Upper St. Clair senior Marlo Schiffman came to several crossroads in her life over the past couple of years.
She eschewed both her junior and senior seasons of playing high school tennis for the Panthers and toured the country playing tournaments in an effort to get colleges to give her a look.
“The process started my freshman year by sending out emails to 25 colleges and eventually I narrowed it down throughout the years and I had three left,” Schiffman said. “I chose, not only where I would be happy with my tennis, but even if I wasn’t going to play, I’d be happy no matter what.”
And, in the end, the one place she wanted to go most of all is the place where she will end up.
Last week, all of Schiffman’s hard work paid off when she committed to Michigan State.
“I love the team and they’re such an amazing group of women,” Schiffman said. “Out of all the coaches I’ve met, they were the ones I most wanted to be with.”
Schiffman will, in essence, replace another former WPIAL tennis player who similarly gave up high school tennis to concentrate on regional and national tournaments. Gateway graduate Samantha Memije, who won the Class 3A Section 3 title in 2013 and withdrew because of injury in the second round of the WPIAL singles tournament that year, is heading into her senior season with the Spartans.
As a freshman in her only full year competing in the WPIAL, Schiffman finished second to Norwin graduate and current University of Cincinnati player Maria Santilli in the 2016 Class 3A singles tournament.
Schiffman is the No. 4-ranked senior in the state, between WPIAL Class 3A singles champion Charlotte James of Fox Chapel and WPIAL runner-up Bethany Yauch of Baldwin. Yauch has committed to Cleveland State. James has not yet picked a college.
Next year, Schiffman will move on to East Lansing and play in the Big Ten.
“I’ve always wanted to play for a Division I school,” Schiffman said. “I’ve been wanting to go here since my visit back in February when I got to meet with the team and got to experience what they experience.”
Following his sister
Blackhawk senior cross country standout Jack Aulbach is very close with his sister, Mady, who is a freshman basketball player at Youngstown State. So when it came time for Jack to pick a college, he had a good idea of where he wanted to go.
Like sister, like brother. Jack accepted a scholarship to Youngstown State last week, ultimately choosing the school over American University. Jack said his sister being at Youngstown State played a big part in his decision.
“It really did,” he said. “I love my family. Obviously, I’m very close with her. We’ve been best friends since Day 1, basically. Youngstown State is close to home and she’s there, too. It’s pretty cool to think I’ll be a Division I athlete with a sibling at the same school.”
Mady’s reaction to her brother’s decision?
“She was ecstatic,” Jack said.
Jack is the youngest of Eric and Tricia Aulbach’s three children. The oldest, Eric, attended a college just a tad farther away from home — Alabama.
Football commitment
Shenango’s Anthony Campoli (Saint Vincent).
Softball commitments
Canon-McMillan’s Olivia Ulam (Saint Francis, Pa.); Frazier’s Rylee Evans (Saint Francis, Pa.); Trinity’s Emma Morgan (Toledo).
Track and field commitment
Mt. Lebanon’s Patrice Smith (Columbia).
Post-Gazette staff writer Brad Everett contributed to this story.
First Published: October 23, 2019, 10:45 a.m.
