Fall 2019
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team traveled to the Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University tennis courts on Friday, October 18th for the D3 State Finals.
Sebastian Smith (1st Singles) and the 3rd Doubles team of Devin Jones and Tyler Ray both won their first round matches. Darren Walter (3rd Singles) and the 1st Doubles Team of Merek Dickey and Alex Geyer lost close 3-set matches in the first round. Pinckney concluded its season with a 8-3-3 overall record with an SEC record of 5-2-1.
Pirate Boys Tennis 2019
PHS Tennis 2019 Captain signs with Davenport University
Mitchell Dickey – Davenport University – Swimming
Major – Business
Favorite Sports Memory – “Qualifying for states and going all-conference in the same race in my sophomore year. It was a really big moment for my swimming.”
Looking forward to – “The experience of being a college athlete next year, I can’t wait to get to know the team more!”
Mitchell Dickey – Davenport University – Swimming
Major – Business
Favorite Sports Memory – “Qualifying for states and going all-conference in the same race in my sophomore year. It was a really big moment for my swimming.”
Looking forward to – “The experience of being a college athlete next year, I can’t wait to get to know the team more!”
Sebastian Smith - Bubba - PHS Tennis 2019 Captain receives Hungry Howie's Spring 2018 scholarship.
Coming right off successful tennis and hockey seasons, Bubba, picked up his clubs and headed right to the golf course. He is a Three Sport Athlete for the Pirates and although tennis, hockey, and golf vary in sport, all three of his coaches agree that Bubba is a great addition to any team or classroom!
“It is great to have Bubba on our team because he loves the game of tennis, works hard to continuously improve all aspects of his game, leads by example and is laser focused when he plays his matches. I have never coached a tennis player who plays the pressure points better than Bubba. He is well deserving of this scholarship from Hungry Howies.”
– Francis Diaz – Varsity Boys Tennis Coach
Coming right off successful tennis and hockey seasons, Bubba, picked up his clubs and headed right to the golf course. He is a Three Sport Athlete for the Pirates and although tennis, hockey, and golf vary in sport, all three of his coaches agree that Bubba is a great addition to any team or classroom!
“It is great to have Bubba on our team because he loves the game of tennis, works hard to continuously improve all aspects of his game, leads by example and is laser focused when he plays his matches. I have never coached a tennis player who plays the pressure points better than Bubba. He is well deserving of this scholarship from Hungry Howies.”
– Francis Diaz – Varsity Boys Tennis Coach
Three athletes receive recognition
Three PHS Tennis team members received recognition for being Three-Sport athletes for the 2018-19 school year
Kallia Carlson, Merek Dickey and Sebastian Smith
Great athletes, great students and great kids. A great addition and contributors to PHS Tennis's success!
Three PHS Tennis team members received recognition for being Three-Sport athletes for the 2018-19 school year
Kallia Carlson, Merek Dickey and Sebastian Smith
Great athletes, great students and great kids. A great addition and contributors to PHS Tennis's success!
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team traveled to the Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University tennis courts on Friday, October 18th for the D3 State Finals.
Sebastian Smith (1st Singles) and the 3rd Doubles team of Devin Jones and Tyler Ray both won their first round matches. Darren Walter (3rd Singles) and the 1st Doubles Team of Merek Dickey and Alex Geyer lost close 3-set matches in the first round. Pinckney concluded its season with a 8-3-3 overall record with an SEC record of 5-2-1.
Francis Diaz
Pinckney Boys Varsity Tennis Coach
Below is s slideshow of our experience.
lBelow: Nathan Warshal serve sequence. Weight forward, bounce ball, rock back placing ball on racket, racket head is tipped down until head high, release ball just above head height,"trophy position" with both hands up looking at ball, weight comes forward, lunging up at ball, follow through across the body and down. Nathan is using a strong pronation on this serve. Note he never takes his eye off of the ball. From now until the points conclusion its "eye on ball". (Thanks to Grace Scott, PHS student, for the pictures.)
2019 Seniors
7 Great Seniors
To Bill Khan (Livingston Daily Press & Argus sports):
Pinckney Community Schools has been lucky to have 7 great seniors on its 2019 varsity tennis team. These seniors have been here during the best four years of Pinckney Boys High School tennis:
2016: Pinckney Boys finish 2nd in KLAA West for first time. 7-4 record
2017: Pinckney Boys qualified team for State Finals for 1st time in school history 7-1-1 record
2018: Pinckey Boys fell 2 points short of qualifying for the State Finals 9-2-1 record
2019: Current record is 7-3-2 with hopes of qualifying again for the State Finals
All 7 of our seniors have a 60% or above winning percentage during their varsity careers and have a love for the game of tennis. Our 7 seniors include:
Sebastian Smith: Four year varsity player who has played against the best player from each team we have played the past two years as Pinckney’s 1st Singles player. Currently has 17-7 record for the season. Has not missed a match in 4 years on varsity. Sebastian’s varsity record to date over all 4 years is 72-22 (77% winning percentage). Voted a Varsity Captain for 2 seasons.
Reed Powers: Moved from soccer to tennis his junior year. Had a 19-8 record last season as Pinckney’s 3rd Singles player and has a 14-8 record so far this season as Pinckney’s 2nd Singles player. Reed is the quickest player on the team and has great retrieval and rally skills on the court. Reed’s varsity record to date is 33-16 (67% winning percentage).
Darren Walter: Three year varsity player who had a 17-11 record in 2018 as Pinckney’s 2nd Singles player and so far has a 17-7 record this season at 3rd Singles. Darren so far has a cumulative varsity record of 56-26 (68% winning percentage). Received SEC Sportsmanship Award in 2018. Voted a Varsity Captain for 2 seasons.
Mitch Dickey: Three year varsity player who so far has a 19-5 record for this season as Pinckney’s 4th Singles player and a cumulative varsity record so far of 44-22 (67% winning percentage). Mitch worked as hard as any player on the team to improve his tennis game during the off-season and has made a remarkable transition from doubles to singles this season. Voted a Varsity Captain for this season.
Nathan Warshal: Three year varsity player who so far has a 15-6 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 2nd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 45-17 (73% winning percentage). Nathan was a 1st Team All-Livingston County tennis player last year. Nathan is a very intelligent student who plays smart, consistent tennis. Voted a Varsity Captain for this season.
Ben Wittrup: Two year varsity player who so far has a 15-6 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 2nd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 24-15 (62% winning percentage). Ben is a very intelligent and enthusiastic player who has mastered the angled volley better than any player on the team.
Devin Jones: Two year varsity player who so far has a 12-5 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 3rd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 21-14 (60% winning percentage). Devin is the second quickest player on our team and has a wonderful topspin forehand ground stroke that he uses to consistently keep the ball in play.
Submitted by Francis Diaz on October 4, 2019 (810-923-0096)
To Bill Khan (Livingston Daily Press & Argus sports):
Pinckney Community Schools has been lucky to have 7 great seniors on its 2019 varsity tennis team. These seniors have been here during the best four years of Pinckney Boys High School tennis:
2016: Pinckney Boys finish 2nd in KLAA West for first time. 7-4 record
2017: Pinckney Boys qualified team for State Finals for 1st time in school history 7-1-1 record
2018: Pinckey Boys fell 2 points short of qualifying for the State Finals 9-2-1 record
2019: Current record is 7-3-2 with hopes of qualifying again for the State Finals
All 7 of our seniors have a 60% or above winning percentage during their varsity careers and have a love for the game of tennis. Our 7 seniors include:
Sebastian Smith: Four year varsity player who has played against the best player from each team we have played the past two years as Pinckney’s 1st Singles player. Currently has 17-7 record for the season. Has not missed a match in 4 years on varsity. Sebastian’s varsity record to date over all 4 years is 72-22 (77% winning percentage). Voted a Varsity Captain for 2 seasons.
Reed Powers: Moved from soccer to tennis his junior year. Had a 19-8 record last season as Pinckney’s 3rd Singles player and has a 14-8 record so far this season as Pinckney’s 2nd Singles player. Reed is the quickest player on the team and has great retrieval and rally skills on the court. Reed’s varsity record to date is 33-16 (67% winning percentage).
Darren Walter: Three year varsity player who had a 17-11 record in 2018 as Pinckney’s 2nd Singles player and so far has a 17-7 record this season at 3rd Singles. Darren so far has a cumulative varsity record of 56-26 (68% winning percentage). Received SEC Sportsmanship Award in 2018. Voted a Varsity Captain for 2 seasons.
Mitch Dickey: Three year varsity player who so far has a 19-5 record for this season as Pinckney’s 4th Singles player and a cumulative varsity record so far of 44-22 (67% winning percentage). Mitch worked as hard as any player on the team to improve his tennis game during the off-season and has made a remarkable transition from doubles to singles this season. Voted a Varsity Captain for this season.
Nathan Warshal: Three year varsity player who so far has a 15-6 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 2nd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 45-17 (73% winning percentage). Nathan was a 1st Team All-Livingston County tennis player last year. Nathan is a very intelligent student who plays smart, consistent tennis. Voted a Varsity Captain for this season.
Ben Wittrup: Two year varsity player who so far has a 15-6 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 2nd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 24-15 (62% winning percentage). Ben is a very intelligent and enthusiastic player who has mastered the angled volley better than any player on the team.
Devin Jones: Two year varsity player who so far has a 12-5 record for this season as one of Pinckney’s 3rd Doubles players and a cumulative varsity record so far of 21-14 (60% winning percentage). Devin is the second quickest player on our team and has a wonderful topspin forehand ground stroke that he uses to consistently keep the ball in play.
Submitted by Francis Diaz on October 4, 2019 (810-923-0096)
Girls Varsity & Junior Varsity Tennis 2019
Girls Varsity Tennis 2019
Girls JV Tennis 2019
Linda McKay and Gabby Liddy with MSU Women's Coach Kim Bruno
Boys Tennis Varsity & Junior Varsity 2018
Varsity, Junior Varsity and Coaches for Boys PHS Tennis 2018
Livingston Daily Press and Argus
2018 All-County Team
First Team
Sebastian ("Bubba") Smith 11th grade Flight: No. 1 Singles
Achievements: Sebastian, a Pinckney captain, had a 22-6 record as Pinckney's #1 singles player and won all his matches versus other Livingston County players. He won the #1 singles flight at the Pinckney and Howell Tournaments and placed 2nd at the Milford Tournament. Sebastian has been a varsity player since his freshman year and continues to improve his game every year.
