community - Local History Archives

GROSSE POINTE NEWS, DECEMBER 4, 2008
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL
Amato earns state's top tennis accolade
By Bob St John
Sports Editor
Tennis anyone?
University Liggett School senior
Drew Amato made the
most of his final year of high
school tennis, earning Division
IV All-State First Team honors
this fall at No. 1 doubles.
His trek began with freshman
Peter Eckrich as his partner
and halfway through the
year head coach Chuck Wright
made the switch to senior Aziz
Jan, who was playing No. 3 singles.
It worked well as Amato and
Jan formed a smooth team that
won several big matches, including
one in the state finals
against Grayson Oake and
Tyler Siebert of Buchanan.
They won 10 of 15 matches
at No. 1 doubles to earn the
state's top honor.
"It's a nice accomplishment
to win All-State, especially after
coach Wright made the
switch halfway through the
season," the 18-year-old
Grosse Pointe Farms resident
said. "I worked hard and had a
lot of fun this fall playing with
Peter and then Aziz."
"Drew matured a lot this season
and he was a leader on the
court," Wright said. "It was nice
to see Drew and Aziz earn that
All-State honor since they were
a doubles team for only half of
the season.
"They played with a lot of
poise as seniors."
Amato has played tennis
since he was in grade school,
but stopped playing for a couple
of years.
He took it up again when he
started high school and slowly
moved up Wright's depth
chart.
Last season, he played No. 3
doubles, but moved up to No. 1
doubles toward the end of the
season.
He played No. 1 doubles with
Drew Amato
then senior Steven Saurbier,
but lost their first match in the
state finals.
Now that his high school tennis
career is over and he finished
with a flourish, Amato is
concentrating on his favorite
sport, ice hockey.
This is his fourth year on the
varsity squad. He spent the first
three playing for head coach
Terry Olson. This season, ULS'
head coach is Rob Mclntyre,
who Amato has known since
he began playing hockey for
the Grosse Pointe Hockey
Association in grade school.
He firstlaced up a pair of
skates at age 4 in the GPHA's
open skate program under Jan
Orr.
It didn't take him long to become
adept at skating. He then
told his father, Tom, he wanted
to play hockey.
"It's been fun watching Drew
play hockey through the different
levels," Tom Amato said. "I
can't believe this is his final
year of high school hockey and
I hope it is a season to remember."
Amato, at 5-feet, 10-inches
tall and 150 pounds, scored
three goals during his sophomore
year, but picked up the
pace last season, netting 10.
This season, he is one of the
Knights' captains and plays on
the No. 1 forward line with senior
Erik Litch and junior Dan
Zukas.
"We have some high hopes
this season playing for coach
McIntyre,"Amato said. "I am
looking forward to playing
with my linemates and using
my speed and our team chemistry
to hopefully score a lot of
goals.
"I know I'm going to have to
perform on the ice."
Amato wants to continue
playing hockey at the collegiate
level, but said he will
probably have to settle on competing
on a club team.
"I'm not sure where I will go
to college next fall, but a possibility
is DePaul University (the
largest Catholic university in
the nation and the largest private
institution in Chicago with
more than 23,000 students),"
Amato said. "I'm thinking
about majoring in business."
Pursuing a business degree
would follow in his father's
footsteps. Tom Amato has a degree
from Wayne State
University in chemical engineering
and a business degree
from the University of
Michigan Business School.
Amato is the eldest child of
Tom and his mother, Jo Marie.
He has a sister, Gabriella, 12,
and a brother, Nick, 9.
He has a good grade point
average at ULS. He spent his
early childhood years in
Clinton Township before his
family moved to Grosse Pointe
Woods.
Amato went to Ferry
Elementary and Our Lady Star
of the Sea before enrolling at
ULS for high school.
"I have a lot of friends who
play sports at Grosse Pointe
North and Grosse Pointe
South, but we don't play them
in hockey," Amato said.
PHOTOS BY RENATO JAMETT
Senior Drew Amato is a captain and on the No. 1 line for the University Liggett School boys ice
hockey team under first-yearhead coach Rob Mclntyre.
"My wife and I thought about
sending Drew to North or
DeLaSalle, but he had a lot of
friends at ULS and it's a great
school," Tom Amato said.
This firstsemester of his senior
year, Amato has geology,
environmental science, advanced
placement government,
pre-calculus and journalism.
"My favorite class is journalism,"
Amato said. "I have loved
being a ULS student and I have
a lot of pride being a Knight."
Amato will make his college
choice after the first of the year,
just in time for the Knights' ice run in the second half of the
hockey team to make a stretch season.
FOOTBALL
U-D seeks coaches
University of Detroit Jesuit
High School and Academy is
now hiring football coaches all
all levels.
Interested parties should forward
their resume to the following:
Attn: Mickey Barrett,
Athletic Director; e-mail address
is mickey.barrett@uofdjesuit.org
and the fax is (313)
862-3299. The address is 8400
S. Cambridge, Detroit, MI
.48221.
GIRLS
VOLLEYBALL
South freshmen finish
season with perfection
Grosse Pointe South's girls
freshmen volleyball team
capped off an undefeated season
by beating Eppler Middle
School in their finalmatch of
league play.
In yet another solid match,
the Lady Blue Devils won 25-
12,25-10,15-6.
"The girls once again performed
with tremendous skill
and execution," head coach
Meredith Lathrop said. "I am
so very proud of the continued
excellence and the never-giveup
attitude of this group."
The squad also won three
touraments to add to the season's
final totals.
"Everyone is looking forward
to watching these girls
mature as JV and varsity players
in the future," Lathrop said.
"Team leadership was inspired
by captains Olivia Ray, Libby
Griffith and Dana Hanrahan.
"However, each player
added the necessary ingredients
in obtaining our winning
season."
Lathrop also applauded the
efforts of passers Aii Ciaffone
(libera), Paige Moore,
Katherine Campbell, Carolyn
Lanza, Courtney Bilderbeck,
Emily Vreede, and Zita
Barnette.
"Our setters, Olivia Ray and
Chelsea Merrill, worked hard
all season to give their hitters
that perfect set," Lathrop
added. "The hitters, Dana
Hanrahan, Libby Griffith,
Megan Grambo, Emily
Jackman, and Cathy
Palazzolo, raised their level of
play all season long, often paralyzing
unsuspecting opponents
with the fury of their
punishing hits.
"The positive attitudes and
crazy outbursts, on and off the
court, along with the constant
teamwork displayed, played a
key role in the girls 11-0 season.
"No matter what the score
was, they never gave up, and
always came back to win. It
was pure pleasure for the parents
and the coaches to watch
them perform at such a high
level of play."
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The Grosse Pointe South girls freshmen volleyball team completed its season undefeated under
head coach Meredith Lathrop.
Return no later than January 23,2009