Performance: TC Central's Autumn Roberts
May 4, 2018
Autumn Roberts
Traverse City Central senior – Tennis
Traverse City Central’s No. 1 singles player became the latest in a long line of Trojans to claim her 100th win, reaching the milestone with two more at last week’s Saginaw Heritage quad to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” Roberts claimed her 99th career victory in a tie-breaker against Grand Blanc’s Ava Dunlap, then her 100th in straight sets over Davison’s Krystan Delay.
Roberts’ record this season is 10-6, and her career record now stands at 106-24. While Roberts became the 44th player in Traverse City Central girls tennis history to reach 100 victories, she’s the only one in program history to win an MHSAA Finals singles championship – she finished first at No. 4 singles in Lower Peninsula Division 1 as a freshman as her team finished fifth overall. Roberts moved up to No. 2 singles as a sophomore as the Trojans tied for 12th in Division 1, and last season she won a Regional title at No. 1 singles and made all-state as the Trojans tied for fifth in Division 2. Central is ranked No. 7 in Division 2 this week, and the Trojans have taken on some of the best across the Lower Peninsula – five of Roberts’ six defeats this spring have come against players from teams ranked in Division 1 or 2. She also owns wins over Kaitlyn Fox of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – last season’s Division 2 runner-up at No. 2 singles – and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Emma Sable, the Cranes’ top player when they finished third in Division 3 in 2017.
Roberts carries a 3.8 grade-point average and will attend Michigan State University. She’s a member of the National Business Honor Society and will major in finance on a track to become a chartered financial analyst. She also was a member of the Traverse City Central girls bowling team as a junior, something she did more for fun. Tennis is the serious pursuit – but as captain this spring she’s made fun a focus for this team as well as it’s continued to rank among the state’s elite.
Coach Shane Dilloway said: “Autumn's success starts with the years she has spent on the court. Leading up to high school, she dreamed of playing Trojan tennis, and her dedication to that dream turned into reality her freshman year when she earned a singles position in a highly experienced singles lineup. Since then, Autumn has climbed the singles ladder to play 1 singles her junior and senior years. She thrives on competition, adapts quickly to each match, has a versatile game and is extremely coachable. One of her strongest attributes is she doesn't put her emotions on display, aside from the joy she has for the sport. She experiences a range of emotions internally, from self-doubt to pure glee, but she keeps that hidden from her opponents. Above her inside-out forehand and touch volleys, her poker face may be her greatest weapon. She's an asset to the program and elevates everyone's game. Her ability and skills challenge her peers to rise to their best, and her respect for the game, her opponents, and the overall environment make Autumn a leader by example.”
Performance Point: “I had an idea of how many wins I had going into the tournament,” Roberts said. “I originally thought that I wasn’t going to get the 100th win that day because I started losing my first match; I needed two wins, so if I didn’t win the first match, I wasn’t going to get my 100th. But I actually came back in the second set and it went to a tie-breaker, and I ended up winning. And after that one, I kinda had a feeling – I had really positive energy and I was able to get my 100th later in the day. … I’ve played tennis all my life, and I was always looking forward to joining the century club because I knew a lot of people who hit their 100th their senior year, and I have a lot of friends who are in the club. It’s really cool, and it’s great to be part of that experience, and now I get a banner with all my other friends in the century club.”
Finding treasure: “Obviously the state title was pretty great freshman year. But honestly, my teammates were really making each season so great. Winning is fun and all, but I think just the memories of everyone on the team is what I’ll treasure most later in life. Looking back, it’s really just smiling and laughing with my friends – but the wins are fun too.”
Captain Roberts: “When I came in as a freshman, it was just me and another girl, and we were kinda on the outskirts at first because the team had known each other for so long. After I won the state title, it brought me in. And then throughout the years, as new people came in, I would round everyone up and I was able to get the captain position this year. I feel like I’ve really grown as a player and as a teammate, being able to bring everyone together as that leading figure. (Grown by) just really being comfortable on the court, and off the court, and just keeping a positive mindset and getting everyone else fired up to play. I know how it feels to be scared at first, but I think I’m doing a good job of incorporating everyone, making everyone feel comfortable. Everyone’s just having fun.”
