JULY 2025

SPORTS

Sister Act

State Champion siblings Alana and Lexa Hindo

BY STEVE STEIN

Two sisters winning girls tennis

state championships while

playing for different high school

teams is a remarkable achievement.

The coincidences surrounding Alana

and Lexa Hindo’s state titles make

their story even more extraordinary.

Alana captured her state

championship in the spring of 2023 as

a sophomore at Bloomfield Academy

of the Sacred Heart. She teamed

with Presley Krywko to win the No.

3 doubles title at the Division 4 state

tournament at Kalamazoo College.

Fast forward to the spring of 2025:

Lexa, also a sophomore, won the No. 3

doubles title with partner Stella Glorio

at the Division 3 state tournament at

the University of Michigan.

Two state championships in two

years for the Hindo sisters—each won

as a sophomore, each at No. 3 doubles.

The similarities don’t stop there.

Alana and Krywko, the No. 1 seed

in their flight, won four consecutive

matches to claim their title. They

dropped just nine games in their first

three matches before defeating No. 2

seeds Meera Pandey and Meera Tewari

of Ann Arbor Greenhills, 6-2, 7-6 (2),

in the final. Alana and Krywko had

already beaten Pandey and Tewari

twice earlier in the season.

Lexa and Glorio, also the No. 1

seed in their flight, followed a nearly

identical path. They won four straight

matches, losing just 13 games in the

first three rounds, before defeating

No. 2 seeds Michelle Chen and Jessica

Hall from Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-

Kingswood, 6-3, 6-4, in the final.

Lexa and Glorio had split their earlier

matches against Chen and Hall. The

Cranbrook pair won in three sets in the

Catholic League semifinals, but Lexa

and Glorio dominated their rematch at

regionals, winning 6-1, 6-1.

Alana transferred from Sacred

Heart to Marian after the 2023 season

to attend a larger high school. She

sat out her junior tennis season due

Lexa Hindo (holding sign) is joined by her parents, John and Veronica Hindo,

and sister Alana Hindo after Lexa won the MHSAA Division 3 No. 3 doubles

state championship with her partner Stella Glorio last month at the University

of Michigan’s Varsity Tennis Center.

to transfer rules and had planned

to play as a senior this past spring.

However, she couldn’t balance a

tennis commitment with her job at a

physical therapy office and ultimately

didn’t return to the team, though she

remained a dedicated supporter from

the sidelines.

Marian coach Olivia Underwood

said it was purely a strategic

decision to pair Lexa with Glorio at

No. 3 doubles—replicating Alana’s

championship path was never part of

the plan. She was just trying to put

together the strongest lineup.

But the sisters were well aware of

the coincidence, and Lexa embraced

the opportunity.

“That absolutely motivated me,”

Lexa said. “I wanted to win a state

championship exactly when and

where my sister did.”

“It was so cool to watch my sister

win a state championship, and to do

it as a sophomore at No. 3 doubles.

That’s hard to believe,” Alana said. “I

was so happy for her because all her

hard work paid off.”

As a freshman, Alana played No.

3 singles at Sacred Heart and won a

regional championship.

Lexa, who is 5-foot-5—an inch

taller than her sister—had a much

quieter freshman season at Marian.

She wasn’t a regular in the starting

lineup, playing just five matches at

No. 4 singles and finishing with a 1-4

record.

Her sophomore year was a different

story. She and Glorio went 16-5, and

Lexa said she entered the season

confident she could succeed.

“I’ve been playing tennis for quite

a while. I know how to play,” she said.

“You’re just so young when you’re a

freshman. The biggest thing I had to

learn was dealing with the pressure of

big matches. I didn’t have that pressure

when I was a freshman.”

Lexa said partnering with Glorio

set her up for success, both on and off

the court.

“Stella and I are friends. We’ve been

in a lot of the same classes together,”

she said. “Both of us had extra

motivation this season. Stella lost in

the state championship match at No. 4

doubles as a freshman (in 2024).”

Underwood said several factors go

into pairing doubles teams.

“Playing styles, strengths,

weaknesses, attitude when they play,

their relationship off the court ... “ she

said. “Lexi has an incredible serve.

Stella is a left-hander who is strong

at the net. I knew she could take

advantage of the weak shots that come

back from Lexa’s serves.”

Lexa noticed.

“Stella is very good at the net. She

can get to any ball,” she said.

Underwood said she enjoys having

Lexa on her team.

“It’s a pleasure to be her

coach. She’s a good kid,” she said.

“She’s always positive and always

encouraging her teammates.”

Both Hindo sisters are standout

students.

Alana, who turns 18 on July 31,

graduated from Marian this spring

with a 4.0 GPA and has been accepted

into the University of Detroit Mercy’s

five-year accelerated physician

assistant program.

She said transferring to Marian

was “great academically and socially

for me.”

Lexa, 16, also holds a 4.0 GPA.

She’s undecided about her future

career but is considering something in

the science field.

The sisters’ parents, John and

Veronica Hindo, live in Commerce

Township.

32 CHALDEAN NEWS JULY 2025