It’s fortuitous that Mike Ehrenberg didn’t have a match to play when it was announced he’s being inducted into the 2024 Mercer County Tennis Hall of Fame.
His mobility would have been severely hindered.
“My knees got weak, to tell you the truth,” the 30-year Hopewell Township resident said. “I never expected it. I was stunned when my name was announced at the (James E.) Cryan Tournament. It’s surreal. You look at some of the names in there, it’s very, very humbling. I really was surprised.”
His shock was not shared by at least one tennis lifer who knows Ehrenberg well.
“A well-deserved award for the coach, player and tournament director,” said former Hopewell Valley Central High coach Alma Quinlan, whom Ehrenberg assisted for several years. “Mike has left a legacy in Mercer County tennis. His passion as a player, coach and advocate for the sport is unsurpassed.”
His five-page resume’ devoted strictly to tennis will support that statement, as the north Jersey native has done most everything possible in the game.
Which is why he and four others will be honored at the Mercer County Boathouse on June 14. Other inductees are Jim Cryan, Ehrenberg’s long-time friend and doubles partner; Ginny Mason; former Wimbledon doubles semi finalist Glenn Michibata; and the late Betty Sander Thompson.
“The influence of some members of the Mercer Hall of Fame are on a national and even international level; like Dave Haggerty, Eve Kraft and Bill Mountford; and professional players like Jay Lapidus and Glen Michibata. I’m just a guy who grew up on the streets of Clark and carved out a niche in tennis, so it’s amazing to join all these legends.”
At age 63, Ehrenberg still manages to play four times a week at 6:30 a.m. before heading to work at the MEI Appraisal Company he owns and operates. Mike’s early-morning competition includes some of the region’s top players such as Al Hernandez, Cryan, Marc Dorsch and Lars Nillson.
He is also Tournament Director for the Nelson Green Tournament, a co-director and seeding committee member of the Cryan Tournament — the area’s largest — and a member of the USTA Middle States Adult Competition Committee.
Ehrenberg recently served on the Middle States Board of Directors from 2020-22, the NJ District Tennis Council in 2021 and the Middle States Nominating Committee in 2023.
Always anxious to pass his knowledge on to others, he was an assistant coach for The College of New Jersey men’s and women’s teams, the HVCHS boys’ and girls’ teams and the men’s and women’s teams at Rider University.
After a long hiatus, the real estate guru returned to play the game at age 37 and looked as if he had never been away.
He was a two-time Men’s 60 N.J. State Clay Court Doubles Champion with Cryan. In 50’s doubles play, he was New Jersey Senior Olympics gold medal winner and a silver medalist in men’s 50 singles. Playing with Ken Dill, he was a national semifinalist in the USTA National Men’s 45 Grass Championships. Ehrenberg also had success with all-star teams in intersectional competition.
He has had some impressive rankings over the years. At one time or another Ehrenberg was rated No. 1 in the NJ District, No. 4 in Middle States and No. 58 nationally for men’s 45 singles; No. 11 nationally in team 45 doubles with Dill, and No. 18 and No. 33 nationally for Team 60 doubles with Cryan.
It’s no wonder that when asked to choose a highlight, Ehrenberg would not select one particular item, but his entire body of work.
“I started out just being a tournament player but I realized giving back to the sport is really important,” he said. “That really made me whole. You look at the people in the Hall of Fame and they are great players or great contributors. I think I’ve done a little bit of everything. I’m really proud of it.
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It’s hard to believe such an accomplished tennis man actually abandoned the sport for 13 years.
Growing up in Union County, Ehrenberg was introduced to tennis by his dad, Donald, who took him to the Netherwood Tennis Club in Plainfield at age 13. He hit with a diverse group of grown men that included construction workers, bartenders, doctors and lawyers.
“My father was a very accomplished player,” Mike said. “He only took the game up at 37 and won 70 tournaments and five county championships. He didn’t coach me. We practiced. I guess because he was self taught he never tried to coach me.”
But he made an impact.
