Girls tennis: For WW South's Orlove, new goal is same as the old goal

It's almost a year later, but winning the 2018 state doubles championship feels like just a few weeks ago for Wheaton Warrenville South senior Emily Orlove.

"Honestly, a lot of times it plays back in my head and I'm standing there winning it all again," said Orlove, who took the title with since-graduated partner Samantha Choi.

"We were complete laser-focused, and there was no way that we were going to lose that match," she said. "There was a lot of adrenalin running through us."

But it's 2019, and the challenge is different for Orlove. She'll be playing No. 1 singles this year for coach Patti Clousing. No. 1 doubles will be held down by seniors Jill King and Anna Huelskoetter. Orlove will be backed at No. 2 singles by sophomore second-year varsity player Emma Berres.

The objective, though, remains the same for Orlove.

"Of course, the goal is to win, but if I'm being honest with myself, that would be a large goal to fulfill," she said. "I honestly want to get to state, play for not only myself but my school, my team, have a lot of fun and win as many matches as I can."

Orlove is one of a host of top players in DuPage County girls tennis that return in 2019. Over at Wheaton North, Madeline Fidel, who made it to the championship bracket's third round, has graduated, but Falcons coach Eric Laird thinks last year's No. 2 singles player, Alexandra Wachs, is ready for the top spot. State qualifiers from 2019 Sage Hills (Glenbard North) and Angela Pasquini (Lake Park) also return.

Glenbard West, which finished fifth in Class 2A a year ago, returns senior Sienna Lopez, who made it to the singles state quarterfinals a year ago before falling to St. Ignatius's Tyra Richardson. Her sister, Shannele Lopez, made it to the consolation semifinals before that competition was washed out due to crummy weather.

The Hilltoppers will once again face a loaded West Suburban Silver, which includes Hinsdale Central. The Red Devils won the Class 2A team title a year ago. Among the returnees for the Red Devils is senior doubles player Sarah Badawi.

York No. 1 single player Melissa Cartis, a two-time state qualifier, is back. And Downers Grove North counters with senior Erin Miller and sophomore Liveta Ezerski.

In the West Suburban Gold, Willowbrook returns senior No. 1 doubles player Maddie Brown, along with sisters and singles players Priscilla del Valle, a senior, and her sophomore sister Penelope. Hinsdale South will be tough with No. 1 singles player Samantha Heinking, a junior.

The talk in the DuPage Valley Conference will likely be around Naperville Central senior Jacquelyne Qi, who advanced to the state championship bracket's first round as a sophomore. According to coach Alyssa Girgis, she spent last year playing U.S. Tennis Association events but will play No. 1 singles this season.

Across town, Naperville North welcomes back juniors Tiffany Zhang and Irene Zhang, who are not related but have individually qualified for state in doubles - Tiffany her freshman year, and Irene as a sophomore. They've decided they wanted to play doubles this season, and coach Heather Henriksen obliged. Senior Hannah Neuman, Neuqua Valley's No. 1 singles player, has been to state two out of the past three years. Metea Valley's top returnee, Meera Baid at No. 1 singles, made it to the second round of the state consolation bracket last season. Waubonsie Valley will be solid with the return of seniors Angelica Alvarez and Kayla Hess.

The Upstate Eight will be buoyed by the Glenbard East duo of seniors Iman Sakrani and Nadia Borcean, who will play No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Alex Herrera will play either No. 1 singles or doubles for Fenton. Glenbard South coach Jim Fazio said seniors Mikey Reif and Molly Moutvic return for their third varsity seasons. Over at West Chicago, the No. 1 doubles tandem should be senior Norma Garcia and junior Julia Nosky.

Timothy Christian finished in 10th place in Class 1A last season despite not winning the Metro Suburban Conference's small-school division. This season the Trojans are in the league's large-school division, a tougher task. They'll lead off at singles with Cassandra Lee, who has finished third in state in doubles the last two years, most recently with the graduated Abygale Ahn.

