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38
June 11 • 20'
Contributing Writer
A
Join us for
@NE
Steve Stein
manda Simmons made quite a
"racquet" as a girls tennis player
at Cranbrook-Kingswood High
School.
She won two Michigan High School
Athletic Association Division 3 state
championships in doubles and helped the
Cranes push their streak of team Division
3 state titles to five in a row.
But the senior's high school resume
doesn't end on the tennis court. She
held the first chair in trumpet in the
Cranbrook-Kingswood orchestra all four
years.
The 17-year-old from Bloomfield Hills
is so talented with the trumpet that she
passed auditions for the schools of music
at the University of Michigan, Indiana
University and Northwestern University
before deciding to attend Northwestern.
"Believe it or not, playing tennis and
the trumpet are a lot alike Simmons said.
"Purposeful practice is important and so is
technique. And you have to keep working
no matter how hard things get"
The high school tennis season this
spring was a testament to Simmons' deter-
mination.
She won the No. 1 doubles state title
with Meg Phyle last year, but Coach Jeff
Etterbeek decided to split up the girls this
year.
"I couldn't see having two seniors and
my co-captains at one position in our
lineup" Etterbeek said. "I thought we'd be
wasting experience and skill."
Simmons was moved to No. 2 doubles
with Amanda Twu, but they struggled, and
Etterbeek decided to pair them with other
partners.
Simmons and Twu were reunited at
the state tournament late last month at
Kalamazoo College at a competition and
stunned the experts by winning the No. 2
doubles state title. The No. 5-seeded duo
lost only one game — their first of the
tournament — in four matches.
After beating St. Clair 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
and Grosse Ile 6-2, 6-4 in their first two
matches, Simmons and Twu avenged reg-
ular-season losses in beating Grand Rapids
Christian 6-2, 6-4 and Holland Christian
7-6 (6), 6-3 in the semifinals and finals.
Simmons said she's proud of her second
state title in doubles, but even prouder of
her team for keeping its state champion-
ship streak alive.
Amanda Simmons
Cranbrook-Kingswood scored 32 points.
Grand Rapids Christian (28) and Detroit
Country Day (27) weren't far behind.
"No one thought we would win state
because we lost our best player (Alex
Najarian, a three-time No. 1 singles state
champion now playing for Michigan):'
Simmons said. "But we bonded. It was an
honor to be a captain"
Etterbeek wasn't surprised by Simmons'
remarks.
"First and foremost, Amanda is a team
player" he said.
The coach also praised Simmons for
"rising to the challenge with many irons
in the fire talking about tennis, trum-
pet and being a straight-A student at the
Bloomfield Hills-based school.
Simmons also has been a figure skating
instructor for the FAR Conservatory of
Therapeutic and Performing Arts and a
volunteer at Hadassah House making dolls
for cancer-stricken youngsters for several
years.
She and special partner Patrick McCann
won a gold medal in unified pairs figure
skating earlier this year at the Special
Olympics Michigan State Winter Games at
the Howe Arena in Traverse City. Unified
sports brings together people with and
without intellectual disabilities for train-
ing and competition with an emphasis on
meaningful participation.
"How have I kept up with everything? I
wish I knew" Simmons said. "Time man-
agement and prioritizing are important,
of course. There have a been a lot of late
nights and stress but, all in all, it's been
fun."
Simmons is looking forward to attend-
ing Northwestern even though several
family members are Michigan grads.
"I love being home, but it's important for
me to be on my own:' she said.
Her sister Megan Simmons — a 2012
Cranbrook-Kingswood graduate who was
a No. 1 doubles state champion in tennis
with Meg Phyle in 2012 — will be a senior
next school year at Washington University
in St. Louis.
❑
Please send sports news to
stevestein502004@yahoo.com.