Coach’s comment: “Bubba loves the game of tennis and plays many hours outside of practice and matches with his teammates to improve his game. He has great feel on his strokes with the ability to hit topspin, slice, lobs and drop shots depending on the situation. He is extremely calm and focused under pressure which results in an uncanny ability to come back from a set down to win matches. Bubba had a record of 6-1 in 3-set matches this season. He is a captain that leads by example and always gives the team a 100% effort.”
Luke Flickema 12th grade Flight: No. 4 Singles
Achievements: Luke, a Pinckney captain, had an overall record of 23-6 at 4th singles for Pinckney. Luke won the #4 singles flight at the Pinckney tournament, the Howell tournament and the SEC White Division tournament. Luke also finished second in #4 singles at the Okemos Regionals.
Coach’s comment: “Luke played doubles on our varsity the past 2 years but worked very hard during the off-season to develop a strong singles game. This season, Luke improved his consistency and his ability to adapt to the different playing styles resulting in the best record of any of our players at tournaments. It has been fun to see Luke have such a great senior year.”
Blake Mahnken 12th grade and Nathan Warshal 11th grade Flight: No. 2 Doubles
Achievements: Blake and Nathan finished the season with a 17-8 record, placing 2nd in the Howell tournament and 2nd in the SEC White Division tournament. Blake and Nathan won all their matches against Livingston County teams, beating Brighton, Hartland, Howell and Fowlerville. Blake and Nathan placed 2nd in 2nd Doubles at the SEC White Division tournament and were the 3rd rated 2nd Doubles team in the Okemos Regional Tournament.
Coach’s comment: “Blake and Nathan played 6th Doubles for our varsity last year and had the highest winning percentage of any of our doubles teams. This year, they improved their serving, their volleying and their return of serve and made an impressive move up to the No. 2 Doubles position. Their styles of play worked well together and their consistency was the key to achieving a 17-8 record.”
Second Team
Reed Powers
Darren Walter
Mitch Dickey
Luke Walter
Merek Dickey
Alex Geyer
Honorable mention
Devin Jones
Ben Wittrup
2018 All-County Team
First Team
Sebastian ("Bubba") Smith 11th grade Flight: No. 1 Singles
Achievements: Sebastian, a Pinckney captain, had a 22-6 record as Pinckney's #1 singles player and won all his matches versus other Livingston County players. He won the #1 singles flight at the Pinckney and Howell Tournaments and placed 2nd at the Milford Tournament. Sebastian has been a varsity player since his freshman year and continues to improve his game every year.
Coach’s comment: “Bubba loves the game of tennis and plays many hours outside of practice and matches with his teammates to improve his game. He has great feel on his strokes with the ability to hit topspin, slice, lobs and drop shots depending on the situation. He is extremely calm and focused under pressure which results in an uncanny ability to come back from a set down to win matches. Bubba had a record of 6-1 in 3-set matches this season. He is a captain that leads by example and always gives the team a 100% effort.”
Luke Flickema 12th grade Flight: No. 4 Singles
Achievements: Luke, a Pinckney captain, had an overall record of 23-6 at 4th singles for Pinckney. Luke won the #4 singles flight at the Pinckney tournament, the Howell tournament and the SEC White Division tournament. Luke also finished second in #4 singles at the Okemos Regionals.
Coach’s comment: “Luke played doubles on our varsity the past 2 years but worked very hard during the off-season to develop a strong singles game. This season, Luke improved his consistency and his ability to adapt to the different playing styles resulting in the best record of any of our players at tournaments. It has been fun to see Luke have such a great senior year.”
Blake Mahnken 12th grade and Nathan Warshal 11th grade Flight: No. 2 Doubles
Achievements: Blake and Nathan finished the season with a 17-8 record, placing 2nd in the Howell tournament and 2nd in the SEC White Division tournament. Blake and Nathan won all their matches against Livingston County teams, beating Brighton, Hartland, Howell and Fowlerville. Blake and Nathan placed 2nd in 2nd Doubles at the SEC White Division tournament and were the 3rd rated 2nd Doubles team in the Okemos Regional Tournament.
Coach’s comment: “Blake and Nathan played 6th Doubles for our varsity last year and had the highest winning percentage of any of our doubles teams. This year, they improved their serving, their volleying and their return of serve and made an impressive move up to the No. 2 Doubles position. Their styles of play worked well together and their consistency was the key to achieving a 17-8 record.”
Second Team
Reed Powers
Darren Walter
Mitch Dickey
Luke Walter
Merek Dickey
Alex Geyer
Honorable mention
Devin Jones
Ben Wittrup
Congratulations 🎈to you and your kids for another successful season. Pinckney tennis 🎾 has become a successful program in the district and the kids have a lot to celebrate 🎉.
The Pirate tennis torch burns strongly for the future Pirates to follow.
You guys do so much for the kids and they will long remember their coaches and parents who have helped them on this journey.
Ben Tasich, Boy's and Girls' PHS tennis Coach Alumni
Outstanding....congrats on another great accomplishment!
Todd Beyer, Novi Sports Club Head Tennis Pro
The Pirate tennis torch burns strongly for the future Pirates to follow.
You guys do so much for the kids and they will long remember their coaches and parents who have helped them on this journey.
Ben Tasich, Boy's and Girls' PHS tennis Coach Alumni
Outstanding....congrats on another great accomplishment!
Todd Beyer, Novi Sports Club Head Tennis Pro
Right click on any photo on this website to save to your own computer.
2018 SEC Tournament - medalists
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JV Coach Mark Swanson, Varsity Coach Francis Diaz, Asst Coach Tom Shehan
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from Coach Francis on 9/26
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team hosted the SEC White Division Conference Tournament today and finished second out of 7 teams. Chelsea won the tournament with 53 points followed by Pinckney with 48 points and Dexter with 37 points. Every one of Pinckney's 8 flights (4 singles and 4 doubles) won at least 2 matches during the tournament. Reed Powers won the championship medal at 3rd singles and Luke Flickema won the championship medal at 4th singles. Mitch Dickey and Luke Walter placed 2nd at 1st doubles, Blake Mahnken and Nathan Warshal placed 2nd at 2nd doubles, Devin Jones and Ben Wittrup placed 2nd at 3rd doubles and Alex Geyer and Merek Dickey placed 2nd at 4th doubles. Pinckney's dual meet record for the season is 7-2-1 with a 4-1-1 record in their SEC conference matches.
from Coach Diaz on Aug 30
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team improved its season dual match record to 4-1-1 with a 5-4 victory over South Lyon on Thursday, August 30th. Darren Walter, Reed Powers and Luke Flickema won at 2nd, 3rd and 4th singles while the 1st doubles team of Luke Walter and Mitch Dickey and the 4th doubles team of Alex Geyer and Merek Dickey also won. After losing 9 players from last year's varsity team, this year's team is improving quickly.
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team improved its season dual match record to 4-1-1 with a 5-4 victory over South Lyon on Thursday, August 30th. Darren Walter, Reed Powers and Luke Flickema won at 2nd, 3rd and 4th singles while the 1st doubles team of Luke Walter and Mitch Dickey and the 4th doubles team of Alex Geyer and Merek Dickey also won. After losing 9 players from last year's varsity team, this year's team is improving quickly.
from Coach Diaz re the Pinckney Quad Tournament on Sat, Aug 25.
We had the most competitive tennis tournament I have ever run this past Saturday with Pinckney tying a St. Johns team (that earlier in the week got 1st place in an 8 team Fowlerville tournament) with 14 points. However, St. Johns won the tie-breaker to claim first place in our tournament with Pinckney finishing second. For me, the match of the tournament was Bubba Smith's comeback from a 2-7 deficit (in an 8-game pro set) to win the match 8-7 in a tie-breaker. One of Bubba's many strengths is his ability to stay calm and focused when the match is not going well and coming back one point at a time. It is a great lesson for all our players. Bubba and Luke Flickema both won 1st place medals in their flights in our tournament.
We had the most competitive tennis tournament I have ever run this past Saturday with Pinckney tying a St. Johns team (that earlier in the week got 1st place in an 8 team Fowlerville tournament) with 14 points. However, St. Johns won the tie-breaker to claim first place in our tournament with Pinckney finishing second. For me, the match of the tournament was Bubba Smith's comeback from a 2-7 deficit (in an 8-game pro set) to win the match 8-7 in a tie-breaker. One of Bubba's many strengths is his ability to stay calm and focused when the match is not going well and coming back one point at a time. It is a great lesson for all our players. Bubba and Luke Flickema both won 1st place medals in their flights in our tournament.
Below is a slideshow of pictures taken throughout the 2018 Fall season.
Varsity Girls 2018
Junior Varsity Girls 2018
Slide show below. Left click the upper left corner "Play" to start. Right click any photo to save to your computer.
Varsity Tennis 2017
HS Girl's Tennis Spring season - Season begins Monday, March 12, rain (in the gym) or outside (on the courts). The first few days are important as varsity and junior varsity teams will be determined. While our conference mandates certain number of matches for Varsity players to be considered for post-season play, coaches Nolan and Mark have these goals: have fun and hang with and make new friends. And we'll do our best to sharpen your on-court skills for match play. And if past seasons can predict the future, you may be asked to "play varsity" or "play junior varsity" for any given match, so we can round out the numbers and get everyone as much play time as possible.
We'll have the full season schedule posted soon, on this site.
Francis Diaz, Pinckney boys tennis, selected as a Top 10 Livingston County Coach for 2017
Taking over for a Pinckney tennis legend in Ben Tasich is no easy feat, but Diaz has very successfully transitioned into his new role as the Pinckney boys head coach. In only his second year with the team, Diaz led the Pirates to arguably their best season in school history, as they made their first appearance in the Division 2 state finals.
Response from Coach Diaz to parent Lauren Walter 1/1/2018
Thank you Lauren for the kind words but I feel this is a recognition of the players, parents, coaches and helpers we had on the 2017 Boys Tennis Team. As my players know, I am a coach that emphasizes the team concept and it was the players, parents and coaches working together that led to our team's success and the many post season honors our team members have received. For me, having our top 12 players all receive All-Livingston County Tennis Team recognition was the most amazing honor. I am not sure if there has ever been another Pinckney sports team that had its top 12 players all make the all county team.
Taking over for a Pinckney tennis legend in Ben Tasich is no easy feat, but Diaz has very successfully transitioned into his new role as the Pinckney boys head coach. In only his second year with the team, Diaz led the Pirates to arguably their best season in school history, as they made their first appearance in the Division 2 state finals.
