Gazette MVP: Lily Hantz put in the work to be one of Highland's all-time greats

Lily Hantz was a good enough tennis player to earn All-Gazette honors as a freshman and sophomore, but the 5-foot-4 mighty mite wanted to be more than a third singles and first doubles player for a highly successful Highland team. That's why the 16-year-old spent her offseason taking lessons five days a week and sometimes playing again later in the day. The result was a jump to first singles as a junior, a 26-11 record and a Division I state doubles berth with teammate Claire Schlak. Now, Hantz can add Gazette MVP to her high school tennis résumé. "She worked so hard in the offseason and came in so prepared and ready," 23rd-year Hornets coach Lisa Reynolds said. "Due to that work, she won that first singles spot. "She can change gears and is very versatile. She can be consistent and have patience when she needs to and she can pick it up a gear when the situation calls for it." Hantz wasn't driven to beat out teammate and good friend Schlak for the first singles spot, but she knew she was going to occupy one of the top two positions and had to get better if Highland was going to capture its 10th straight Suburban League American Conference title. Both happened. Training with Paramount Tennis Club's Adam Perkins and Jordan Helderman and equally grateful for the help she's received from Reynolds and her staff over the last three years, Hantz didn't miss a beat, though some doubts did creep in when the Hornets were playing the top-tier teams on the non-league portion of their regular-season schedule. "I worked pretty hard," she said. "I was at the courts five days a week, sometimes twice a day. I knew I was going to be one or two (singles), but I was going to be happy with either of them. Every coach I've ever had has played a part in how I am now. I've been through a lot of coaches, and they've all added little pieces that help. "In the beginning of the season, I felt a lot more pressure than I needed to feel. As the season went along, I realized it's just another position on the team. You just have to play your game." The owner of an 85-22 career record, Hantz started playing tennis at the age of 6 and "hated it." Parents Lisa and Scott wanted their only child to be involved in some type of athletic endeavor, so they kept trying. "I wasn't very entertained by it," Hantz said of tennis. "I did it for a couple months and I quit. I played a lot of sports and quit because I hated everything. I was just a quiet kid, so I wasn't interested in being around other kids. I was very independent." Finally, during the COVID pandemic in the spring of 2020, Hantz became so bored sitting at home that she picked up tennis again. "I did competitive cheer, but my mom wanted me to do a sport that was non-contact, so I tried tennis again," she said. "It took my mom awhile to convince me." These days, Hantz is glad she did. She's equally grateful for the amount of money her parents have spent on lessons, be they group clinics or one-on-one sessions. "I remember before I could drive, my mom would take me everywhere," she said. "I'd have multiple practices and she'd drive me to all of them. My dad works hard to pay for it. As you can imagine, all these lessons add up real quick." They also pay off, but Lisa and Scott have made it clear to their daughter that she doesn't have to earn a college scholarship or win tournaments to make the investment worthwhile. "My parents and I have had talks about it," Hantz said. "How I play is how I play. They don't want me to feel that pressure, but right now I couldn't imagine putting down the racket." Hantz's Highland teammates, especially those who will be back in 2026, will be glad to hear that. "Her tennis ability is like no other," junior first doubles player Ava Tople said. "She has so many strengths when she plays, whether it's her backhand, forehand or slice. She can even whip out a kick serve. All-around, she's just such a good player. She knows where to put the ball. That's the difference between her and a lot of players. "Lily is one of those players who will laugh in practice, but when it comes to a match she wants to win. Her mindset is doing whatever she needs to do to win. She also trains so much, like twice a day, because she likes to win." Though she finished third at first singles at the SL American Conference Tournament, Hantz won a lot. She and Schlak, who played second singles in the regular season, won the Solon Division I Sectional doubles crown and finished second at the Northeast District to qualify for the state tournament. "She's very supportive," Schlak said. "She's aggressive at the net and she knows when she has to make a good shot. She has very good footwork and she's competitive. Her strokes are very clean and high level. She works hard and trains a lot with the Paramount coaches. She got better, for sure — a lot better." While Hantz takes the game seriously, she's quick to crack a joke and a good friend to her teammates. "Lily away from tennis is so funny," Tople said. "She's always making everyone laugh, she's always making people smile and she's always making sure everyone is OK. She is just a really good friend." And a really good tennis player who is willing to put in the work. "She's going to work so hard in the offseason and come back with more mental toughness," Reynolds said. "You get that through experience and building upon the tough losses. She's gone through some of that, and that's going to help her next year." In terms of goals, Hantz doesn't have any. The way she sees it, there's no sense adding pressure or putting limitations on herself. "I like to go into the season open-minded," she said. "I'll work hard the same way I did last season and just keep playing." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.