In his 18 years as boys varsity tennis coach at H.H. Dow High School, Terry Schwartzkopf has enjoyed an immense amount of success. His teams have captured eight state championships and have been runners-up twice. They have finished in the Top Five at the state tournament 16 consecutive years. There are 16 regional trophies in the school’s display case. His dual meet record is 319-33-27.

Therefore, it is no small thing for him to assert that  “Austin King had one of the most impressive high school campaigns I have ever seen.  Not only was he #1 singles for four straight years and only the second three-time captain in HH Dow history, he won the state championship at 1S two consecutive years without losing a set. In his four years at that position, he finished with a 139-12 record. This is a 92.1% win percentage.

Ever the math teacher/statistician, Terry asserts that Austin leaves high school tennis with multiple Top 5 statistical categories. He has placed what Austin achieved against figures supplied by the MHSTeCA and the MHSAA. In other words, against everyone else who has ever played 1S in our state.

          •   He won 29 tournaments placing him 5th all time.

          •   He achieved single-season wins of 37 and 38, placing him 11th and 14th all time.

          •   He owns a 75 consecutive match win streak placing him 4th all time

          •   Career wins: 139, 4th all time

          •   The notched 65 6-0, 6-0 victories making him the best ever in that category.

As a result, he collected mountains of honors.

          •   He was first team all conference in the Saginaw Valley Conference all four years.

          •   He was SVL MVP all four years.

          •   He was SVP 1S flight champ all four years.

          •   He was a member of the SVL team champions all four years.

          •   He was the regional 1S flight champion all four years.

          •   He was a member of the regional team champions all four years.

          •   He was All-State all four years.

In addition, “all four years” applies to the following.

          •   He was Saginaw Valley first team

          •   He was SVL MVP.

          •   He was a SVL Flight Champion.

          •   He was a member of the SVL team champion all four years.

“Austin’s effort, vision, and determination serve as the foundation of all of the aforementioned success,” says Terry. “As a freshman, he led this team to a 3rd place finish...6 spots higher than they were seeded to be.  Building upon this he served as the backbone for back-to-back championships.  As a senior, he instilled his wisdom and effort in raising up the next generation as seven of the players were new to the lineup. Unfortunately, the team missed the opportunity to three-peat by two points his senior year, instead bringing home a second place.  I find this an incredible accomplishment considering the circumstances and credit Austin due to his leadership and drive for success.

Austin joins Varun Shanker as Terry’s second MHSTeCA Mr. Tennis. He plans to attend U of M or MSU to study biology on a pre-med track.