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MIMS oy DM rlaDSCD
Living Well
ASHLEY ABRAMSON
REALIZES A
FOUR-YEAR DREAM
IN THE
STATE FINALS.
Backhanded groundstrokes bare served
Ashley Abramson well.
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to the Jewish News
shley Abramson was
West Bloomfield's
No. 1 player from the
moment she set foot
on the Lakers' tennis courts
four years ago. But she had
loftier goals for her high school
career. She wanted to be the
No. 1 player in the state.
Abramson reached the state
Class A quarterfinals at No. 1
singles as a freshman, then
made the semi-finals in her
sophomore and junior years.
In her final chance for top
state honors, Abramson's wish
came true in November when
she defeated Port Huron
Northern's Maelynn Bernosky 6-
A
d ra Cs
1/12
2001
86
3, 6-1 in the Division I (former-
ly Class A) tournament finals.
"I've worked hard in tennis
for almost my whole life,"
Abramson said. "I play tennis
all year. I've gone to the state
tournament all four years and
I've always wanted to win. I've
pictured what it would be like
to win. I was really hoping I'd
be able to do it this year, since
this is my last year."
Abramson, a strong baseline
player, felt "in control" of the
final match, but was wary of
Bernosky.
"Tennis is a sport that can
easily turn around on you. I
couldn't start thinking about
winning or what it would be
like to win because I knew she
could easily come back."
When Abramson's victory
was sealed, she felt "amazed
and relieved."
Veteran Player
Abramson can barely remember
a time when she didn't play ten-
nis. Her father, Jim, put her in
group lessons 10 years ago. By
age 10, she was playing at several
facilities, including the Jewish
Community Center, year-round,
and she showed enough promise
to begin playing in tournaments.
"I've been playing at least
six days a week for a long
time," Abramson said.
She is assisted by coaches
Ricky Brown and Wendy
Gilles-Revak of the Sports
Club in West Bloomfield, and
by Ed Nagel of Square Lake
Racquet Club in Bloomfield
Hills. She's qualified for, and
played in, U.S. Tennis
Association (USTA) national
tournaments.
The USTA rankings are
being revised, but Brown
believes she's in the top 75 in
the 18-and-under group.
Abramson lives in West
Bloomfield with her parents,
Jim and Debra, and three
younger siblings, Zachary, who
plays on the Laker boys tennis
squad, plus sisters Karley and
Cody. Older sister Lindsay also
played high school tennis and
was Ashley's teammate for two
seasons.
HONORS
on page 88