Girls tennis: Wang, Lanton making transition look easy

Reigning two-time Class 2A singles champion Sarah Wang, of Stevenson, is playing doubles at this weekend's girls tennis state meet.

Half of Elgin Academy's reigning Class 1A doubles championship team, Addison Lanton (with sister and Spelman College freshman Noelle Lanton), is playing singles at state.

Singles to doubles.

Doubles to singles.

Neither shift is a simple one.

But the Penn-bound Wang, a senior, and Lanton, a junior who happens to be learning how to drive a car these days, are making the transitions look ABC easy. Second-seeded Wang and junior Abby Ma won their first two 2A doubles matches in straight sets at Elk Grove on Thursday, and top-seeded Lanton (23-0) reached a 1A state quarterfinal via a trio of 6-0, 6-0 victories at Rolling Meadows.

"Sarah is a great player in both singles and doubles," said Lanton, whose heavy topspin forehand prevents most foes from finding a shred of rhythm from the baseline. "And now she's something else - a team player."

Team Stevenson, with 10 points, sits in a three-way tie for second place with Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbrook North after day one of the three-day tourney. New Trier tops the 2A field with 15 points. Hinsdale Central (9), Lake Forest (8), Glenbrook North (8), Fenwick (8), St. Charles North (8), Glenbrook South (7) and Sandburg (7) round out the top 10.

Wang/Ma were up 6-1, 5-1 in their Round of 16 match with St. Charles North's Shannon Lu/Danielle Dejanovich when play was halted because of rain. Wang effortlessly executed a series of reflex volleys - a shot she rarely has to hit in singles - in a highly entertaining second-set point.

"Sarah," Ma said, "gets to a lot of shots, and she sets me up well at the net."

"Abby," Wang noted, "serves well and hits nice drop volleys and lobs."

Stevenson's other doubles entrant, Ana Sukovic/Sophia Shlyakhta (seeded 9-16), didn't drop a game in either of their two matches Thursday.

In the 1A team standings, Elgin Academy (10 points) is fourth behind Chicago University (14), Benet Academy (13) and Dunlap (12), just ahead of Danville (8) and Glenbard South (8).

WWS seniors Janna Kim and Katie Muff pulled off one of the biggest upsets in doubles, downing 9-16 seed Nastia Belova/Angelina Slomba, of Lake Forest, 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 (super tiebreaker) in the second round at EG.

"I did not know they were seeded," said Muff, a softball player in her other athletic life. "What I did find out, while warming up with them, was how powerful their shots were."

The result thrilled WWS assistant coach Kiron Mishra, who said Kim - also a basketball player and trackster - served as a JV 2 netter two years ago.

"They're constantly positive on the court," Mishra said. "And both are pure athletes. I think their athleticism frustrates opponents."

WWS freshman Riley Lespi, a 5-8 seed, skipped to a pair of quick wins at Wheeling.

Another 5-8 seed, Fremd senior Alina Shyani, reached the Round of 16, where she'll face 9-16 seed and Glenbrook North junior Katelyn Wu. A trio of 9-16 seeds - Lake Zurich junior Katrine Boianov, Conant junior Kaitlyn Strilich and Libertyville junior Lena Dogadalski - went undefeated on day one.

Barrington sophomore Shriya Ramesh and Stevenson sophomore Emma Blass each split two front-draw singles matches.

Elgin Academy's other state qualifier, senior Priyanka Bhogaraju, won twice in the main draw before falling 6-3, 6-4 to Glenbard South senior Lorenza FosterSimbulan, who hits the court as a 1A quarterfinalist Friday morning.

Benet's four state entrants went a combined 7-1 Thursday. Meredith Converse and Lily Lopatka won twice and once in singles, respectively, while the Redwings' duos of Natalie Grover/Katie Jendra and Shane Delaney/Clare Lopatka each advanced to the Round of 16.

Hinsdale South junior and 3-4 seed Chloe Goins netted a pair of 6-0, 6-0 triumphs, while Illinois Math and Science Academy junior and 9-16 seed Josie Kim notched 6-2, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-0 wins.

The second-seeded 1A doubles team, Timothy Christian's Crystina Lee/Jane Carter, battled only once and cruised 6-0, 6-0 at Schaumburg.

In 2A doubles, both of Hinsdale Central's pairs - 3-4 seed Abigail Gamba/Sydney Shuster and 9-16 seed Lauren Panveno/Calista Chang - won a pair of matches. Red Devil Kotryna Tomas picked up a win in the back draw.

Glenbard West junior and second-seeded Mira Kernagis upped her season record to 26-0 with two 6-2, 6-1 wins at Prospect.

York freshman and 9-16 seed CJ Coan won twice before bowing to two-time reigning doubles champion Isabelle Chong, of Lake Forest. The Dukes' top doubles team, Lindsey White/Josie Coan, will vie for a spot in the Round of 16 Friday morning.

Naperville Central junior Sofia Olaru, a 9-16 seed, will play Marist's Helena Klooster on Friday morning for a state quarterfinal berth.

And Naperville North's 3-4-seeded doubles team of junior Brooke Coffman and Gabby Lee take on Glenbrook South's Mari Buckingham/Sarina Harjani in a Round of 16 test Friday.

Play in 2A and 1A resumes Friday morning at more than 10 locations, including state host Buffalo Grove.