Howell Puts Heart Into Memorial Meet

MATTAWAN – To say that tennis is in Dylan Hodgman’s DNA is definitely an understatement.

The Mattawan sophomore is the youngest of four generations of tennis aficionados that began with his great-grandfather and has continued through his grandparents, father and two older brothers.

It all started during the 1950s with Dr. Bert Hodgman, an obstetrician/general practitioner who not only played tennis but started a women’s tennis team called the Hodgman Girls.

One of those “Girls” was Patty Miller, who eventually married Brad Hodgman – and the pair became Dylan’s grandparents.

Dylan’s father, Cliff, is in the process of starting a nonprofit tennis academy in Kalamazoo that will feature two divisions: Hodgman Boyz and Hodgman Girlz.

Included in the academy are Dylan and his recently-graduated older brothers Luke (2022) and Jacob (2024), who all have been part of Mattawan’s tennis success.

The Wildcats have earned Regional championships the last three years, won their fourth consecutive Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title last fall and have competed in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals the last six years, finishing third in 2023.

Coach Matt Boven, in his 26th year leading Mattawan program, has coached all three brothers.

“I’m not surprised that they’re continuing the tradition,” Boven said. “All of them have unique ways of going about things when they play. All are so talented and hard-working and charismatic.”

Senior Nolan Ackerman, slotted at No. 1 singles the last two years, has been teammates with all three Hodgmans at various times.

“Luke is more of a slapper,” Ackerman said. “He likes to hit the ball hard. Dylan just keeps the ball in play and outlasts his opponents.

“Luke was always trying to put balls away and end the point quickly. Jake, it depended on who he was playing.”

Wildcats assistant Warner Offord III also coaches all three Hodgman brothers and noted their different styles.

“Luke likes to fish, more laissez-faire, but on the court he’s really focused, spicy-dicey with his game,” Offord said. “Jake was more serve and volley with a big serve. Both were first-team all-staters.

“Dylan is the firecracker. He’s like a right-handed (Rafael) Nadal. He likes to hit every ball hard, he likes to pounce on balls. It’s just a passion with their family.”

The three brothers and their father often play doubles together.

“It’s always been a bonding thing,” dad Cliff Hodgman said. “It teaches them about life. We work hard, we play hard, but we have a lot of fun.”

Dylan Hodgman has moved this season from fourth to second singles, where he has a 12-1 record. He finished Finals runner-up at No. 4 last fall, falling 6-4, 6-1, in the championship match to Midland junior Nimai Patel.

Jumping up two flights, “there’s better competition, harder hitters, people who get more balls back,” Hodgman said. “They have a harder serve, an overall better game.”

He was just 2 years old when he started playing tennis, but his great-grandfather started at a much older age.

While at Princeton in the 1930s, Bert Hodgman read a book about tennis, started playing and got hooked, Cliff Hodgman said.

“He started the Hodgman Girls in the 1950s,” Cliff explained. “It was kind of an elitist sport back then. His goal was to not make it like that. My mom (Patty Miller) won the city ping pong championship at Milwood Junior High, so he called her up and said come on out and try out.”

Some of those Hodgman Girls went on to compete nationally, like “my mom and her partner, Kathy Dombos (Schlukebir), who went on to the Orange Bowl and got to the finals in doubles.”

After retiring as chief of staff for Bronson Methodist and Borgess hospitals in Kalamazoo, Bert Hodgman started a tennis program in Hilton Head, S.C., open to anyone free of charge.

That is the legacy his grandson hopes to continue.

A full-time financial advisor, Cliff Hodgman has plans to build a “super training center in Kalamazoo.

“It will cost about $7 or $8 million, but we’re going to do it,” he said. “We won’t charge anyone for anything. It will be a community-based effort.”

He hopes to have it running in three years.

“It’s an extension of what my grandpa did 60 years ago, but take it to a new level,” he said.

Meanwhile, the current focus is on Dylan and the Wildcats.

This season, Mattawan is 11-2 with its most recent loss a wake-up call against Portage Central early this month.

“We have two losses so far, but when we lost to Portage Central that made us realize we’re not the same team as last year anymore,” said Ackerman, who has an 11-2 record. “We lost four of our top five players, and all four were all-staters.”

Since that loss, Mattawan has reeled off nine straight wins.

Boven said competing in the SMAC is a bonus and a challenge.

“I’m thankful we have a challenging conference where we can continue to test ourselves under pressure,” he said. “Each year, our Regional can be challenging, so our focus is to get there, and once we’re there, we can start to try to eye a possible state championship.

“Our singles have led us this season, but we’ve definitely had some great performances with some of our doubles. We have some new players this season playing doubles, but they’re getting acclimated pretty quickly and they’re improving with each day.”

Rounding out singles play are senior Connor Schultz at No. 3 and junior Alan Muresan at No. 4

The top two doubles teams are senior Caleb Goodrich and junior Gavin McCain at No. 1 and juniors Bradley Ko and Matt Engel at No. 2. A pair of seniors, Kurtis Scheffler and Jeffrey Richardson, hold down the No. 3 spot while freshman Asher Ndenga and junior Oliver Bancroft are at No. 4. Sophomore Bobby Dunning is the first varsity alternate.

Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Mattawan’s Dylan Hodgman volleys during a recent practice. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Mattawan boys tennis coach Matt Boven, Nolan Ackerman, Cliff Hodgman and Mattawan assistant coach Warner Offord III. (Below) Dr. Bert Hodgman, middle of top row, and future daughter-in-law Patty Miller, standing far right, take a photo with their Hodgman Girls team. Below, from left, Jacob, Luke and Dylan Hodgman are part of the newest Hodgman Boyz. (Top photo and Boven, Ackerman and Offord head shots by Pam Shebest. Additional photos courtesy of Cliff Hodgman.)