Response from Coach Diaz to parent Lauren Walter 1/1/2018
Thank you Lauren for the kind words but I feel this is a recognition of the players, parents, coaches and helpers we had on the 2017 Boys Tennis Team. As my players know, I am a coach that emphasizes the team concept and it was the players, parents and coaches working together that led to our team's success and the many post season honors our team members have received. For me, having our top 12 players all receive All-Livingston County Tennis Team recognition was the most amazing honor. I am not sure if there has ever been another Pinckney sports team that had its top 12 players all make the all county team.
from Coach Francis on Dec 3, 2017
FYI - In today's Sunday Livingston Press & Argus newspaper, they printed the two tennis articles attached below. The first is about Adam Caplin who was selected by the Livingston Press & Argus as the All-Livingston County Tennis Player of the Year. The second article is the newspaper's selection of the 1st Team, 2nd Team and Honorable Mention Team for the 2017 All-Livingston County Boys Tennis Team. Pinckney's top 12 players (4 singles players and top 4 doubles teams) were all selected to either the 1st team, 2nd Team or Honorable Mention. I am pretty sure that this is the first time this has ever occurred in Pinckney tennis history. If our returning players commit to improving their tennis games during the off-season, we have the potential to be a very good tennis team in the coming years.
JV Tennis 2017
Varsity and JV Tennis 2017
Urgent: USTA Fall Match play for HS current and incoming players. Registration due ASAP, as in immediately. Contact Coach Francis. Go to the the Instructional section (above) for details.
Homecoming Parade 2017
Varsity at Regionals 2017
Varsity at Regionals 2017
Adam Caplin spearheaded Pinckney tennis in 'unforgettable' season
Anthony Odoardi, Livingston Daily Nov. 26, 2017 |
PINCKNEY — It wasn’t supposed to be as easy as Pinckney senior Adam Caplin made it look, making the transition from No. 2 singles to the top-singles fight in his senior year.
His coach Francis Diaz and former teammate Wilson Wagner, the Livingston Daily’s 2016 Boys Tennis Player of the Year, warned him it would be anything but.
“They said it was going to be a big jump,” Caplin said.
Yet, Caplin seemed to breeze through his life as the Pirates’ go-to guy, going 20-9 overall en route to leading the Pirates to the Division 2 state finals for the first time in school history.
He was, by far, the county’s most successful player at No. 1 singles. His team was also the best in the area, and in school history, going 7-1-1 overall, playing in six tournaments while finishing no lower than third, and qualifying for states by scoring 10 points and taking third at regionals.
“Adam’s dedication to improve his game during the offseason resulted in big improvement between his junior and senior seasons,” Diaz said. “Adam did every offseason program I offered to our Pinckney tennis players.”
This included fall and winter group tennis lessons at the Novi Sports Club. It included competing with a United States Tennis Association junior tennis team comprised of Pinckney players in the fall and winter. Caplin also attended summer community education tennis clinics and participated in additional USTA tournaments.
In other words, he put the work in, and it resulted in drastic enhancements.
“I probably realized it was more difficult (toward the middle) of the season,” Caplin said.
Through the first half, he was essentially unchallenged, the summer training clearly doing wonders for his game. He defeated his opponents with a solid return and by beautifully mixing his slice and topspin shots, as Diaz described, “kind of like a baseball pitcher who mixes fastballs and changeups to keep the hitter from developing a rhythm.”
And that led to numerous big wins, beating Brighton and Howell's top singles player in scrimmages, topping Hartland’s No. 1 singles players in a head-to-head meet, and downing the same South Lyon opponent, who beat him in last year’s regionals, twice in consecutive sets.
“He was a leader on the team in showing his teammates how much you can improve by putting in offseason work and giving 100 percent effort at every practice and match,” Diaz said. “Adam tremendously improved his singles game over the past two years.”
For Caplin, it wasn’t so much about the individual victories as it was about what his achievements helped do for the team.
“It was fantastic,” said Caplin of the season. “It’s really hard to describe the feeling when I found out (we made states for the first time). … It was very unforgettable. I’ll never forget how we made it to states.”
Caplin had suffered a rare loss in his second match at regionals. Knowing Pinckney was stuck at nine points and needing 10, he assumed it was over, that the Pirates would come one point shy of reaching their goal and etching their names into the history books.
When he returned to the smiling faces of his teammates, he discovered quite the opposite, that No. 4 singles player Sebastian Smith and No. 3 Joey Paliwoda had earned second victories, and, therefore, two more crucial points to hit double digits.
That meant Caplin was a part of the first team and first senior class to bring Pinckney to states.
“It was very overwhelming,” Caplin said. “Very special. I am really honored to be part of it."
Joey Paliwoda
CLASS: Senior
FLIGHT: No. 3 Singles
ACHIEVEMENTS: Paliwoda was vital in Pinckney reaching the D2 state meet as one of only two Pinckney players that won two matches at regionals. The Pirates needed those points, as they just barely hit the 10 required to make it. Paliwoda, who was 26-6 at No. 3-singles in 2017, went on to be the Pirates’ only player to emerge victorious at states, defeating Allen Park’s Everett Czajka to advance to the quarterfinals.
Joey Paliwoda (Photo: Submitted Photo)
CLASS: Senior
FLIGHT: No. 3 Singles
ACHIEVEMENTS: Paliwoda was vital in Pinckney reaching the D2 state meet as one of only two Pinckney players that won two matches at regionals. The Pirates needed those points, as they just barely hit the 10 required to make it. Paliwoda, who was 26-6 at No. 3-singles in 2017, went on to be the Pirates’ only player to emerge victorious at states, defeating Allen Park’s Everett Czajka to advance to the quarterfinals.
Joey Paliwoda (Photo: Submitted Photo)
Second Team
John Tyler, Pinckney
Sebastian Smith, Pinckney
Honorable Mention
John Tyler, Pinckney
Sebastian Smith, Pinckney
Honorable Mention
- PINCKNEY — Luke Flickema & Matt Folk, Luke Walter & Darren Walter, Jake Slate & Trent Mahnken, Jack Powers & Kyler Anderson
from Coach Francis
10/21/2017
The final results of the D2 Tennis State Finals: Pinckney finished 20th out of the 24 teams. Another way to look at it. There are 71 teams in D2. That means 41 teams did not get the experience, regardless of the outcome.
Every player and parent who gave me feedback said it was a great experience for our players.
Interestingly,
Okemos won the D2 title again this year, easily. They won 6 of the 8 flights (3 & 4 singles and all 4 doubles flights)
The player that beat Joey, got to the finals of 3rd Singles and lost to the top seed (Okemos player that Joey played in the Regional final).
The 1st singles player from Farmington, Manuel Yeh, we were cheering for yesterday got to the semifinals of 1st singles.
10/21/2017
The final results of the D2 Tennis State Finals: Pinckney finished 20th out of the 24 teams. Another way to look at it. There are 71 teams in D2. That means 41 teams did not get the experience, regardless of the outcome.
Every player and parent who gave me feedback said it was a great experience for our players.
Interestingly,
Okemos won the D2 title again this year, easily. They won 6 of the 8 flights (3 & 4 singles and all 4 doubles flights)
The player that beat Joey, got to the finals of 3rd Singles and lost to the top seed (Okemos player that Joey played in the Regional final).
The 1st singles player from Farmington, Manuel Yeh, we were cheering for yesterday got to the semifinals of 1st singles.
from the Livingston Press and Argus
10/20./21017
The key word was almost.
Sure, he almost blew the second set. He almost squandered a match that he seemed in control of early
on. He almost, as he put it, choked. And if those things had happened, it would have been
understandable for a 10th-grader and first-year varsity singles player.
It was almost how it transpired, but not how it actually did.
Smith’s nerves settled, he focused solely on avoiding unforced errors, and he rallied. The sophomore
battled as he never had before, storming back from down one game to being one of Pinckney boys
tennis greatest heroes with a 7-5 second-set victory.
“We were all rooting, the whole team at that site was cheering on Bubba,” said Pinckney coach Francis
Diaz, using Smith’s nickname. “You get very, very nervous in that situation. To be honest with you, I didn’t
go to the fence to give him anymore tips, because I knew that he knew what to do. I figured that would
be less pressure on him, and he pulled it out on his own.”
“I was at the second site and I didn’t know until my match got over,” said senior No. 1 singles player
Adam Caplin. “It was nerve-wracking because I didn’t know if we had made it or not.”
For Caplin, if not the best loss of his life, it was certainly the most celebrated.
“I was just in shock,” he said. “My coach, Francis, came over to me and patted me on the shoulder and
said, ‘We’re going to states.’ Everyone was excited, and I was sitting in my chair in shock.
“It was one of my best moments in sports so far.”
For the first time, the Pirates are heading to the state finals. They achieved their main goal set long
before the 2017 season. And although “Bubba” was the hero, it was certainly a team effort.
Each Pinckney flight won at least one match. The only other team in the regional to do that was top-
ranked Okemos. And Pinckney did it as the underdogs in a regional that has eventually crowned the
state champion in 12 of the past 15 years.
“I’m just so happy for the kids,” Diaz said, “especially my seven seniors. Even though they may not
realize it yet, they’re going to look back on this for many years to come. We’re just really happy.”
The Pirates now head to Kalamazoo College, the site of the D2 finals. They left Thursday morning and
will be staying at a nearby motel, Diaz said. Asked about the approach, and the second-year coach
essentially said the Pirates are just excited to see what happens.
“It means a lot,” Caplin said. “It’s still hard to take in. It’s exciting, and it should be really fun.
10/20./21017
The key word was almost.
Sure, he almost blew the second set. He almost squandered a match that he seemed in control of early
on. He almost, as he put it, choked. And if those things had happened, it would have been
understandable for a 10th-grader and first-year varsity singles player.
It was almost how it transpired, but not how it actually did.
Smith’s nerves settled, he focused solely on avoiding unforced errors, and he rallied. The sophomore
battled as he never had before, storming back from down one game to being one of Pinckney boys
tennis greatest heroes with a 7-5 second-set victory.
“We were all rooting, the whole team at that site was cheering on Bubba,” said Pinckney coach Francis
Diaz, using Smith’s nickname. “You get very, very nervous in that situation. To be honest with you, I didn’t
go to the fence to give him anymore tips, because I knew that he knew what to do. I figured that would
be less pressure on him, and he pulled it out on his own.”
“I was at the second site and I didn’t know until my match got over,” said senior No. 1 singles player
Adam Caplin. “It was nerve-wracking because I didn’t know if we had made it or not.”
For Caplin, if not the best loss of his life, it was certainly the most celebrated.
“I was just in shock,” he said. “My coach, Francis, came over to me and patted me on the shoulder and
said, ‘We’re going to states.’ Everyone was excited, and I was sitting in my chair in shock.
“It was one of my best moments in sports so far.”
