Girls tennis: On the court or in a plane, Highland's Kenzie Pawlak is flying high

Kenzie Pawlak is flying 2,000, 5,000 and even 10,000 feet high these days. Not only is the 17-year-old senior 30-2 at first doubles for a talented Highland tennis team — the Hornets recently won their ninth straight Suburban League American Conference title and are among the final eight teams in the season-long Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Tournament — she also became a licensed private pilot on Sept. 10. Now permitted to fly any single-engine land plane and carry three passengers — she has done her flying in a Cessna 172 she rents for $170 an hour from Wadsworth Municipal Airport — Pawlak's ultimate goal is to become a transport pilot for a major airline, though she hasn't totally ruled out going the Maverick route and becoming a fighter pilot. To that end, the owner of a 4.3 grade-point average plans to attend Ohio State or Kent State and major in aviation. "I was so nervous the first time," Pawlak said of her initial outing in control of the Cessna 172. "It was like, 'What am I even doing?' I knew from ground school how to handle it, but it's different when you're actually doing it. You definitely get an adrenaline rush. Now I can do it in my sleep." Before the 5-foot-9 left-hander heads off to college, there is an outstanding four-year tennis career to complete at Highland, where Pawlak has compiled a 104-15 record while playing almost exclusively doubles. As a 14-year-old freshman, Pawlak compiled a 16-5 record while playing primarily first doubles with older sister Maddie, now a student at Ohio State. They won an SL American title at that spot as the younger Pawlak was named honorable mention All-Gazette. "It was so much fun," Pawlak said. "We had arguments, but they weren't real arguments. It was more, 'Did you really just miss that shot?'" As a sophomore, Pawlak earned first-team All-Gazette honors after going 28-5 and winning an SL American title at second doubles with current senior Ella Tople. Pawlak also won a pair of singles matches at the Springside Division I Sectional. Last season, Pawlak went 30-3, repeated as an All-Gazette choice and won an SL American first doubles crown with Evy Boucher. The duo finished second at the Springside Sectional to advance to the Springside District. In her final season, Pawlak has won 30 of her 32 matches and an SL American first doubles crown with sophomore Lily Hantz. They will be the No. 3 seed at the upcoming Medina/Magnificat D-I Sectional, with the Highland doubles team of Ally Haynes and Claire Schlak seeded first. "We have a really good and strong team," Pawlak said of the Hornets. "We all hang out and we're pretty good friends. That helps a lot, and it's part of the reason why we're so successful. We all support each other." The daughter of Rick and Connie Pawlak started playing tennis when she was 10, but didn't take the sport seriously until she was in seventh grade. Lessons at Paramount Tennis Club improved her game, but it quickly became clear that Pawlak's big left-handed serve, powerful forehand and desire to hit the ball as hard as possible made her better suited for doubles than singles. "I'm so bad at singles," she said with a laugh. "I'm a very team-oriented person, so I like to win as a team, not just by myself. It's more fun when I have someone else there and we can win together. "The way I play, I serve big. On return games, I play the ad side because I love my forehand. I don't like playing patty-cake tennis. I just like hitting the ball hard." Pawlak, who also plays the mellophone in the marching band and French horn in the concert band, took the same aggressive approach when she became interested in flying. It started when she began taking trips on 30-seat jets owned by her dad's former company, Ultimate Air Shuttle, and grew when a neighbor who was a pilot for Southwest Airlines told her as a 15-year-old that she wasn't too young to start taking lessons. "I had such a passion and drive to get it done," Pawlak said. "We found a local airport (Wadsworth Municipal) and my dad enrolled me in lessons." Working with Avit Flight Academy beginning in November 2022, Pawlak first completed her ground lessons online. After spending two months learning the fundamentals of flying and rules and regulations, she was ready to get in a Cessna 172. For Pawlak's first six lessons, flight instructor Jacob Lamp did the takeoffs and landings, then let her assume the controls once safely in the air. "You do a discovery flight to make sure you won't freak out in the air, but the controls are yours," she said. "It was just crazy. You feel like you're on top of the world." After approximately 15 hours of flight time with Lamp, Pawlak was ready to execute a takeoff with him in the plane in March 2023. "At that point, I had watched him do it so many times it really wasn't that hard," she said. "Taking off is so much easier than landing." Not long after, Pawlak executed her first landing with Lamp next to her with his hand on the yoke, which is also known as a control wheel. "It's definitely scary the first few times," she said. "Am I too high? Am I too low. It was scary, but it also was exciting." Due to Federal Aviation Administration rules, Pawlak was not allowed to fly solo until she turned 16, which occurred on July 1, 2023. On July 5, she was alone in the Cessna 172, whose average speed is 80 knots (92 mph). "Oh my gosh, I was sweating," she said. "My instructor's rule was if you can do three perfect takeoffs and landings in the same day, you can solo. I had three good ones and he's like, 'I'm going to get out of the plane. You've got it. I wouldn't send you up there if you weren't ready.' "I pulled up to the departure line and it was now or never. People always ask me what was going through my head. Honestly, there was nothing. It was muscle memory at that point. It's routine. That's the way pilots are trained." Pawlak ended up being in the air for 20 minutes. She bumped upon landing, but Lamp had warned her that would happen because the plane was 200 pounds lighter without him in it. "I hit the ground and bounced once," Pawlak said. "I'm like, 'No, no, no.' Everybody in the airport was looking out the window. My dad did a video and you can hear him yelling, 'She did it, she did it.'" From that point, Pawlak spent the next 12 months flying a couple times a week, weather permitting. Each flight was approximately 90 minutes, and she experienced landing and taking off in airports in Youngstown and Sandusky. After completing the mandatory 10 hours of solo time — Lamp went with her on other trips — and passing a written exam in July, Pawlak was ready to test for her license through a grueling process called a checkride. The day started on a funny note, as Pawlak went to an ATM to withdraw money to cover the $800 cost. "It only gave out $20 bills," she said. "I handed the guy 40 of them and he started counting it and I said, 'I promise, it's all there.' It was so awkward." The testing process began with a three-hour oral exam administered by an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner who did not react to any of her responses. "You get grilled for three hours," Pawlak said. "It's awful." Next came the practical test, which consisted of three parts, with each of those also containing multiple phases. The first consisted of two takeoffs and landings on different surfaces. The second was maneuvers, which entailed simulating engine failure, executing 45-degree banking turns, flying in a circle around a selected object on the ground and flying in an "S" pattern along a road on the ground. The final part involved emergency procedures involving power failure. After completing all three phases, Pawlak landed, parked the Cessna 172 on the grass because the ramp was full and secured the plane. As she exited the plane upon completion of what was a six-hour day, the Designated Pilot Examiner extended his hand and said, "Congratulations, you passed. Welcome to the club." "You go into the airport for a debrief, where they tell you what you did well and what you need to work on," Pawlak said. "Then Jacob Lamp came in and I sent a family group text that said, 'I passed!' and everyone started texting back. "When I left the airport I called my parents. They were so excited, and so was I." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.