Let’s make a run: “Everyone on the team is doing really well. We have some underclassmen handling the pressure really well. I think we’re going to improve over the season and come out pretty strong at states, hopefully. I think going into playing really good DI schools (as part of the tough regular-season schedule), it’s not being so hard on yourself and keeping that positive mindset. Because if you go in expecting a bad outcome or just trying to hit whatever, you’re going to mess up. If we just refocus, regroup, give ourselves some credit for being how good we actually are, then going into those big matches it will change the outcome. … I want each flight to gain some confidence, and playing against the top dogs I want to test them a little bit, give them a good match, not give up. If we’re down, I want to be able to come back and fight and just give it our all. We have some big tournaments coming up – one in Holly this weekend -- and just hitting as hard as we can and giving it our best, it will really help us.”
Making it count: “Since it’s my last year, I just want to leave without any regrets. I don’t want to look back and think, ‘Oh I should’ve done this,’ so I think in the moment not letting my head get away from me and staying focused on each point. Even if I lose, I just want to feel like I gave it my best shot.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
April 26: Thomas Robinson, Wyoming Lee track & field - Read
March 29: Carlos Johnson, Benton Harbor basketball - Read
March 22: Shine Strickland-Gills, Saginaw Heritage basketball - Read
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City West golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City Central’s Autumn Roberts returns a volley during her team’s home quad. (Middle) Roberts follows through during an MHSAA Finals match at Hope College last season. (Photos courtesy of the Traverse City Central girls tennis program.)
Michigan's Most Vital Prep Sports Moment
April 30, 2018
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
Did you ever hear the one about an Ypsilanti lawyer, two girls from Ann Arbor – one 18 and one 17 – and a judge from Detroit?
I didn’t think so.
Well, pull up a chair. You might never look at a tennis ball, a pair of track cleats, or a softball in the same manner after this one.
Now this story goes back a bit. We’re talking 45, um, make that 46 years ago. It was handed down to me, so now I’m handing it down to you.
The girls, Cindy and Emily, had met at a tennis club when they were 11 or 12. Both were pretty good players who had done well at tennis tournaments before heading off to Huron High School. But there was concern that the girls wouldn’t have the chance to play truly competitive tennis while in high school. You see, like most public schools of the time, Huron had only one varsity tennis team, and that was filled with boys.
Contact was made with a friend and fellow tennis player to help guide things along when it came time to talk to the school board about the girls joining that team.
The conversation between that tennis friend – Larry the Lawyer – and the school board went pretty well. The board decided to let the girls play on the boys tennis team provided they could pass the tryouts. Well, as you’ve probably surmised, the girls did all right. With the blessing of Coach Jerry, it was decided Cindy and Emily would play No. 2 doubles for the River Rats.
But as we all know, such decisions aren’t always met with cupcakes being served and happiness. People don’t always like change.
And that was pretty much the case here.
State officials didn’t much care for the idea. You see, when it came to interscholastic athletics, according to state rules established in 1967, girls couldn’t play on boys teams. Still, the Huron tennis team made the 60-mile trip up to Lansing on a Wednesday in April for a match with Lansing Harry Hill High School. Coach Jerry met with Hill’s coach, they shook hands, then Coach Jerry turned in his line-up card, to make things orderly and official.
Since there were girls names on the lineup card, not a single ball was served that day. Folks figured this was going to be the case. So the players and the bus turned around and headed back to Ann Arbor. Hill claimed a forfeited match because of that rule.
That set wheels in motion. Larry the Lawyer declared that this was a clear case of discrimination and a violation of Cindy and Emily’s right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment. With that, a lawsuit quickly was filed.
Now, they say that this was one of the first, if not the first lawsuits about such things. And you must remember this all happened back in early 1972, before the arrival of Title IX.
