Grosse Pointe South’s Raven Neely in May 2015.
Raven Neely didn’t win the Division 1 singles final this year, but tennis coaches around the state of Michigan still honored her achievements.
Neely, who lost in the semifinal as a junior and in the championship as a senior at No. 1 singles, was named the state’s Miss Tennis in June by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association.
A student athlete must be a senior to win the award. Unfortunately, the ceremony isn’t until Feb. 3, 2017 at the Troy Marriott, so Neely will be well into her freshman season at Northern Illinois University after starring at Grosse Ponte South for three years.
“I found out in June,” Neely said. “I don’t know why the ceremony is so late. I might have to come back and give my speech. I have several months to get it ready. Coaches have to vote for you. Because I was one of the nominees they voted for me and they all agreed that I should get it.
“I had no penalties. I had a clean record. That’s also why I got the award. The most satisfying thing for me was making it to the finals and knowing that my hard work has paid off.”
Since losing to West Bloomfield freshman Anika Yarlagadda in the final, Neely, the daughter of former Eastern Michigan basketball star Lorenzo Neely, has been on a tear on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Summer Circuit, a venue for college players.
She has reached the singles finals in events at Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Michigan State, and a doubles final at Northwestern University.
Neely has climbed to 68th nationally and second in Michigan in the Babolat Recruiting rankings.
She currently leads the ITA Summer Circuit with 70 points, 14 ahead of Duke’s Ellyse Hamlin. She will participate in the ITA National Summer Championship, Aug. 13-16, at Indiana University.
“I am proud of Raven’s achievements this summer,’’ said Tanya Gombera, her coach at NIU, in a story published by the Daily Chronicle. “I’m excited to have her. I think we have probably one of the strongest teams we’ve had and I’m looking forward to seeing what we do in the fall.”
Gombera is the reason Neely picked NIU.
“The coach, I love my coach, and it was mainly because of her,” she said. “I’ll be in good hands with her and I also like the team. I feel like I can go out there and make a name for myself.”
She’ll compete for one of the top four singles spots at NIU.
“I’m ready to handle that,” she said. “My mental game has improved by having a better attitude on the court and not getting down on myself as much. Believing in myself a lot more than what I used to.”
Her mental game improved between her junior and senior year. When down, Neely’s body language would betray her.
Lorenzo had a lot of talks with his daughter about her on-court demeanor.
“He has always been in my head about that kind of stuff,” she said. “I feel like it really kicked in after my junior year. And my coach (Dennis Royal). I’ve had a pretty good summer.
“Since high school the biggest improvement definitely has been my mental game, definitely. That is how I’ve been able to get through those tough matches. I’ve been staying poised and grinding things out on the court.”
Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.