DE PERE – Murray Gleffe has been an area tennis coach for 24 years. He’s never had a player win 100 career matches.

Until now.

West De Pere senior Lexie Hankel recently achieved the milestone with more than a month left in her final season.

She has gone 103-10 in her career, spending her first two years at Janesville Craig and her last two at West De Pere.

“In my opinion, you have to start playing USTA tournaments around 10 years old to be mentally ready to come in as a 13-, 14-year-old to not only play No. 1 singles but to then get between 20 to 25 wins that first year of competition,” Gleffe said. “If you don’t reach that milestone your first season, it’s hard to get to 100.”

Hankel has won at least 27 matches in each of her first three years, including a career-high 32 as a junior. She entered the week 15-0 this season.

“I’m extremely proud of myself,” Hankel said of her 100-win accomplishment. “I think I’ve really worked hard to get to this point and trained hard, especially in the offseason. I’m just proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

Lexie Hankel hoping for big finish to senior season

Hankel was nervous as a freshman playing on varsity, at least early on.

She comes from a tennis family — her father, Barry, played at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and is the director of tennis at Green Bay Tennis Center — and her rookie jitters didn’t prevent her from having big aspirations.

She was excited to see what she could accomplish and motivated to reach the point she finds herself now, considered one of the top players in the state.  

There haven’t been many hiccups during her decorated career, and she’s only gotten better each season.

Hankel went 27-6 as a freshman and placed third at the WIAA Division 1 state meet.

She followed by going 28-2 as a sophomore and advanced to the state title match, where she lost to Bay Port freshman phenom Karlie Schock.

Hankel’s family moved to the Green Bay area before her junior year after her father got his new job.

It started a new life at West De Pere and set up the possibility of another title match against Schock, which would have been the first time since the state tournament started in 1971 that the final featured two girls from the Green Bay area.

Schock earned the No. 1 seed for state and Hankel the No. 2.

But there turned out to be a couple of problems on the way to the dream rematch.

Schock, who was the favorite to repeat, withdrew from the tournament to instead compete against some of the top players in the country at a USTA junior event in Minneapolis.

Hankel became the new favorite to win it, but it also put even more pressure on her shoulders after coming so close to a championship the previous two seasons.

She believes she stressed herself out going into the tournament.

Hankel breezed through her first three matches and won each in straight sets after receiving a bye in the opening round.

The opportunity to reach the title match for the second straight year ended with a 7-5, 6-4 loss to No. 3 seed Clare Schaefer of Whitefish Bay in a semifinal.

Schaefer won the state title, while Hankel earned her second third-place finish.

“Last year was a strange season in that Lexie went in as the No. 2 seed but then found out Karlie wasn’t going to play a few days before the WIAA state tournament,” Gleffe said. “Suddenly, she became the favorite in a very short time span. She has had time to reflect on what it takes her senior season to close the deal on Saturday (in the title match).”

Hankel won’t let pressure creep in this season. Instead, she is focused on having as much fun as possible. There still might be some stress, but it won’t be something she can’t manage.

There is a chance Hankel could be the top seed again.

Schock is not competing for Bay Port this season and Schaefer has been playing doubles. Verona Area’s McKenna Thorson was the No. 4 seed last season and should be a contender after reaching the semifinals in 2024.

“If it happens this year, it would be awesome, it would be great,” Hankel said. “But, also, I’ve had a great career. So, just to have fun and see how well I can do this year.”

Gleffe has seen continued improvement in Hankel’s game, notably that the pace of the ball is coming off her strings crisper than in the past.  

There’s also a different vibe off the court.

Hankel had to adjust last year to a new school, teammates and friends. It can be a lot to deal with in a short period of time.

“She has really grown into being part of the West De Pere family and making a ton of connections,” Gleffe said. “Our No. 2 singles player, Grace Johnson, and her have a great friendship, leading as two of the captains.

“There is a big transition when you move to a high school some 150 miles away a month before your junior season. She is more comfortable with her surroundings, and that usually translates to success.”

Lexie Hankel has bright future in tennis

Hankel made school history by becoming the first West De Pere girls player to win a singles match at state, which came after she became the second player and first since Lily Howe in 2012 to earn a trip to the big stage.

State title or not, Hankel’s career is far from over after this year.

She will have the opportunity to play in college, with NCAA Division I offers from UW-Milwaukee and South Alabama.

Hankel won’t have the opportunity to follow in her father’s footsteps and compete at UWGB. The men’s and women’s programs at the school were suspended indefinitely at the conclusion of the 2019-20 academic year because of budget and other long-standing issues.

“I feel like it’s fun,” Hankel said of the recruiting process. “Just seeing the different opportunities I have, but it’s also stressful deciding my future. I think the process is overall fun. It’s exciting to see what my hard work has gone into.”

Hankel said she probably will decide on a school soon with the NCAA signing period in November.

“It would be nice to stay home since I’m close to the family and everything and South Alabama is far away,” Hankel said. “I’d probably maybe lean more towards Milwaukee, but both have incredible things to offer.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: West De Pere tennis star Lexie Hankel earns milestone in final season

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