By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Shannon Lu is playing in the same spot for the Montgomery High School girls tennis team as she has in each of the past two seasons, but the junior at second singles can see she is playing at a higher level this year.
Lu has been tested often already, and come through each time, for the Cougars, who improved to 7-0 with a 5-0 win over Hillsborough High on Wednesday. Her matches have shown a change in her.
”Having confidence,” Lu said. “A lot of the times, I wouldn’t go for the shots I want to hit. If I have an opportunity to hit the ball harder, I never went for them. This year, I started to believe in myself more.
”Out of the first five matches, I played three third-set tiebreakers. Being able to pull them out and win all of them was amazing. Now I’m more confident in my game and I feel I can hit the ball harder without holding myself back.”
Lu isn’t holding back any excitement with the start of the Somerset County Tournament. The first round was to be held Thursday, with quarterfinal and semifinal action Saturday and the finals set for Sunday. Lu is top-seeded at second singles.
”I was kind of surprised and proud of myself,” Lu said. “It exceeded the expectations I had. The past two years, freshman and sophomore year, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to. Our team, three of us being the top seeds in the county tournament, it’s unprecedented. I’m really optimistic about the rest of our season. We’re only halfway through.”
Lily Chu is also the top seed at third singles after reaching the SCT final last year in the same spot. The first doubles team of Emily Roeper and Kim Szakats is also top-seeded.
”We’ve always had a lot of tough competition,” Lu said. “This year, it’s not going to be different. I think this year, we’re a huge contender.
”Last year, when we beat Bridgewater (in the regular season), it was the first time ever we beat them, I think, and we beat Pingry last year. They’re all in our county. Last year, I think we had third singles and both doubles in the finals but we didn’t win any of the matches. This year, we can definitely improve on that.”
The Cougars feature Emily Szukudlarski at first singles for a third straight year. She pulled out a three-set win over Hillsborough’s Kelly Jiang on Wednesday. The entire MHS singles lineup is the same as a year ago, and their first doubles team has varsity experience.
”That’s definitely helped a lot, especially the singles,” Lu said. “Me, Emily and Lily have all practiced together. We also got a new coach (Erik Tavel, who moved up from JV) which has really helped a lot. Our two returning players from doubles, they’re paired together now. Emily Roeper has two years experience already of playing varsity doubles. She mentored Kim, even though she’s older. They work well together because their styles complement each other. Having so much back, we can accomplish what we did last year when we exceeded what we expected.”
Seniors Julia Spiegler and Claire Boudreau are newcomers to the MHS lineup, and have worked well at second doubles. Their play has alleviated any pre-season concern.
”We didn’t know who was going to play,” Lu said. “Claire and Julia have really stepped up to the challenge. They’re both seniors and I know they want to end their high school careers playing well and playing on varsity. So far, they’ve done a really good job.”
Lu is looking for a better showing at the county tournament than in past years. She was knocked out in the quarterfinals in her first two years.
”Last year, I lost to the girl from Gill St. Bernards,” Lu recalled. “I think she’s still playing second, so if I meet her, we’ll see how that goes. The teams from last year that were tough teams — Ridge, Bridgewater, Pingry — they graduated a bunch of their singles players. I don’t know if I’ll have to play Kruti (Navi) from Ridge and Arthi (Palani) from Bridgewater. I think they all probably moved up to the first singles division. I’m pretty optimistic.”
Lu is also optimistic about the rest of the season. The Cougars are looking strong top to bottom in their lineup, and they are determined to take another step this year.
”I think one of our top goals is winning the state sectional tournament,” Lu said. “In Group IV, last year and the year before, we always gotten to the finals and lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South. When we have practice, our coach says, ‘Think about winning the state title, how would that feel? Push yourself as hard as you can.’
”I think it’s something we can all grow from,” she added of last year’s finals loss. “Most of us have been last year. We know the bitterness of that, and we want to get through that.”
The Cougars are focusing on steadily improving each day in hopes of being at their best come tournament time. Lu has seen her own game develop, and with it, her confidence.
”The first match this year, playing against Ridge, I think I played their third singles and I barely pulled it out,” she said. “But that match gave me confidence to play other matches.”
Practice gives Lu the chance to gain more confidence by testing herself against Szukudlarski and Chu, two accomplished singles players.
”We get the chance to play pretty often,” Lu said. “Emily is basically my neighbor. Lily and I have been friends since I was like 8. We all used to train at the same place, Princeton Tennis Program. Before we got into high school, we trained together and we all learned how to play tennis together. Now, in season, our coach has us hit.”
Lu still trains in the Princeton Tennis Program, and she has seen her game develop each year. This year, she heads into the SCT with the chance to secure individual gold and push the Cougars to a team title with a new sense of confidence, stronger mental approach and better game sense.
”When I play well, I move my opponent around the court and I hit without holding back,” Lu said. “During the third-set tiebreaks, the match can go either way, you’ve already played an hour and a half or two hours. Whenever I’ve been put in those situations, it motivated me to play better and get my game together. What I’ve focused on doing is hitting deeper so my opponent can’t attack the ball. It’s worked out.”