For the first time, the Pirates are heading to the state finals. They achieved their main goal set long
before the 2017 season. And although “Bubba” was the hero, it was certainly a team effort.
Each Pinckney flight won at least one match. The only other team in the regional to do that was top-
ranked Okemos. And Pinckney did it as the underdogs in a regional that has eventually crowned the
state champion in 12 of the past 15 years.
“I’m just so happy for the kids,” Diaz said, “especially my seven seniors. Even though they may not
realize it yet, they’re going to look back on this for many years to come. We’re just really happy.”
The Pirates now head to Kalamazoo College, the site of the D2 finals. They left Thursday morning and
will be staying at a nearby motel, Diaz said. Asked about the approach, and the second-year coach
essentially said the Pirates are just excited to see what happens.
“It means a lot,” Caplin said. “It’s still hard to take in. It’s exciting, and it should be really fun.
Pinckney Tennis
from Livingston Press and Argus
10/15/2017
For the first time in at least 26 years, the Pinckney boys tennis team is heading to the state finals. Playing in one of the Division 2’s toughest regionals — with the winners of 12 of the last 15 D2 state championships residing in it — the Pirates earned the 10 points needed to qualify and take third, behind No.1-ranked Okemos (24 points) and East Lansing (11). All eight of Pinckney’s flights won matches, with Paliwoda and Sebastian Smith playing in the finals. Paliwoda reached the championship match at No. 3 singles with Smith doing so at four-singles. The team now gets to compete for a state title Oct. 20-21 in Kalamazoo.
CONGRATS! (pictures above)
from Coach Francis
10/13/2017
On Friday, October 13 the Pinckney Boys Tennis Team finished third at the East Lansing Regionals, with Okemos winning with 24 points, East Lansing with 11 points and Pinckney with 10 points. With 10 points (one for each victory), Pinckney qualified for the Division 2 State Championship Tournament in Kalamazoo on October 20 and 21. All 8 of Pinckney's flights (4 singles and 4 doubles) won their 1st round matches with Joey Paliwoda and Sebastian Smith getting to the finals and winning 2nd place medals at 3rd and 4th singles respectively. All 8 flights played their best tennis of the season and contributed to the team qualifying for "states". Coach Francis Diaz has lived in the Pinckney area for 26 years and to his knowledge, Pinckney Boys Tennis has not qualified for the state tournament during this time period, so this is a proud achievement for the Pinckney tennis players.
from Coach Francis
10/13/2017
On Friday, October 13 the Pinckney Boys Tennis Team finished third at the East Lansing Regionals, with Okemos winning with 24 points, East Lansing with 11 points and Pinckney with 10 points. With 10 points (one for each victory), Pinckney qualified for the Division 2 State Championship Tournament in Kalamazoo on October 20 and 21. All 8 of Pinckney's flights (4 singles and 4 doubles) won their 1st round matches with Joey Paliwoda and Sebastian Smith getting to the finals and winning 2nd place medals at 3rd and 4th singles respectively. All 8 flights played their best tennis of the season and contributed to the team qualifying for "states". Coach Francis Diaz has lived in the Pinckney area for 26 years and to his knowledge, Pinckney Boys Tennis has not qualified for the state tournament during this time period, so this is a proud achievement for the Pinckney tennis players.
from the Livingston Daily Press
10/6/2017
PINCKNEY — Year after year, the Pinckney boys tennis team found itself at or near the bottom of the KLAA West.
That was back before 2009, the program hitting new lows before new management came in that year, tore down the faulty structure and built it back up like they were starring in one of those HGTV shows.
It wasn’t an immediate turnaround, but the two responsible found their perfect fixer-upper.
Those two were Ben Tasich and Francis Diaz. Tasich coached Pinckney tennis from 2009-15 before retiring at 75 years old and handed the reins to Diaz, who led the boys tennis team to perhaps their two best seasons ever, and certainly in recent memory.
“We’ve come a long ways,” said Diaz, who was a volunteer in 2009. “Pinckney tennis was pretty much at the bottom of the KLAA West every season eight years ago. We’ve come a very, very long way.”
From the ground-up, the Pirates were made into a division contender.
Tasich elected to retire following seven seasons of growing the program of “a small school in the cornfields of Pinckney” into what he said in 2016 was the third largest in the 24-team KLAA behind Novi and Northville. Last season, their first under Diaz, the Pirates finished second in the KLAA West for the first time in school history.
This year, now in the SEC White, they are second again and sit at 6-1 overall.
Not only is the team record as impressive as it’s been, but at both singles and doubles the Pirates are cruising. The four singles players have a winning percentage of .800 while the doubles teams aren’t far behind at .730.
“It’s been a long process,” Diaz said. “The fact that Pinckney tennis has improved so much has been nice. It’s been a long time and taken a long time to see the results, but it’s been fun to see the results the last couple of years.”
From 2009-11, the Pirates finished fifth, last and fourth in those years, respectively, while accumulating a combined 10-18 overall record.
However, the pieces were being put together under the radar.
It’s at the lower levels where the two started, creating a middle school program and clinics to attract Pinckney kids to the sport beginning as early as fourth grade. They installed several offseason and in-season programs so that prospective players could play and enjoy the sport throughout all seasons. Eventually, they even added a United States Tennis Association junior program.
“Before, other sports would start earlier than we would, so by the time they got to ninth grade they were committed to those sports,” Diaz said. “These programs have helped to get kids into tennis earlier than they used to be. They’re getting exposure at the (earliest) level.
“Now, we’re getting more kids. And what I love about our kids are that they are in love with the sport. Other coaches have commented about it. Lots of times, I’ll be walking away from practice and 1/3 of the team is still out there hitting the ball on their own. The love of the game has grown and there’s a feeling of pride there.
“They’re proud to be on the Pinckney tennis team.”
It starts with Adam Caplin (17-7), John Tyler (18-4) and Joey Paliwoda (21-4), the team’s No. 1-3 singles players who are the seniors responsible for bringing this year’s team together. Along with No. 4 singles player Sebastian Smith (21-4), the foursome is 77-19 overall.
Strong singles play isn’t something too new in Pinckney, though, as the Pirates have had two standouts recently in Nick Romano, who ventured to the quarterfinals of the Division 2 state playoffs in 2014, and Wilson Wagner, who took over soon after.
That said, never have all four been that successful.
“I love all of my players,” Diaz said, “but the singles have really improved their games.”
The doubles teams aren’t too far in the distance, either.
Pinckney’s No. 3 team of brothers Luke and Darren Walter are 20-5 overall.
“They were both JV players last year, and both progressed to varsity this year,” Diaz said. “I decided early in the season to ask Luke what he thought about playing with his brother … and he was immediately interested. It’s worked out better than I could have expected.”
Trent and Blake Mahnken are also brothers and also having great seasons, albeit not sharing the court. Trent, a senior, is partnered with Jake Slate at No. 2 doubles and the duo is 12-4; Blake, a junior, is at No. 5 or No. 6 doubles with Nathan Warshal and owns a 13-3 record.
“Having brothers on the tennis team is great for two reasons,” Diaz said. “First of all, if a younger brother joins the team, it often indicates the older brother enjoyed being on the team. Secondly, as siblings, they will be able to enjoy playing tennis together for many years after graduation, and hopefully pass on the love of the sport to their children.”
And that’s exactly the culture Tasich and Diaz set out to build, not just at Pinckney High School, but in the community. It took a great deal of time, longer than they perhaps expected and long enough to make Tasich retire, but the Pirates are finally there.
Now, enjoying one of their best seasons, they hope to take the next step.
“We’re going to give it our best shot (in the D2 playoffs),” Diaz said. “It’s a tough regional, but I think our boys are going to do their best. … I’ve told them this before, but they have potential to be very, very good. Maybe one of the best Pinckney teams ever.”
10/6/2017
PINCKNEY — Year after year, the Pinckney boys tennis team found itself at or near the bottom of the KLAA West.
That was back before 2009, the program hitting new lows before new management came in that year, tore down the faulty structure and built it back up like they were starring in one of those HGTV shows.
It wasn’t an immediate turnaround, but the two responsible found their perfect fixer-upper.
Those two were Ben Tasich and Francis Diaz. Tasich coached Pinckney tennis from 2009-15 before retiring at 75 years old and handed the reins to Diaz, who led the boys tennis team to perhaps their two best seasons ever, and certainly in recent memory.
“We’ve come a long ways,” said Diaz, who was a volunteer in 2009. “Pinckney tennis was pretty much at the bottom of the KLAA West every season eight years ago. We’ve come a very, very long way.”
From the ground-up, the Pirates were made into a division contender.
Tasich elected to retire following seven seasons of growing the program of “a small school in the cornfields of Pinckney” into what he said in 2016 was the third largest in the 24-team KLAA behind Novi and Northville. Last season, their first under Diaz, the Pirates finished second in the KLAA West for the first time in school history.
This year, now in the SEC White, they are second again and sit at 6-1 overall.
Not only is the team record as impressive as it’s been, but at both singles and doubles the Pirates are cruising. The four singles players have a winning percentage of .800 while the doubles teams aren’t far behind at .730.
“It’s been a long process,” Diaz said. “The fact that Pinckney tennis has improved so much has been nice. It’s been a long time and taken a long time to see the results, but it’s been fun to see the results the last couple of years.”
From 2009-11, the Pirates finished fifth, last and fourth in those years, respectively, while accumulating a combined 10-18 overall record.
However, the pieces were being put together under the radar.
It’s at the lower levels where the two started, creating a middle school program and clinics to attract Pinckney kids to the sport beginning as early as fourth grade. They installed several offseason and in-season programs so that prospective players could play and enjoy the sport throughout all seasons. Eventually, they even added a United States Tennis Association junior program.
“Before, other sports would start earlier than we would, so by the time they got to ninth grade they were committed to those sports,” Diaz said. “These programs have helped to get kids into tennis earlier than they used to be. They’re getting exposure at the (earliest) level.
“Now, we’re getting more kids. And what I love about our kids are that they are in love with the sport. Other coaches have commented about it. Lots of times, I’ll be walking away from practice and 1/3 of the team is still out there hitting the ball on their own. The love of the game has grown and there’s a feeling of pride there.
“They’re proud to be on the Pinckney tennis team.”
It starts with Adam Caplin (17-7), John Tyler (18-4) and Joey Paliwoda (21-4), the team’s No. 1-3 singles players who are the seniors responsible for bringing this year’s team together. Along with No. 4 singles player Sebastian Smith (21-4), the foursome is 77-19 overall.
