A familiar face is back in charge of the girls tennis program in Munising. Munising alumAbbie Hayes will head the young team for the 2023 girls season and if life allows will do so for the foreseeable future. Hayes was a part of the tennis team from 2016-2019 was an assistant coach for the girls in 2020 and 2021 and revitalized the boys program in 2022 after a three-year hiatus. She has been active in the program for the duration of this time.

For this year she brings on the help of coach Richard Prunick Jr. and together they hope to build a program that will outlast them and be a permanent asset to the Munising athletic department.

“We have a young group in terms of tennis experience and have made big improvements from day one and get better each week,” said coach Hayes.

The Munising squad retained eight players from last year’s group, and have seven girls that are either new to tennis altogether or are playing competitively for the first time this year.

“The returning leadership of this team has truly brought the newer players up to speed very quickly and it is already getting results. We have four seniors to boot so their impact and leadership on the team has been undeniable,” Prunick said.

Tennis in Munising historically has been a difficult process, instead of competing for gym time the kids are working against the sunset, with only two courts and no lights the team has to make every moment count. This year will be no different.

“In addition to getting to teach a game the kids can play for the rest of their lives, we’ll have to learn how to be resilient and road warriors,” said Prunick.

The Mustangs have no home meets due to the lack of available courts in Alger County as the requirement for an MHSAA meet is FOUR available courts at a minimum.

Munising had a rocky start to the beginning of their season losing 8-0 in Kingsford and 7-1 in Ishpeming, before turning the corner in Gladstone. The Mustangs lost 5-3 with bright spots in singles competition. No. 1 Singles Bailey Corcoran, No. 3 Singles Madelyn Richardson and No. 4 Singles Alexander Goss scored wins for the team. The doubles group went 0-4 but were competitive throughout the roster despite missing players for the meet.

“After three meets we are trending upward, this team has a ton of potential we have just got to find a way to unlock every bit of it in six weeks” said Prunick.