Hawken School senior Hayley Garber’s tennis season seemed over before it started when she was sidelined for the first half of the season with a back injury. However, Garber recovered in time to return for the postseason and finished as a state qualifier in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II doubles tournament with her partner, freshman Valeria Kislyansky.
For once again reaching the Division II state tournament, Garber has been named this week’s Cleveland Jewish News Les Levine High School Player of the Week.
“This is my dream,” Garber, who has been named a player of the week in each of the last three seasons, told the CJN. “I always wanted to make the state tournament. Obviously, everyone is vying for a spot at the state tournament, but it feels good to know all my hard work had paid off. I did not even know if I could play in the postseason this year just because of my back and was not sure what would happen.”
Garber wrapped up her varsity tennis career as a four-time doubles champion in the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division tournament and a four-time Division II state qualifier.
Being a four-time Division II state qualifier in doubles is something Garber said she could never have envisioned before entering high school and added she could not have predicted she would even play varsity tennis.
Due to her battle with Crohn’s disease, Garber did not compete in tennis in junior high school. She said she was motivated to persevere, drawing inspiration from the memory of her late brother, Michael, who died when she was in sixth grade.
Despite being sidelined for the first half of her senior season due to her injury, Hawken coach Lori Shulman said it did not deter Garber from fulfilling her duties as a team co-captain.
“I am really proud of her because she embraced being a leader when she was injured which is not easy to do from the sideline,” Shulman told the CJN. “So, she was at practices and was at matches even though she could not play and was a supportive teammate cheering everybody on, and that is just as important in my eyes.”
Garber recovered in time to compete in the CVC Chagrin Division tournament and teamed up with fellow co-captain Beatrice Hardacre to win the number 1 doubles title, and then partnered with Kislyansky for the postseason.
“People do not think a freshman and a senior is the best pairing, but I think we respect each other very much and are very good friends,” Garber said. “That is very helpful, but Valeria has seen my successes over the years and trusts me that I know what I am doing.”
The Hawken duo won the Division II Solon/Hawken sectional doubles title, then became the district runners-up, qualifying for the state tournament. But Garber’s Hawken career ended when the tandem was ousted in the first round.
“I think she left a mark on the program, but she is an accomplished tennis player at Hawken in her own right,” the first-year coach added. “I asked her to step up as a leader this year and I think her character, work ethic and all those things left an indelible mark on the program and will help us in the future. She left the program better than she found it.”
Garber will continue her tennis career, as she recently committed to play at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., and will major in kinesiology.
Daniel Sherriff is a freelance journalist.