Strong singles play isn’t something too new in Pinckney, though, as the Pirates have had two standouts recently in Nick Romano, who ventured to the quarterfinals of the Division 2 state playoffs in 2014, and Wilson Wagner, who took over soon after.
That said, never have all four been that successful.
“I love all of my players,” Diaz said, “but the singles have really improved their games.”
The doubles teams aren’t too far in the distance, either.
Pinckney’s No. 3 team of brothers Luke and Darren Walter are 20-5 overall.
“They were both JV players last year, and both progressed to varsity this year,” Diaz said. “I decided early in the season to ask Luke what he thought about playing with his brother … and he was immediately interested. It’s worked out better than I could have expected.”
Trent and Blake Mahnken are also brothers and also having great seasons, albeit not sharing the court. Trent, a senior, is partnered with Jake Slate at No. 2 doubles and the duo is 12-4; Blake, a junior, is at No. 5 or No. 6 doubles with Nathan Warshal and owns a 13-3 record.
“Having brothers on the tennis team is great for two reasons,” Diaz said. “First of all, if a younger brother joins the team, it often indicates the older brother enjoyed being on the team. Secondly, as siblings, they will be able to enjoy playing tennis together for many years after graduation, and hopefully pass on the love of the sport to their children.”
And that’s exactly the culture Tasich and Diaz set out to build, not just at Pinckney High School, but in the community. It took a great deal of time, longer than they perhaps expected and long enough to make Tasich retire, but the Pirates are finally there.
Now, enjoying one of their best seasons, they hope to take the next step.
“We’re going to give it our best shot (in the D2 playoffs),” Diaz said. “It’s a tough regional, but I think our boys are going to do their best. … I’ve told them this before, but they have potential to be very, very good. Maybe one of the best Pinckney teams ever.”
Picnkney travels to Ann Arbor Huron
from Coach Francis on 10/10
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team tied Ann Arbor Huron 4-4 at the Huron tennis courts on October 10 to move the team's season record to 7-1-1 (4-1-1 in the SEC). Matt Folk and Luke Flickema won at 1st doubles in 3 sets to raise their season record to 16-10. Jack Powers and Kyler Anderson won at 4th doubles to improve their season record to 18-4. Josh VanBynen and Mitch Dickey won at 5th doubles to improve their season record to 10-5. Adam Caplin won at 1st singles, improving his season record to 19-7 and Joey Paliwoda won at 3rd singles to raise his season record to 23-4.
Pinckney hosts South Lyon
from Coach Francis on 10/9
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team defeated South Lyon 9-0 on Oct. 9 at the Pinckney tennis courts to raise their season record to 7-1. Matt Folk and Luke Flickema won at 1st doubles with a 3rd set tie-breaker to raise their season record to 15-10. Jack Powers and Kyler Anderson won 6-0 6-1 at 4th doubles to raise their season record to 17-4. (from Coach Mark - Nathan Warshal and Matt Robinson had a nice comeback win at 6th doubles. Down 6-4, they came back for a 8-6 victory.)
Pinckney hosts Howell
from Coach Francis on 9/28
Pinckney swept the 4 singles and won 7 of the 8 doubles matches (lost one match 10-8 in 3rd set tie-breaker) in a tennis scrimmage with Howell. Since Howell does not have a JV team but brought 20 players on their varsity, Pinckney had 5 JV players play. All 5 JV players played very well and all won their matches.
White Division Conference Tourney
from Coach Francis on 9/26
At today's SEC White Division Conference Tennis Tournament, Pinckney finished 2nd out of the 6 teams participating. Chelsea won the tournament with 37 points with Pinckney finishing 2nd with 28 points and Dexter third with 24 points. All four of Pinckney's singles players (Adam Caplin, John Tyler, Joey Paliwoda and Sebastian Smith) got second place medals. Trent Mahnken and Jake Slate got 2nd place at 2nd doubles and Luke and Darren Walter got 2nd place at 3rd doubles.
Francis Diaz
East Lansing Quad Tourney - Dexter, East Lansing, Jackson, Pinckney
from Coach Francis on 9/23
The Pinckney tennis team tied East Lansing with 19 points in Saturday's East Lansing Tennis Tournament. East Lansing was awarded first place since they won more head-to-head matches with Pinckney. Joey Paliwoda won first place in the 3rd Singles flight improving his season record to 18-3. Luke and Darren Walter won the 3rd Doubles flight to improve their season record to 17-4. Blake Mahnken and Nathan Warshal won first place in 5th doubles to improve their season record to 12-3. Second place medals were won by Adam Caplin (1st singles), John Tyler (2nd singles), Sebastian Smith (4th singles) and Jake Slate and Kyler Anderson (2nd doubles).
Francis Diaz
Pinckney Boys Varsity Tennis Coach
Pinckney vs Brighton
from Coach Francis on 9/15
Today's match vs Brighton was a scrimmage so it does not count for our individual match or team record but I wanted to send my congratulations to the players on both the JV and Varsity for their great effort and sportsmanship today. I do not have the JV results but I was pleased with the improvement I have seen in the way the JV players play. Coach Mark and Coach Tom have done a great job teaching our JV players the game of tennis and it is very obvious how much they have improved. I was very happy with the high number of Pinckney parents who came to watch today. We are blessed with great parents in Pinckney tennis!
Our varsity team won 8 of its 10 matches today vs. Brighton and the two matches we lost were in 3rd set tie-breakers. Our Varsity is 5-0 on the season and 4-0 in the SEC but our toughest matches are coming up. Next Tuesday we play Chelsea for the SEC White Division regular season championship. Chelsea is a very good team and was better than Pinckney at the start of the season based on our first two tournaments of the season (in head to head matches with Chelsea). However, I know how much our players have improved so I am excited to play Chelsea on Tuesday to see if we can win the regular season championship.
Thanks again to our parents for their great support. Special thanks to Cathy VanBynen who drove 5 of our varsity players to the match today and to Coach Mark who drove the Pinckney van with the JV players.
Coach Francis
Pinckney vs Ypsilanti Lincoln
from Coach Franics on 9/13
The Pinckney Boys Tennis team improved its overall dual meet season record to 5-0 (4-0 in SEC) with a 8-0 victory over Lincoln at the Pinckney tennis courts. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 15-2 at 4th singles.
Pinckney vs Hartland
from Coach Francis on 9/11
The Pinckney Boys Tennis team improved its dual meet record to 4-0 with a 8-1 victory over Hartland at the Pinckney tennis courts. Pinckney swept the singles and won 4 out of the 5 doubles matches. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 14-2 at 4th singles.
Pinckney V vs Tecumseh
from Coach Francis on 9/5
Pinckney improved its SEC record to 3-0 with an 8-0 victory over Tecumseh at the Pinckney High School tennis courts. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 11-1 at 4th singles and Joey Paliwoda improved his record to 10-2 at 3rd singles. So far this season, Pinckney's 4 singles players have a combined record of 38-6.
from Coach Francis on 10/10
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team tied Ann Arbor Huron 4-4 at the Huron tennis courts on October 10 to move the team's season record to 7-1-1 (4-1-1 in the SEC). Matt Folk and Luke Flickema won at 1st doubles in 3 sets to raise their season record to 16-10. Jack Powers and Kyler Anderson won at 4th doubles to improve their season record to 18-4. Josh VanBynen and Mitch Dickey won at 5th doubles to improve their season record to 10-5. Adam Caplin won at 1st singles, improving his season record to 19-7 and Joey Paliwoda won at 3rd singles to raise his season record to 23-4.
Pinckney hosts South Lyon
from Coach Francis on 10/9
The Pinckney Boys Tennis Team defeated South Lyon 9-0 on Oct. 9 at the Pinckney tennis courts to raise their season record to 7-1. Matt Folk and Luke Flickema won at 1st doubles with a 3rd set tie-breaker to raise their season record to 15-10. Jack Powers and Kyler Anderson won 6-0 6-1 at 4th doubles to raise their season record to 17-4. (from Coach Mark - Nathan Warshal and Matt Robinson had a nice comeback win at 6th doubles. Down 6-4, they came back for a 8-6 victory.)
Pinckney hosts Howell
from Coach Francis on 9/28
Pinckney swept the 4 singles and won 7 of the 8 doubles matches (lost one match 10-8 in 3rd set tie-breaker) in a tennis scrimmage with Howell. Since Howell does not have a JV team but brought 20 players on their varsity, Pinckney had 5 JV players play. All 5 JV players played very well and all won their matches.
White Division Conference Tourney
from Coach Francis on 9/26
At today's SEC White Division Conference Tennis Tournament, Pinckney finished 2nd out of the 6 teams participating. Chelsea won the tournament with 37 points with Pinckney finishing 2nd with 28 points and Dexter third with 24 points. All four of Pinckney's singles players (Adam Caplin, John Tyler, Joey Paliwoda and Sebastian Smith) got second place medals. Trent Mahnken and Jake Slate got 2nd place at 2nd doubles and Luke and Darren Walter got 2nd place at 3rd doubles.
Francis Diaz
East Lansing Quad Tourney - Dexter, East Lansing, Jackson, Pinckney
from Coach Francis on 9/23
The Pinckney tennis team tied East Lansing with 19 points in Saturday's East Lansing Tennis Tournament. East Lansing was awarded first place since they won more head-to-head matches with Pinckney. Joey Paliwoda won first place in the 3rd Singles flight improving his season record to 18-3. Luke and Darren Walter won the 3rd Doubles flight to improve their season record to 17-4. Blake Mahnken and Nathan Warshal won first place in 5th doubles to improve their season record to 12-3. Second place medals were won by Adam Caplin (1st singles), John Tyler (2nd singles), Sebastian Smith (4th singles) and Jake Slate and Kyler Anderson (2nd doubles).
Francis Diaz
Pinckney Boys Varsity Tennis Coach
Pinckney vs Brighton
from Coach Francis on 9/15
Today's match vs Brighton was a scrimmage so it does not count for our individual match or team record but I wanted to send my congratulations to the players on both the JV and Varsity for their great effort and sportsmanship today. I do not have the JV results but I was pleased with the improvement I have seen in the way the JV players play. Coach Mark and Coach Tom have done a great job teaching our JV players the game of tennis and it is very obvious how much they have improved. I was very happy with the high number of Pinckney parents who came to watch today. We are blessed with great parents in Pinckney tennis!
Our varsity team won 8 of its 10 matches today vs. Brighton and the two matches we lost were in 3rd set tie-breakers. Our Varsity is 5-0 on the season and 4-0 in the SEC but our toughest matches are coming up. Next Tuesday we play Chelsea for the SEC White Division regular season championship. Chelsea is a very good team and was better than Pinckney at the start of the season based on our first two tournaments of the season (in head to head matches with Chelsea). However, I know how much our players have improved so I am excited to play Chelsea on Tuesday to see if we can win the regular season championship.
