Westhampton Tennis Phenom Rose Hayes Makes It Official With Gonzaga University

While some are already lamenting the days of Rose Hayes, others are rejoicing the years ahead.

Gonzaga University’s head women’s tennis coach, in particular, after the Westhampton Beach tennis star made it official with the Division I college by signing a national letter of intent on November 10, said she is eager to work with a multi-sport athlete whom she said has the ability to flourish both on and off the court.

“As a multi-sport athlete, which you do not see often in the tennis world, she is extremely versatile, and her ceiling to develop is unparalleled,” Natalie Pluskota-Hamberg said. “The first time I saw Rose play, I was immediately excited and fired up. Rose is a fierce competitor and a gamer, which are her biggest strengths. She thrives because she is gritty on the court. Opponents are going to have to outwork her in order to be successful. She is a very special addition to our program.”

Nineteen-year Bishop McGann-Mercy tennis coach Michael Clauberg, who has worked at St. Anthony’s since Mercy closed its doors in 2018, is one of those who has been mourning the loss of the ability to work with and earn points from a standout like Hayes, who finished her five-year varsity career with a 110-10 record.

“I miss the days of Rose Hayes,” he said with a chuckle. “She was just unbelievable. When she came to Mercy, she put us on the map. It was a guaranteed point. As a junior high student, she even defeated the division champion from the year before.”

But it wasn’t the first time Clauberg saw Hayes out on a court. He was actually William Floyd High School head coach Dave Pia’s assistant for his summer tennis program. The pair witnessed the damage Hayes could do with a racket at the age of 7.

“She was exceptional. I could just tell with her presence on the court even at a young age,” Pia said. “I had her playing with my eighth- and ninth-graders at that time. Her mental capacity was even better than my varsity kids as far as explaining things. She really had a gift not only athletically, but mentally, too, which is a big part of tennis.”

Rose’s father Ray said jokingly his wife, Maria, got calluses on her fingers calling Pia over and over again, looking to get their daughter into Pia’s clinic.

“He didn’t know us from a hole in the wall, but we worked out a deal coming in as almost out-of-staters,” the father said. “At the time, we’d already had many coaches telling us to get her into different programs and on travel teams because of her abilities in soccer and gymnastics. It was there that we saw Coach Pia’s eye for a tennis player. He came over to me to tell me how unique Rose was.”

So, the family enrolled her into a player development program with the United States Tennis Association Training Center-East. Three or four times a week, Rose would be found traveling from her home in East Moriches to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, often spending excess time competing in tournaments all across the country. The senior’s mother is stunned by what has transpired since those days.

“We live the furthest out east of a nationally-ranked tennis player on Long Island,” said Maria Hayes, who played junior tennis, following her daughter’s signing. “People don’t know how hard it was to get to this point and how much time and effort it took. It’s such an achievement. This is a summation of everything she’s worked for, and the sky is the limit. Whatever she wants to do, she’ll do it.”

And many of those in attendance during last week’s event helped Rose leap over any hurdles as a result of those long commutes and that dedication to her craft. Coaches, educators and friends all pitched in, whether it was helping her get out of school early to hit the road, or babysitting while her father, a pilot, and mother, a doctor, were busy with work. That “it takes a village to raise a child” adage was on full display. Even Pluskota-Hamberg witnessed it firsthand when she paid the Hayes a visit.

“I was impressed by how she and her family navigated their schedules to accommodate each other — their dedication to raising such a strong and hardworking young woman,” the coach said. “They were like a well-oiled machine fueled by selflessness and love. By the end of the day, I knew she would be a great addition to our program.”

But Hayes still didn’t have it easy — with a Maglite in her mouth, she’d be doing homework or eating dinner in the back seat of the family car on the drive home from Flushing. Then there came a point when Patrick McEnroe, a former professional tennis player, broadcaster and former captain of the United States Davis Cup team, who is the general manager of the training program she went through, pulled Rose’s father for a private conversation to say his daughter had reached a threshold.

“Rose needed to go ‘all in,’ as he termed it,” Ray Hayes said. “The schedule there is kind of cutthroat — they expect your kids to play in so many tournaments and to have results, positive results, in so many tournaments. So, they tell the parents of the top kids that they need to look into homeschooling to have more time to practice and compete.”

But the Hayes family, also being former military, knew the importance of an education.

“I said, ‘We’re not interested in that.’ I politely declined,” Hayes said. “I’m raising an entire human being, not just a tennis player.”

So that’s when Rose enrolled in Mercy and began a friendly rivalry with Jackie Bukzin, who competed for Eastport-South Manor and now plays for Division III Amherst College.

“She never, ever gave up. She was a fighter to the end. She certainly is, by far, one of the best players I’ve ever seen play or have been able to coach,” Clauberg said. “She had this great spirit and helped bring the team together. All the kids loved her. She could have been arrogant, because of how good she was, but not her. She was always trying to help other players. So, beyond her wining ability, her passion, her heart and her love for her fellow students was just unbelievable.”

It’s something former Westhampton Beach head coach John Czartosieski saw, too.

“She’s just such a sweetheart. She’s genuine. She’s the real deal,” he said previously. “You’re not blessed with a kid like Rose every year. This is an exceptional player. She’s an inspiration to all the girls on the team, for sure.”

While competing for the Hurricanes, she still found time to take part in tournaments and work with Adam Lee, a high-performance tennis coach at Glen Head Racquet Club in Nassau County, who trains top national players in the country and the highest juniors in New York. He competed for Division I Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where he holds the record for most singles wins in program history.

“She gets to balls you wouldn’t see any girl get to, and she has one of the best backhands I’ve seen at her level,” Lee said. “She is a fantastic kid. A very focused girl. She has put in so much work and has progressed very well.”

Rose, over the course of her high school career, acquired most of her losses in her seventh-grade year and in the state championship quarterfinals. She was a four-time division champion, three-time county champion and earned an All-State nod five times. In 2020, she was named an All-American by the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation, and is one of just 25 girls to receive the recognition.

Opting to run with the cross country team instead of playing tennis her senior season, she garnered All-League and All-County acknowledgments. Part of why she decided to run is because she’s always loved it — competing for the track and field teams in the offseason — and wanted to race with her Hurricanes one last time.

“It was a bit of a tough decision, because I knew I could do so well this last season. But I wanted to do this, and knew it was my only chance. And I really loved the atmosphere and my teammates,” Rose said. “The lessons you get from running you can’t get anywhere else.”

Rose verbally committed to Gonzaga last year, and her parents were elated.

“She had the gumption to stay the course. Through a lot of adversity and hurdles, she’s risen to the level that she was recruited by Division I schools,” her father said, adding he was overwhelmed with gratitude and pride watching her sign her letter of intent. “She had soldiered through everything laid before her, and remained consistent. Rose took it to another level, which we’re very, very proud of. This is bittersweet — it means our little girl is growing up — but it’s a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.”

The senior said she quickly grew fond of the coaches and the program before even stepping foot on campus. While the head coach at the time was D.J. Gurule, who is now the leader of the men’s team, most of Rose’s conversations and meetings were with Pluskota-Hamberg, who was then the assistant coach.

“When the visit was over, I said to my mom, ‘I cannot not see Natalie,’” the senior said, laughing. “I loved the coaches, the atmosphere, the teammates— everything … And with their nursing program, everything fit.”

While Rose said she believes she’ll thrive at Gonzaga, the soon-to-be-Bulldog couldn’t help but look to the past last Wednesday, seeing all those who have supported her along the way come together to celebrate her latest achievement.

“Everyone’s a piece of the puzzle, so to see them all here is super special,” she said. “This wouldn’t be possible without them.”