“I learned consistency and keeping cool on the court from him,” Ehrenberg said. “He was a great role model. He never pushed me into the game. I wanted to play. I would watch him and he was a great inspiration.”
The inspired youngster went on to star at Arthur L. Johnson High School, where he graduated in 1978 as the school’s all-time wins leader. He would later be placed on the school’s Mount Rushmore of athletes based on a vote taken by NJ.com.
He then played for three years at the University of Delaware before a serious illness curtailed his senior year. Ehrenberg suffered some health issues after that.
“When I tried to come back I was so depressed and upset,” he said. “I missed playing with my Delaware teammates. They set all kinds of records that year. I thought I would be co-captain. I kept thinking ‘Why me?’”
It may have been game and set for his career, but it wasn’t quite match.
Ehrenberg tried playing again but his heart was not in it and he turned to basketball. He joined hoop leagues from Rahway to Princeton and at his beach house in Sea Girt Mike would play in the Belmar summer league. It got to the point his girlfriend Ann Marie – now his wife – “had to have an intervention with me about playing too much basketball.”
After moving to Hopewell, Ehrenberg eventually met Mercer tennis legend Scott Stoner, a 2012 Hall of Fame inductee and former Trentonian tennis columnist. Introduced to Stoner by a former Delaware classmate, Ehrenberg got the urge to play again. He had to shake off some rust but before long was entering and winning area tournaments.
In 2008 he began coaching at TCNJ, and threw himself into it. While attending the U.S. Open, Mike would study the doubles teams for hours and watch their formations.
“I’d bring it back to the college and high school players, I became like a doubles specialist,” he said. “A lot of teams play the I formation. I taught the kids at Hopewell how to play in the I and against the I. We had a lot of success at doubles. That’s what I really enjoyed. I had a pretty strong background and I was able to help some kids with techniques.”
Quinlan reached out in 2011 and made a deal with Ehrenberg. If he helped her coach the boys team, she would let him help with the girls team even though his daughter Sarah played.
It was the first time Quinlan ever allowed a parent to coach their child and she never regretted it. The boys reached the sectional finals three straight years and won two of them, and the girls reached two sectional finals. Both teams were ranked Top 20 in the state.
“It was unprecedented for Hopewell,” Ehrenberg stated proudly.
And he played a big part.
“Mike’s passion and dedication to the teams he coached is remarkable,” Quinlan said. “Not only coaching the girls, but he was instrumental in the boys team achieving back-to-back CJ III titles.
“The kids respected his insight, his advice,and his work ethic. Mike continues to keep in touch with many of the players he had during his tenure at Hopewell and still hits with Kenny (Zheng) when he’s in town.”
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Ehrenberg went on to coach at Rider for eight years and after Covid shut down the 2020 season he decided not to return.
But the courts are still his second home and his zest for the Cryan Tournament is still alive. He is thrilled to be getting into the Hall of Fame with tournament director Jim Cryan.
“In the first tournament I ever played in Mercer County I played Jim in the finals,” Ehrenberg recalled. “We started as rivals at first and we came to the understanding that if we start practicing with each other we could help each other. We were two of the better singles players in the area.
“I asked him to enter a doubles tournament with me at the National Grass Championships in Philadelphia. The first match we ever played together we almost upset the number one senior player in the world and his partner. After that match I thought we’d be pretty good together .And we were. We represented Mercer County at its highest level. I’m really proud of our relationship.”
He is just as proud of his involvement in tennis and what he has contributed to the game since ending his self-made exile.
“It’s in my blood,” he said. “When I came back to it, I realized how much I missed the sport. I missed everything about it. Not just the players but the officials, players I coached. It really means a lot. Everyday I get up and play. It’s a connection to my past. It’s not something I’m ready to give up yet, I really enjoy it, and I’m thrilled that I’m going into this Hall of Fame.”
Hopefully the knees will hold out while giving his speech.
Mike Ehrenberg (right) with Cryan Tournament co-director Jim Cryan and Mercer County tennis director Marc Vecchiolla.,
