AUGUST 18 • 2022 | 45

DIANNE SCAFONE

“Lindsay wasn’t just a leader for our
team on the court,” Dupret said. “She
was a great role model who always
made it a point to welcome new
players to our program.”
Berke said the welcoming happened
to her when she was a freshman, so
she felt it was important to return the
favor.
The team often did a couple minutes
of meditation before practices during
Berke’s junior season. The idea came
from Dupret, a school psychologist.
Berke helped lead those sessions
with the other captains, drawing on
her own experience with meditation.
“It was mainly imagery when we did
meditation that season. Closing your
eyes and picturing yourself on the
court, doing what you need to do to
win,” she said. “I’m a firm believer in
meditation.”
Berke maintained her perfect GPA
and devoted the in-season and off-
season time needed to play tennis at a

high level while holding down a part-
time job the last two years as a curb
runner for takeout and now a hostess
at Stage Deli in West Bloomfield
Township.
“It took determination and time
management for Lindsay to achieve
what she did in high school,” Dupret
said.
Michigan State University is the next
stop in Berke’s academic career.
The 17-year-old doesn’t have an
occupation in mind yet. Competitive
tennis is definitely in her rearview
mirror.
“I’ve always considered tennis
more of a hobby than a career,” she
said. “I’m sad that my days as a high
school tennis player are over — the
competition and bonding with my
teammates were great — but it’s on to
bigger and better things.”

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Downtown
Birmingham is
the backdrop
for this photo of
Lindsay Berke.

Michigan Senior
Olympics
Weightlifting
Champ Inspired
by Hall of Famer

Mike Hartman couldn’t have a
better weightlifting role model
than Jeff Ellis.
That’s Jeff Ellis, the soon-to-
be inductee into the Michigan
Senior Olympics Hall of Fame
(Aug. 20) and winner of 19 gold medals in the 21 times he’s competed in the
Michigan Senior Olympics.
Hartman, 62, a podiatrist from Bloomfield Hills, and Ellis, 63, a certified
public accountant from West Bloomfield, are longtime friends and workout
partners.
At Ellis’ urging, Hartman competed in weightlifting at the Michigan Senior
Olympics earlier this year and won a gold medal in the age 60-64 heavy-
weight (230-245-pound) division with a 285-pound bench press.
Hartman also won a Michigan Senior Olympics gold medal in the age
55-59 heavyweight division in 2019 with a 265-pound bench press, and a
silver medal in 2019 in shot put.
“Jeff got me into competing in weightlifting at the Michigan Senior
Olympics. He said there’s no way I’d lose,” Hartman said. “Competing in
weightlifting is tough for me because I get nervous. Jeff doesn’t.
“He’s an inspiration to me because of everything he’s gone through,”
Hartman said, noting Ellis is a colon cancer survivor and has overcome sev-
eral injuries in his journey to the Michigan Senior Olympics Hall of Fame.
Richard Hartman, Mike Hartman’s father, was a state champion and
nationally ranked squash player.

Massive Compliments
for Ex-Spartan Josh Nodler

Josh Nodler’s new coach thinks the
world of him.
“Josh has great offensive instincts
and plays a responsible two-way style,”
University of Massachusetts hockey
coach Greg Carvel said about the center
from Oak Park in a story on the UMass
website.
“We expect Josh to be one of our
top centers and an important part of our
special teams and the leadership of the
team,” Carvel said.
The compliments are great news
for Nodler, who played the last three seasons at Michigan State
before transferring to UMass this summer.
The upcoming season is a huge one for Nodler, who was
selected by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round (150th overall) of
the 2019 NHL draft.
Nodler’s senior year in college will be his final chance to
impress the Flames before a decision must be made on whether
he’ll remain in the organization.
Nodler played in 99 games for Michigan State. He had 13 goals
and 21 assists.
He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21 and
2021-22 and he won the Michigan State team’s Amo Bessone
Award for athletic and academic achievement and community
involvement in 2020-21.

Josh Nodler

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Mike Hartman works out at LA Fitness
in Troy.

JEFF ELLIS

continued on page 46