Girls tennis: Grueling Friday, early Saturday for Stevenson's Wang at state
Would anybody be surprised if Stevenson sophomore Sarah Wang opts to stop playing tennis for the next 10 years just to catch her breath?
Not if they had watched the top-seeded Class 2A singles player battle in two-plus matches at the girls tennis state tournament at Buffalo Grove on Friday.
The Patriot struck what appeared to be a decade's worth of shots in extended tests against Glenbard West senior Shannele Lopez, York freshman Lizzie Isyanov and Hinsdale Central freshman Anna Wiskowski.
Wang, a sound and stoic baseliner, beat Lopez 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2 in a round of 16 match that started the day before; outlasted — after nearly 3 hours of between 30- and 40-shot rallies on most points — Isyanov 7-6 (6), 7-5 in a quarterfinal to improve to 33-1; and trailed Wiskowski 6-2, 5-5 in a semifinal, when darkness mercifully suspended play until Saturday at 8 a.m.
“Tens of thousands of shots,” Stevenson coach Jose Morales said, estimating the times the sweet spot of Wang's racket greeted a tennis ball ardently throughout a brisk, sunny Friday.
It might have been a conservative guess.
“This is so stressful,” Morales, shaking his head, added near the end of the Wang-Isyanov Show, which enthralled spectators, even the weary ones.
“I have no nails left to bite.”
The winner of the Wang-Wiskowski clash will have her hands full in the state final against second-seeded Autumn Rabjohns, a Lake Forest junior who plays with Rafael Nadal-esque intensity and buys time to recover at the baseline via her squash-stroke forehand.
The title match is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Saturday at Buffalo Grove.
Stevenson still has a shot at collecting a top-three team trophy. It's in fifth place, with 20 points, behind Deerfield (21), New Trier (23), Lake Forest (24) and Hinsdale Central (34), which clinched the state team championship.
The Patriots' top doubles team, juniors Ainika Hou/Sonia Mehta, reached a consolation-bracket semifinal Friday with a sixth consecutive straight-sets win in the back draw. The on-fire duo faces Barrington's Abby Carl/Olivia Paik at 8 a.m. Saturday at Rolling Meadows, with the winners slated to play for fifth place at 11 a.m. at Buffalo Grove.
Libertyville was in seventh place (14 points) after two days of action, paced by junior Maggie Forkner — yet another Lake County state entrant with a 6-0 back draw mark following a first-round loss Thursday. Forkner takes on Naperville Central's Sofia Olaru in a consolation semifinal match at 8 a.m. Saturday at Rolling Meadows.
Class 1A update:
Grayslake Central senior Karishma Bhalla and Wauconda's doubles team of seniors Megan Hackman/Sophia Esquivel shook off quarterfinal losses at Hersey Friday morning and won a back draw match to advance to at least one more match Saturday.
Bhalla bowed 6-2, 6-0 to top-seeded Emma Baker of Chicago (University) in a quarterfinal and eliminated Champaign St. Thomas More's Maddy Swisher with a 7-6 (1), 6-2 decision to secure a consolation semifinal berth vs. Timothy Christian's Crystina Lee on Saturday morning at Rolling Meadows; Hackman/Esquivel lost to Latin's Alice Mihas/Talia Truska 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1, before regrouping to edge St. Viator's Allison Jodoin/Meredith Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 (super tiebreaker).
Chicago (University) clinched the 1A team title Friday. The Maroons have amassed 37 points. Latin is in second (22) place, followed by Timothy Christian (18).