Thanks again to our parents for their great support. Special thanks to Cathy VanBynen who drove 5 of our varsity players to the match today and to Coach Mark who drove the Pinckney van with the JV players.
Coach Francis
Pinckney vs Ypsilanti Lincoln
from Coach Franics on 9/13
The Pinckney Boys Tennis team improved its overall dual meet season record to 5-0 (4-0 in SEC) with a 8-0 victory over Lincoln at the Pinckney tennis courts. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 15-2 at 4th singles.
Pinckney vs Hartland
from Coach Francis on 9/11
The Pinckney Boys Tennis team improved its dual meet record to 4-0 with a 8-1 victory over Hartland at the Pinckney tennis courts. Pinckney swept the singles and won 4 out of the 5 doubles matches. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 14-2 at 4th singles.
Pinckney V vs Tecumseh
from Coach Francis on 9/5
Pinckney improved its SEC record to 3-0 with an 8-0 victory over Tecumseh at the Pinckney High School tennis courts. Sebastian Smith improved his season record to 11-1 at 4th singles and Joey Paliwoda improved his record to 10-2 at 3rd singles. So far this season, Pinckney's 4 singles players have a combined record of 38-6.
Pinckney Quad Tournament, Sat , Aug 26
summary from Coach Francis Pinckney won its Invitational Tennis Tournament yesterday with a close victory over a strong St. Johns team. Pinckney won the tournament with 23 points (1 point per win) followed by St. Johns which had 21 points followed by Mason with 7 points and Livonia Franklin with 3 points. Every Pinckney singles and doubles flight got either first or second place! Thanks so much to the JV players, Ben Wittrup, Devin Jones, Andrew Sepesi, Ben Stoeber and Ryan Weinburger who all did a great job in their first varsity tournament. All 3 coaches told me that they thought it was a great tournament and that their players enjoyed it. Josh Gove, the St. Johns coach sent me an email message last night: "Thank you so much, coach, it was certainly a great tournament! Congrats on the win and keep up the good work this season! Josh" The following Pinckney tennis players got 1st place in their flights: #2 singles John Tyler #3 singles Joey Paliwoda #4 singles Sebastian Smith #1 doubles Matt Folk and Luke Flickema #4 doubles Jack Powers and Kyler Anderson The following Pinckney tennis players got 2nd place in their flights: #1 singles Adam Caplin #2 doubles Trent Mahnken and Jake Slate #3 doubles Luke Walter and Darren Walter #5 doubles Mitch Dickey and Ben Wittrup #6 doubles Blake Mahnken and Nathan Warshal Thanks so much for the great support we got in order to run a tournament with 10 flights (4 singles and 6 doubles flights) in record time - done by 2:55! Thanks to Debbie Folk for coordinating the snacks and water and to all the parents who contributed to the food and drinks. Thanks to Tom and Brenda Sheehan and Rachel Flickema with their great job running the High School scoring table and to Brian Mahnken and Mark Swanson for running the Pathfinder scoring table. |
Milford Tournament Sat, Sept 9
summary from Coach Francis I just got back from Lakeland and am sending a summary of the tournament results since there were several parents and players who wanted to stay until the team results were communicated but I told them they did not need to stay for the one match that went an hour beyond all the other matches. I was very pleased with the results of the tournament. I have never seen a tournament with the top 3 teams so close. One point was awarded to each win and the final team results (out of 8 total teams) were: Lakeland 21 points Walled Lake Northern 19 poiints Pinckney 18 points Team trophies were only given to the top 2 teams but I am still proud of the effort. In all the years I have attended tournaments for Pinckney, I think this the first one where all 9 flights (4 singles and 5 doubles) won their 1st round match! Joey won the 3rd singles flight, Adam and John got 2nd place medals in singles, Bubba got 3rd place in singles, Trent/Jake, Luke/Darren, Jack/Kyler and Josh/Mitch all got 3rd place medals in doubles. Coach Francis Note from Coach Mark, Interesting fact. All of our teams had 2 wins and 1 loss records for the day. |
===============================================================================================================
Boys Varsity Coach
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Boys Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
Girls Varsity Coach
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Girls Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
Boys Varsity Coach
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Boys Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
Girls Varsity Coach
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Girls Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
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Lets get it goin' Spring JV 2017
Archives
Varsity & JV Tennis 2016
Varsity Boys Tennis 2016
Junior Varsity Boys 2016
Coach Diaz with Captain and Number 1 Singles - Wilson Wagner
Boys Tennis recap - The boys Varsity finished with a 7-4 record this year, the best in many years. In fact, the Varsity defeated Brighton, Howell and Hartland for a sweep of our Livingston County conference rivals, a first ever!
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Below are team photos of the Pinckney Quad Tournament, Aug 27. Below them is a slideshow.
Below are team photos of the Pinckney Quad Tournament, Aug 27. Below them is a slideshow.
Pinckney Boys Tennis 2016
St Johns Boys Tennis 2016
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Mason Boys Tennis 2016
Livonia Franklin Boys Tennis 2016
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Below are pictures taken throughout the Fall 2016 season.
2016 Boys Varsity Roster
Kyler Anderson Dylan Berquist Adam Caplin Luke Flickema
Matthew Folk Alec Gomez Alex Hazelton Trent Mahnken
Sean Miller Jon Nemchak Joey Paliwoda Jake Slate
Sebastian Smith John Tyler Wilson Wagner Alex Warshal
Note from Varsity Coach Francis 10/8
2016 Boys Varsity Season revised: 10/7/2016
Today (10/6), Pinckney finished 4th (6 points) at the MHSAA Regional in Farmington behind Walled Lake Western (20 points), North Farmington (13 points), South Lyon (8 points). Pinckney needed to win 10 matches in order to quality for the State Tournament but only won 6 matches. Wilson Wagner, John Tyler and Matt Folk won 1st, 3rd, and 4th singles matches while Joey Paliwoda & Jon Nemchak, Jake Slate & Trent Mahnken, and Alex Warshal and Luke Flickema won 2nd, 3rd, and 4th doubles matches. All of Pinckney's singles and doubles teams that made it to the semifinals lost their semifinal matches. Coach Francis Diaz said the team did not achieve its goal of qualifying for the State Tournament but that he is very proud of the entire team for giving its best effort today and supporting their teammates during their matches. The team chemistry is outstanding and the team will use this short-term disappointment as a motivation to improve next year.
Oct. 14/15 State Finals
Oct. 24 6:00 Tennis Banquet at Pinckney High School Commons
2016 Boys Varsity Season revised: 10/7/2016
Today (10/6), Pinckney finished 4th (6 points) at the MHSAA Regional in Farmington behind Walled Lake Western (20 points), North Farmington (13 points), South Lyon (8 points). Pinckney needed to win 10 matches in order to quality for the State Tournament but only won 6 matches. Wilson Wagner, John Tyler and Matt Folk won 1st, 3rd, and 4th singles matches while Joey Paliwoda & Jon Nemchak, Jake Slate & Trent Mahnken, and Alex Warshal and Luke Flickema won 2nd, 3rd, and 4th doubles matches. All of Pinckney's singles and doubles teams that made it to the semifinals lost their semifinal matches. Coach Francis Diaz said the team did not achieve its goal of qualifying for the State Tournament but that he is very proud of the entire team for giving its best effort today and supporting their teammates during their matches. The team chemistry is outstanding and the team will use this short-term disappointment as a motivation to improve next year.
Oct. 14/15 State Finals
Oct. 24 6:00 Tennis Banquet at Pinckney High School Commons
2016 JV Boys Roster
Mitch Dickey Justin Faulkner Ben Germain Devin Jones
Ethan Klask Keegan LaButte Ethan Lesz Blake Mahnken
John O'Dell Matt Robinson Andrew Sepesi Ben Stoeber
Joshua VanBynen Darren Walter Luke Walter Nathan Warshal
Ryan Weinburger Jacob Wheeler Ben Wittrup Robert Wolff
Mitch Dickey Justin Faulkner Ben Germain Devin Jones
Ethan Klask Keegan LaButte Ethan Lesz Blake Mahnken
John O'Dell Matt Robinson Andrew Sepesi Ben Stoeber
Joshua VanBynen Darren Walter Luke Walter Nathan Warshal
Ryan Weinburger Jacob Wheeler Ben Wittrup Robert Wolff
2016 Boys JV Tennis Season revised: 9/26/2016
Remaining schedule for JV:
JV season has concluded. Players, please consider signing up for the upcoming Travel Team program (deadline is Oct 11) or Novi traing sessions coming in Dec and Feb.
Oct. 24 6:00 Tennis Banquet at Pinckney High School Commons
Girls Varsity & JV 2015
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JV Match of the Year - A Tiebreaker with Milford for Samantha and Gabrielle
Another great JV match with Milford for Jenna and Jocelyn
After 2 1/2 hours cold hours vs Milford, we stop at Dairy Queen post match... go figure ☺
Click on the upper left corner of the photo below for a Varsity slideshow.
Boys 2016 News:
Posting from Coach Diaz on 6/19
I am working to finalize the Pinckney Boys tennis schedule but want you to save some dates that have been finalized for the pre-season and for early in the season:
I would also love to mark a date in October for our varsity team to go to the State Tournament (wouldn't that be a great experience for our players, particularly our seniors) but we must finish in the top two teams at our Regional to do this. Reaching that goal starts now for all of us! Coach Nolan and I are looking forward to a strong season from both the JV and Varsity teams!
Coach Francis
810-923-0096
(Posting from Varsity Coach Francis Diaz on 5/17)
To the 2016 Boys Tennis Team members and parents,
I wanted to let you know that I have accepted the position of Pinckney Boys Varsity Tennis Head Coach. I am pleased to let you know that Nolan Hubbard will be our Boys JV Head Coach and will help the Varsity at weekend tournaments and at regionals. Nolan and I are excited to work with the great group of young men on this team and their supportive parents.
This email is being sent to players from the 2015 Pinckney Boys JV and Varsity Tennis Teams based on an email list from last year. If you are aware of any players or parents with new email addresses or phone numbers, please reply to this email with the updated contact information. Please indicate the name of the person (player or parent) associated with the updated email or phone number. If you have an email address for a player who would be interested in joining the tennis team next fall, please send that on also.
I will meet with Nolan Hubbard and Wilson Wagner, the Boys Varsity Captain soon to discuss plans for the summer off-season (additional team captains will be voted on after the first week of tennis practice). After this discussion, I will send an email to you with further details, including timing for a meeting at the High School for players interested in fall tennis to discuss summer opportunities to improve their tennis skills.
