the future: “I haven’t thought that far,” she said. “Honestly, I just had a child so my ultimate goal is to be a great mom and to catch up on my sleep. 

“I’m looking forward to continuing here at the Y.”

Hawkins married Evan Olsen, her high school sweetheart, and they have an 11-month-old son, Hendrix.

As far as her son playing tennis, “I hope so,” she said.

“I’m not a pushy parent. I’m happy he’s healthy; that’s all I can ask for.”

Made in Michigan 2020

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June 16: Muskegon Grad Casts "Magic" in HBO Series - Read

Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Kathleen Hawkins, second from left, employs social distancing while teaching students recently at the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo. (2) Hawkins, playing for Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central, earned the Miss Tennis Award as a senior. (3) Hawkins continues as an elite adult player while also teaching the next generation. (4) Hawkins, left, and Kalamazoo Hackett Prep student Ellie Skwiat. (Hawkins' high school photo courtesy of Kathleen Hawkins; all others by Pam Shebest.)

Pioneer, Bloomfield Hills Solidify Shared Superiority in Division 1

By Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com

June 5, 2021

MASON – It is pretty rare for the No. 4 doubles tennis match to draw a large crowd – but that’s exactly what happened on Saturday at Mason High at the close of the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.

And now the underclassman duo of Kamryn Dumas and Megan Blake of Holland West Ottawa have an entirely new band of “sisters” and fans in the Pioneers of Ann Arbor.

Dumas and Blake battled down to the bitter end and closely defeated the team of Grace Bickersteth/Ellie Alberts of Bloomfield Hills, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, to win their first individual state championship.

More definitively, their win allowed Pioneer to hang on and tie Bloomfield Hills overall, 30-30 in team points to settle the Finals team race with co-champions. Birmingham Seaholm earned 20 points to place third.

“I think it’s so fun that even though we’re on different teams we can still come together and cheer for each other,” Blake said about the Pioneer team swarming the No. 4 doubles court afterwards.

Ann Arbor Pioneer tennisIf Bloomfield Hills had won that last match, the Black Hawks would have earned the team championship outright.

“Our attitude was good today,” Blake added. “We just worked together, we came together between points to talk with each other and pull each other up.”

Dumas said representing their school and city – heck, their region too – was important.

“It’s kind of crazy out here,” she said about the fans’ reaction. “I think people don’t respect the west side (of the state) for tennis. The east side is like the dominant for sure, so it was nice to prove ourselves in that way – to have everyone believe in us, and that really strengthened us in the matches.”

Crowning team co-champions certainly seemed like the right ending to a season that wasn’t even certain to happen, after COVID-19 cancelled all 2020 spring sports. Both Pioneer and Bloomfield Hills have top-notch squads that also tied, 4-4, during the regular season in a head-to-head dual.

Pioneer totally dominated the singles flights this weekend, and Bloomfield Hills was powerful in doubles. Pioneer swept the singles championships with significant wins by Reese Miller (No. 1), Elsie Van Wieren (No. 2), Mia Goldstein (No. 3) and Bridgette Kelly (No. 4). All four came in as number one seeds, and all four went undefeated against Division 1 competition the entire season.

“I’ve been coaching for 30 years and I’ve had some of the finest players in the state, boys and girls. And I’ve never had a singles lineup like this, and who went through the season undefeated, and undefeated in such ways that you can’t imagine – so few games lost in the season,” said Pioneer coach Tom Pullen.  “Some of them lost fewer than 10 games the entire season. It’s just really astounding.”

Between those four players, during the final matches only Saturday, their game scores totaled 48-8.  Those wins gave the Pioneers an advantage of 30 team points to 27 over Bloomfield Hills, which soon after won the Nos. 1-3 doubles matches for the team championship tie.

“We had to battle today, and I couldn’t be happier (with the co-champs result),” said Bloomfield Hills coach Chris Dobson. “This was an epic performance by the girls. I think we were considered No. 2 all through the season, respectfully, to Pioneer. We had a decisive tie with them before (during the regular season) and frankly we felt co-No. 1 all through the season, so we feel this is a more appropriate (final result) and not as surprising as many others might feel.

“A championship is a championship; there’s no asterisk by it. Pioneer has a powerhouse lineup at singles like I’ve never seen. So, for what we had to do and how we had to battle, to share it with a phenomenal team, there certainly is no shame in that whatsoever.”

Hannah Tomina and Noa Goldstein won No. 1 doubles as the second seed at their flight, while Raegan Tomina and Carly Bernard at No. 2, and Eryn Stern and Natalie Raab at No. 3, entered as top seeds on the way to winning those championships. And Bickersteth and Alberts brought the team four points by reaching the No. 4 championship match, just as key with every point contributing to the eventual shared team title.

Bloomfield Hills tennisMia Goldstein, a junior, is the Pioneers’ captain and looking forward to the future since none of the starting singles players graduate this year.

“I’m super proud of the girls this weekend,” she said as all the doubles matches were still underway. “I know we came in with pretty high expectations, being the No. 1 seeds all the way around. And I know my girls are all fighters, so I knew that even if we were having an off day, we could compete our hearts out.

“I think it’s pretty crazy that we swept singles. I don’t know if it’s ever happened before, but I’m just really proud of everyone and the team spirit we had today.”

Miller, a sophomore, expressed one regret that was out of her control last spring. She didn’t get to play on the team with her older sister, Karina, who graduated in 2020 and now plays tennis at Michigan.

“Having watched my sister play all through high school, I felt pretty confident knowing what to do out here,” she said. “I was pretty confident in everyone coming in, since we’re the No. 1 seeds, we were all undefeated except two losses I had to a really great player (Detroit Country Day’s Julia Fliegner) in another Division (3). That confidence helped all of us, and we all felt that ‘we got this, we know we can do it.’ But I knew we’d still have some tough matches. Everyone (at states) is good.

“My finals opponent (Zoe Angell, Midland Dow) is really good, and our matches this season have been much closer than the final scores indicated. But I was excited. I’ve never played in states before because of last year getting canceled.”

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PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills celebrates one of its flight championships Saturday at Mason High School. (Middle) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Reese Miller returns a volley during her No. 1 singles championship win. (Below) Bloomfield Hills’ Hannah Tomina returns a volley during her and Noa Goldstein’s No. 1 doubles title-deciding match. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)