Another Metro Suburban team with solid prospects is St. Francis, which will be led by the senior No. 1 doubles team of Marnie Kopec and Jane Price, who reached the state consolation bracket semifinals a year ago before being KO'd by bad weather. As a team, St. Francis took 14th last season. Wheaton Academy will also be solid with the return of No. 1 doubles team Olivia Hamm and Ellie Howland, both seniors, who finished in the top eight at state last year and were conference and sectional champions.

Benet will be led by junior Daniella Nenadovich, who will play No. 1 singles. She nearly advanced to the state consolation bracket's quarterfinal before weather stopped play. Also back is senior Kendall Schrader, who was an all-state doubles player as a sophomore but took a year off to play in USTA tournaments. She'll play No. 1 doubles for the Redwings.

Top players: Sienna Lopez, Glenbard West, sr.; Shanelle Lopez, Glenbard West, so.; Elizabeth Fausey, Glenbard West, so.; Emily Orlove, Wheaton Warrenville South, sr.; Jill King, Wheaton Warrenville South, sr., Anna Huelskoetter, Wheaton Warrenville South, sr.; Anna Huelskoetter, Wheaton Warrenville South, sr.; Meera Baid, Metea Valley, jr.; Alexandra Wachs, Wheaton North, jr.; Sara Jankovic, Lake Park, fr.; Analisa Cruz, Lake Park, jr.; Marnie Kopec, St. Francis, sr.; Jane Price, St. Francis, sr.; Ellen Ryson, St. Francis, fr.; Cassandra Lee, Wheaton Academy, jr.; Sarah Carstensen, Wheaton Academy, jr.; Georgia Wells, Wheaton Academy, jr. Daniella Nenadovich, Benet, jr.; Kendall Schrader, Benet, sr.; Kaitlyn Lee, Benet, so.; Maddie Brown, Willowbrook, sr.; Priscilla del Valle, Willowbrook, sr.; Penelope del Valle; so.; Alexa Herrera, Fenton, so.; Nia Patel, Fenton, jr.; Anna Sierantowicz, Fenton, so.; Iman Sakrani, Glenbard East, sr.; Ashley Ziemer, Glenbard East;, sr.; Nadia Borcean, Glenbard East sr.; Sage Hills, Glenbard North, jr.; Cynthia Nguyen, Glenbard North, sr.; Sophie Raval; Glenbard North, jr.; Jinju Ha, Glenbard North, sr.; Molly Moutvic, Glenbard South, sr.; Mikey Reif, Glenbard South, sr.; Olivia Hamm, Wheaton Academy, sr.; Ellie Howland, Wheaton Academy, sr.; Carley Chan, Wheaton Academy, jr.; Melissa Cartis, York, sr.; Gianna Nikoleit, York, jr.; Keira Polach, York, fr.; Meera Daid, Metea Valley, jr.; Taylor Goldman, Metea Valley, sr.; Isabella Palm, Metea Valley, sr.; Christiana Kapetaneaf, West Chicago, jr.; Katrina Dy, West Chicago, so.; Samantha Heinking, Hinsdale South, jr.; Courtney Kaplan, Hinsdale South, so.; Sarah Badawi, Hinsdale Central, sr.; Katie Liu, Naperville Central, jr.; Annie Kong, Naperville Central, sr.; Jacquelyne Qi, Naperville Central, sr.; Tiffany Zhang, Naperville North, jr.; Irene Zhang, Naperville North, jr.; Hannah Neuman, Neuqua Valley, sr.; Sofia Ramos, Neuqua Valley, jr.; Emily Piao, Neuqua Valley, so.; Angelica Alvarez, Waubonsie Valley, sr.; Kayla Hess, Waubonsie Valley, sr.; Erin Miller, Downers Grove North, sr.; Liveta Ezerski, Downers Grove North, so.