Thanks to Coach Ben, Coach Stoney and Coach Lisa for the great job they have done in the past as Varsity and JV Head Coaches with Pinckney Boys Tennis.
The 2016 Boys tennis season will start on Wednesday, August 10 with further timing to be announced later. Looking forward to a great season!
Francis Diaz
734-878-5828
cell: 810-923-0096
Posting from Coach Diaz on 6/19
I am working to finalize the Pinckney Boys tennis schedule but want you to save some dates that have been finalized for the pre-season and for early in the season:
- Free 1 hour Strength & Conditioning sessions at the Pinckney High School weight room on Tuesdays 9:00-10:00 am from June 21 to August 2nd (skip July 5) - 6 total sessions
- 2nd session of Summer tennis camps: Tue & Thurs July 7 - 26 JV camp 10:30-12: 00 Varsity camp 12:30-2:00 Fee: $65 call 810-225-3950 to sign up for JV or Varsity camp. All but 4 returning players signed up for the 1st session of Summer tennis camps. I would like to see 100% participation for the 2nd session to prepare for the upcoming season.
- June 24, July 15, & July 22 are the last 3 dates for "Patterns of Play" singles strategy sessions (all slots for this are filled). Kirk did a great job on the first session - you will learn skills to set up & finish a point that will help you in challenge matches and during the season. Challenge matches for varsity will start the first day of the tennis season on August 10th. Be ready!
- July 27th 5:30-8:00 pm Pinckney High School - inexpensive (I think $25) sports physicals available. You must have a current physical (dated after April 15, 2016) to participate in practice/matches starting on August 10th. If you can't make it on July 27th, then you can obtain a sports physical for $30 at the IHA Internal Medicine office off M36 near Hamburg (10020 Professional Center Dr., Hamburg, MI 48139). You can contact the IHA office at 810-231-6080. Hours are: M-F 8am-9pm Sat/Sun 9am-5pm.
- July 29-31 Pinckney Area Community Tennis Association (PACTA) 3rd annual USTA (United States Tennis Association) Tournament. The timing of this tournament, just prior to our season, is a great way to get match play experience against players from other schools in our area. This tournament offers both Boys and Girls Singles and Doubles in U14, U16 and U18 age divisions. I sent an email with details on signing up to you on June 12th. I will resend this information. A great way to prepare for varsity team challenge matches that start August 10.
- August 10th - 1st day of season - 10:00 -12:30 pm practice at Pinckney High School tennis courts. Bring documentation of a current physical (dated after April 15, 2016) to participate
- August 11 - I have requested the Pinckney High School media center room for a Parent/Player meeting from 7:00-8:00 pm but have not yet received confirmation. Lightly pencil this one in.
- August 15 10:00 -12:00 pm practice plus 4:30-8:00 pm Team dinner at Nolan Hubbard’s home (this is for all players on the JV and Varsity teams)
- August 22 10:00 -12:00 pm practice Athletic Dept. Pizza/breadstick lunch, 2pm Gatorade presentation
- August 27 for varsity players (possibly a few top JV players if needed) Pinckney Quad tournament vs. St. Johns, Livonia Franklin, Mason - arrive by 8:00 am
- August 29 10:00 -12:00 pm practice plus 4:30-8:00 pm Team dinner at Wilson Wagner’s home (this is for all players on the JV and Varsity teams)
- September 16 JV and Varsity Tennis Team pictures at the High School courts
I would also love to mark a date in October for our varsity team to go to the State Tournament (wouldn't that be a great experience for our players, particularly our seniors) but we must finish in the top two teams at our Regional to do this. Reaching that goal starts now for all of us! Coach Nolan and I are looking forward to a strong season from both the JV and Varsity teams!
Coach Francis
810-923-0096
(Posting from Varsity Coach Francis Diaz on 5/17)
To the 2016 Boys Tennis Team members and parents,
I wanted to let you know that I have accepted the position of Pinckney Boys Varsity Tennis Head Coach. I am pleased to let you know that Nolan Hubbard will be our Boys JV Head Coach and will help the Varsity at weekend tournaments and at regionals. Nolan and I are excited to work with the great group of young men on this team and their supportive parents.
This email is being sent to players from the 2015 Pinckney Boys JV and Varsity Tennis Teams based on an email list from last year. If you are aware of any players or parents with new email addresses or phone numbers, please reply to this email with the updated contact information. Please indicate the name of the person (player or parent) associated with the updated email or phone number. If you have an email address for a player who would be interested in joining the tennis team next fall, please send that on also.
I will meet with Nolan Hubbard and Wilson Wagner, the Boys Varsity Captain soon to discuss plans for the summer off-season (additional team captains will be voted on after the first week of tennis practice). After this discussion, I will send an email to you with further details, including timing for a meeting at the High School for players interested in fall tennis to discuss summer opportunities to improve their tennis skills.
Thanks to Coach Ben, Coach Stoney and Coach Lisa for the great job they have done in the past as Varsity and JV Head Coaches with Pinckney Boys Tennis.
The 2016 Boys tennis season will start on Wednesday, August 10 with further timing to be announced later. Looking forward to a great season!
Francis Diaz
734-878-5828
cell: 810-923-0096
Nick Romano, 2015 grad, is playing for Spring Arbor University
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ROMANO REPEATS AS ALL-CROSSROADS LEAGUE SELECTION
Men's Tennis - Wed, Oct. 11, 2017ALL-CROSSROADS LEAGUE TEAM SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Spring Arbor University junior Nick Romano has been named All-Crossroads League for the 2017-18 season, the league office announced Wednesday. This is the second straight All-League selection for Romano after securing his first piece of hardware last season. The Pinckney, Michigan native posted a 6-4 record at No. 1 singles for the Cougars this fall. He also led the team with seven overall singles wins. In doubles competition, Romano, along with his partner Jonah Engle, boasted an impressive 7-3 mark at the No. 1 slot in league play. Spring Arbor finished the fall season with a record of 6-4. The Cougars placed fourth in the Crossroads League standings with a 6-3 mark – the best finish for the program since the 2012 campaign. Check this website homepage for an update on our 2015 Varsity grad, Nick Romano, scholarship player for Spring Arbor University -- www.saucougars.com |
Enjoy the photos below and visit the hs archive page for even more...
Homecoming Parade 2015
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Homecoming Parade 2015
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2015 - from the courts
Pinckney JV 2015
Homecoming Parade 2014
Pinckney Community High School athletes compete in the KLAA Lakes Conference, Western Division of MHSAA high school tennis.
The Western Division includes Brighton, Grand Blanc, Hartland, Howell, Milford and Pinckney.
Junior Varsity and Varsity girls play a Spring schedule, boys play a Fall schedule.
Pinckney High School tennis is proud to be a no-cut program. If you're willing to try hard, you'll make the team.
Many high school players also play and train in off-season programs.
Off-season travel tennis
Pinckney has over 20 boys and girls typically signing up for our travel program. Teams play out of the Livonia YMCA on Friday, Saturday or Sundays. Details come too fast for this site. If you are interested, contact Steve Flikema at sdflick@gmail.com to be added to his email list.
Off-season Friday Clinics
Novi Sports Club's Todd Beyer leads Friday evening tennis clinics, from 7:00-8:30pm. Contact you coach.
Livingston County High School Tennis wrapup
(from the Livingston Press and Argus, Nov 13, 2015)
When Jim Gagalis elected to make the move from volunteer assistant boys tennis coach at Dexter to full-fledged head coach at Howell, he wasn’t exactly sure what was in store for him in his first high school head coaching gig.
“Not really,” said Gagalis when asked if he knew anything about the Highlanders or their current roster. “I went out and practiced with them a couple of times last year just for fun. I didn’t even know if I’d take the job at that point because, I mean, the job was filled. I just went out there to hit because I love tennis.”
Eventually that coaching spot would open up, and eventually he would take it. But not before talking to those already associated with the school and tennis program, who made it abundantly clear that he was inheriting one of the best players in the area in junior Matt Wenzel.
“I knew right away he was, like, the No. 1 guy,” Gagalis said.
Wenzel's reputation was partly thanks to his last name — Matt’s brother, Mason, had owned the one-singles flight for Howell until the end of the 2013 season, when he graduated two years before Gagalis took over.
But it was mostly due to his own skill.
As a sophomore in 2014, Wenzel stepped into his older brother’s vacated position and had instant success, posting a 17-10 record against other teams’ top players. For an encore this past season as a junior, he tallied the same wins but bettered his win percentage, going 17-6 and defeating every other Livingston County player in the area.
For that, Wenzel is the Livingston Daily’s Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
“Oh, absolutely,” said Gagalis in response to a question of if he thought Wenzel was deserving of the award. “He beat everybody in the area. He beat everybody except the Novi top guys. He has trouble with them at this point, but pretty much everybody else he’s got a great chance against.
“We pretty much go into a match and I’m thinking, ‘OK, that one we’re gonna win,’ and I’m trying to map it out to see where I should spend my time trying to get guys through. I might talk to Matt once after the fist game and give him the feeling of what I think. Then I don’t need to go back there because he figures it out.”
Ironically, early on in the season, Wenzel couldn’t fully figure it out.
The way the junior described the start of 2015 was with one word: “Frustrating.”
“I kind of expected to do a little bit better at the beginning of the season for how much I played in the offseason,” Wenzel said. “I had to just kind of get back into focus and then I started to play better in the second half.”
Wenzel estimated he played in one or two tournaments a month prior to the fall season starting up. His coach also raved about the work he put it during the down months and the influence it had on the team throughout the year.
But even with so many tennis matches, things started slow by his lofty standards.
However, it all turned around for Wenzel after a match against Pinckney’s Wilson Wagner, who was also considered for Player of the Year due to his impressive resume this season with the Pirates.
“It was that first dual match when I played Pinckney,” Wenzel said. ”I came out with a win and that gave me a winning record for the rest of the season. Then I started to play better and got focused again.”
It was at a head-to-head dual that Wenzel won in two sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
“It was definitely kind of a tough match,” Wenzel recalled. “It was a really hot day and the sun was beating down on us. The second set was actually pretty close. He’s a really good player. I had heard of him.”
From there, Wenzel cruised, in most every match living up to the reputation that had preceded him.
According to coaches in the area, Wenzel’s success stemmed from his consistency. He was never the flashy player equipped with a power serve or fierce forehand or backhand. But it was his accuracy as well as his ability to get to seemingly every ball.