Turns out, Larry and the girls won their case. In Federal District Court, Judge Keith listened to what was said and issued a preliminary injunction allowing the girls to play. A little later in the week, Emily and Cindy won their first varsity doubles match hosted in Battle Creek, much to the dismay of their male opponents.
The next month, the Michigan Legislature adopted a bill allowing girls to compete on male teams, but only in non-contact sports. In late May, the doubles team of Emily and Cindy defeated a doubles team from Harry Hill, 6-3, 6-1.
Of course, as with many of these rulings, there was an appeal. And, as these things usually do, it took a while to move this along. But come January 1973, the U.S. Circuit Court down in Cincinnati agreed with Judge Keith and upheld the preliminary injunction. They, too, thought that girls should be able to participate in varsity interscholastic sports. The Circuit Court did narrow Judge Keith’s decision a bit, inserting the word “NON-CONTACT” into the ruling. Suddenly, it was officially OK for girls to play alongside the boys in sports like tennis, swimming, archery, golf, bowling, fencing, badminton, gymnastics, skiing, and track and field.
Now just because there’s a law, it doesn’t mean everyone’s abiding by it. It would take several more years and the threat or the filing of additional lawsuits against school districts and organizations to truly see things change.
Today, we don’t think twice when we take a seat at a girls softball game, track meet or tennis match. But a short time ago, such things simply did not exist for our daughters. The actions of two girls from Ann Arbor, an Ypsilanti lawyer and a judge from Detroit altered the athletic world – for the better.
Lawrence Sperling’s lawsuit to support Cindy Morris’ and Emily Barrett’s quest to play high school sports was certainly a highlight of his career as an attorney. Lawrence and his wife Doris had sons who were outstanding tennis players. Michael and Gene were high-ranking players at Ann Arbor Pioneer during the 1970s. Gene played four years of tennis at the University of Minnesota and would later serve as Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. In 2012, he would write about his father and the landmark case for the White House.
Judge Damon Keith had been appointed to the bench of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, in 1967. It was some four and a half years later that the Morris-Barrett complaint landed on his docket. A graduate of Detroit Northwestern High School, he is the father of three daughters. Keith would later be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court in Cincinnati by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. In 1995, he became the Senior Judge of that court. His amazing story was later told in a documentary “Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith.”
According to media reports, Coach Jerry Shull had been trying to get girls eligible for the previous two seasons, but felt the ultimate solution was to have high schools around the state form all-girls varsity teams. He again served as varsity tennis coach in 1973 (of a team that featured 10 females) before stepping aside in 1974.
Emily Barrett was a multi-sport athlete at Huron High School, competing with the Girls Athletic Club in swimming, field hockey and volleyball as well as tennis during this era of transition. During her senior year, the courts finalized their decision and she again played tennis for Huron. She’d move on to Denison University in Granville, Ohio, after graduation, where she played tennis and field hockey.
A year older than Barrett, Cindy Morris had graduated from Ann Arbor Huron High School by the time the case was finalized. She headed off to the University of Michigan and then transferred to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she played No 1. singles and doubles and twice participated in the National Collegiate Women’s Tournament. She later earned her Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. As Cindy Morris, a sports journalist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, she recalled the words of Judge Keith for an article she was writing in late summer of 1978.
“Indeed, no male could have matched (the) soprano cries of joy when Judge Keith said, yes, go out and run and play and win and lose and laugh and cry and feel that special pride of playing for your school that boys in Michigan have always felt but you haven’t.”
The article was about a lawsuit originating in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where a girl was fighting to be allowed to compete in contact sports against boys.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) The first high school match in 1972 for Ann Arbor Huron's Emily Barrett, left, and Cindy Morris was reported on for the Battle Creek Enquirer. (Top middle) The 1972 Ann Arbor Huron varsity tennis team, including Morris and Barrett. (Middle) The Ann Arbor Huron lineup card shows Barrett and Morris' names for a match against Lansing Harry Hill that was not played. (Below) A Lansing State Journal clipping tells of Hill electing to not play the match.