“He’s just a very solid player,” Brighton’s Jeff Miner said. “He was one of those players that didn’t have outstanding weapons, but was just very solid at every facet of the game. His consistency and his versatility were what made him tough.”
“He wouldn’t miss a ball,” Gagalis added. “He would just keep playing a ball back over and over and over and move you around. … And he’s only going to grow a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, hit a little bit harder and be more offensive (in the future).”
The future is something both Wenzel and his coach are already thinking about.
Wenzel has another season left at Howell next year. With it being Gagalis’ second year as head coach — meaning he won't again have to learn the ropes — the Highlanders are expecting big things, especially from their top flight.
“If you eliminate (Detroit Catholic Central) and Novi," Gagalis said. "Take them out of the equation and he can probably play with anybody in this area. And as a senior, he’ll be bigger and stronger, and I would say you would have to include him in the conversation with the top players.
“I really think he can play at the next level. Where is gonna be up to him. If he continues to work as hard as he does, he can be a Division 1 player. But it’s up to him. … And he deserves it because he puts in the time and effort.”
All-County First Team
Erik Schellenberg
SCHOOL: Brighton
CLASS: Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS: Brighton coach Jeff Miner certainly didn’t do his one-singles player any favors by scheduling some of the toughest teams in the state to play against this season. But Schellenberg wasn’t complaining, knowing the brutal slate of opponents would only make him better in the long run. While his record wasn’t the greatest — he went 7-14 — he led the Bulldogs to a 5-5 overall record and 4-1 league record, which was good for second place.
COACH’S TAKE: “Just his skill level and his experience and his competitiveness,” Brighton coach Jeff Miner said. “He’s an athlete as well as a tennis player, and he would go out and compete and gave his best every match. And that meant a lot to us. I think that’s what I’ll remember more than anything.”
Gavin Nickerson
SCHOOL: Hartland
CLASS: Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS: Although the Hartland squad ended up going 1-5 in dual meets and winless in league duals, Nickerson was a steady force for the Eagles at two-singles. Nickerson posted a 9-6 overall record in match play this season, likely his last before stepping up to one-singles with the departure of Hartland’s Ryan Curtis.
COACH’S TAKE: “He started as a beginner his freshman year, so he’s really come along as a pretty good player in three years, where he can win at two-singles at the varsity level,” Hartland coach Chuck Volland said. “He’s always working hard on his game and has a good head on his shoulders.”
Matt Wenzel
SCHOOL: Howell
CLASS: Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS: It wasn’t the ideal season for the Highlanders, finishing fourth in the KLAA West and 3-5 overall in dual meets under first-year head coach Jim Gagalis, but without Wenzel they know they could’ve been worse off. The Howell junior was instrumental in any and all success Howell had this year, going 17-6.
COACH’S TAKE: “The importance of a player of Matt’s caliber cannot be underestimated,” Howell coach Jim Gagalis said, “because he is a concrete example to each member of our team that if you put in the sweat, the rewards of being an excellent player will follow.”
Wilson Wagner
SCHOOL: Pinckney
CLASS: Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS: Wagner was neck-and-neck with Wenzel for All-County Player of the Year honors, leading the Pirates to a third-place finish in the KLAA West and 5-4 overall record while competing in one-singles action. His season was highlighted by going 16-10 overall while faced with perhaps the most difficult schedule of any of the area’s one-singles combatants.
COACH’S TAKE: “He’s a tremendous role model, captain of the team, works very hard in practice, sets high standards and expectations for competition and is relentless out on the court,” Pinckney coach Ben Tasich said. “He’s a wonderful representative for the school. I couldn’t think of anyone else to follow in Nick Romano’s footsteps. But I must admit Wilson Wagner has been filling those shoes more than adequately and next year is going to be a breakout year for this kid.”
Zach Wilber
SCHOOL: Fowlerville
CLASS: Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS: Maybe the record isn’t quite as pretty as one would want for a First-Team All-County player, as Wilber went 11-13 on the season. But that doesn’t tell the whole story for the Glads’ one-singles competitor, who coach Jim Jonas said squared off against 10 state qualifiers, the reason for the sub-.500 mark. Wilber leaves Fowlerville with a school record for wins (59) and was the first Glads one-singles player to win a match at regionals since Matt Lantz in 2004.
COACH’S TAKE: “He was everything to our team,” Fowlerville coach Jim Jonas said. “He was a leader, a two-time captain and he helped organize and run all of the offseason stuff we did. … We had six freshmen and I can’t think of a better example to model themselves after than him. He was the perfect example on and off the court.”
All-County Second Team
Alek Anuzis, Brighton
Grayson Kelley, Pinckney
Jadon House, Brighton
Ryan Andrews, Brighton
Ryan Curtis, Hartland
Honorable Mention
BRIGHTON — Zach Kupa, Dylan Steflicki, Max Drake, Joey Valenti.
FOWLERVILLE — Bryant Martin, Stephen Quigley.
HARTLAND — Ryan Curtis, Connor Mears, Nathan Gould.
HOWELL — Mik Zehnder, Brenden Hauk, Terrence Chandler, Justin Klucevek, Jeremy Blatt, Adam Wing, Joe Muliett.
PINCKNEY — Edwin Bredick, Joey Paliwoda, Adam Caplin, John Tyler, Jon Nemchak, Mitchell Swanson, Justin Dickinson, Nick Marlatt, Matthew Folk
Note from Coach Ben on 10/11
Pirates,
Sending you the final results from the 2015 Regional Tournament. Congratulations on another strong performance and for the second year in a row we finished in the top five, tied with St. John's for fourth place with 8 points each.
Finishing third in the Western Division of your Conference, playing in the 'A' Conference Championship for the third time in the past four years and finishing fourth in the Region of 9 teams, for the past two years, clearly shows that Pinckney tennis has grown in the past few years and the future looks bright. Now, comes the most difficult step and that is the qualify for the State finals.
Yesterday, we played some exciting matches in all flights and are beginning to understand where we are with our game and what it will take to qualify for the state finals. Tomorrow, the work starts for the next season's team.
Follow the below model on how to get to the state finals and are not satisfied finishing third in your division.
1. participate in clinics where you will develop your shots( serve, return, forehand, backhand, lob, overhead volley, half volley), footwork, strategy and consistency. You need to be able to hit 8 shots with consitency to play on the Varsity team. To play on the pro level you will need 22.
2. Play USTA Jr. Travel Team tennis. We have sent you a number to register under. J.V. Players check with you coaches to see if you should be participating on travel team, at this time.
3. Play tournaments to develop tournament experience and work on your competitive aspect of the game.
4. When the warm weather returns, get out doors and play at least 75 sets between the end of the school year and the beginning of the tennis season in August.
If you do the above, you will be ready to play varsity and compete on a higher level. And, if you don't, good luck. There are no short cuts in tennis, maybe in other sports, but not in tennis.
Turn in you warm-ups and tennis bags Monday, after school at the Candy Bag tournament on the Hill.( High School tennis courts).
Enjoy the rest of the week-end. You have worked very hard on the courts and need a break..
Coach Ben
Boys Varsity Coach
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Boys Junior Varsity Coach
Nolan Hubbard
734 660-7814
nhubb3@gmail.com
Girls Varsity Coach
Nolan Hubbard
734 660-7814
nhubb3@gmail.com
Girls Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
Francis Diaz
734 878-5828 Cell 810 923-0096
diazpinckney@aol.com
Boys Junior Varsity Coach
Nolan Hubbard
734 660-7814
nhubb3@gmail.com
Girls Varsity Coach
Nolan Hubbard
734 660-7814
nhubb3@gmail.com
Girls Junior Varsity Coach
Mark Swanson
810 923-4173
mswanson48@yahoo.com
from the USTA website (posted at Coach Ben's request)
COMPETE LIKE A CHAMPIONThe defining characteristic of resilient players is having the ability to bounce back and refocus after failure. To come out of loss and disappointment with determination, belief and a willingness to fight to the end.
"Resilience is ordinary magic – all of us have the power within to bounce back from failure."
"Fall seven times and stand up eight."
"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." – Babe Ruth
"Pressure is a privilege. Winners adapt." - Billie Jean King
"Don't let losses beat you twice. Learn and move on." - a football player
In a tournament field of 64, being number 1, doesn't mean much without 63 willing to accept, learn and grow by being 2 through 64.
TO BE RESILIENT IS TO:
- Understand it is not about being perfect. In fact, to be resilient you have to struggle and fail.
- Have resilient thoughts. Instead of finding the reasons you will lose, find the reasons why you can succeed.
- Stick to your plan and routines, even when you struggle. Do not panic.
- Get back up and carry on. Resilience may be the most important value because in tennis, as in life, we are going to struggle and fail.
- Understand that you will need:
- A reason, a drive to keep fighting
- Support from others because you cannot always do it alone
- Coping skills to deal with the stress and struggle because it won’t come easy
- Use the 'breathe and believe' routine. Take deep breaths, accept how you feel and what is happening and let it go. Then begin the process of refocusing by believing in yourself. Remind yourself of your strengths and the task at hand. Like Serena in the example below, use times when you have bounced back as a strong reminder that you can do it again.
- Look at struggles as opportunities to learn and grow. This mindset allows you to approach difficult situations with an optimism others do not exhibit.
- Not avoid the struggle, but go after it. Face it head on and be determined to find a way.
EXAMPLE:
Serena Williams has achieved many great things in her tennis career. One of her most impressive single matches was the 2012 US Open final against world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who had won the Australian Open earlier in the year. Two points away from losing the match and down 3-5 in the third set, Serena kept fighting and going for her shots. Earlier in the match she was not always able to find the range. But when she needed it the most, Serena found her range and bounced back to win the last four games and, with it, the match, 7-5 in the third set.
In doing so, Serena showed the resilience of a champion. When pushed to the brink of defeat, she trusted her game and went for it. She did not give in even though in her mind she was struggling a bit.
"I honestly can't believe I won. I really was preparing my runner-up speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great,'" Williams said during the trophy presentation after the 2-hour, 18-minute encounter. "I'm really shocked."
That Serena fought back and won the 2012 US Open should not be a surprise. She has always shown tremendous fight and desire to be the best. Azarenka knew quite well what she had to deal with. "She never gives up," said Azarenka. "She's definitely the toughest player, mentally, there is and she's got the power."
How was Serena able to bounce back from being down in the third set? She had resilient thoughts. "I never, never quit. I have come back so many times in so many matches," Williams said.
Note from Coach Ben
Please visit the website of professional instructor Florian Meier for some good tennis tips and drills.
www.onlinetennisinstruction.com
Please visit the website of professional instructor Florian Meier for some good tennis tips and drills.
www.onlinetennisinstruction.com
