CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here are the 2014 cleveland.com girls tennis All-Stars, highlighted by Player of the Year Lauren Gillinov from Hathaway Brown. See below for a feature on Gillinov, first-team player capsules and honorable mentions.
Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Lauren Gillinov, Hathaway Brown
Lauren Gillinov stood on the blue courts at Elysium Tennis Center and looked somewhere between elation and tears. She had just beaten one of the top singles players in the state -- one who has already racked in numerous Division I tennis offers -- to win the 2014 Division II singles title.
But before she stood at Elysium, she stood on tennis courts as a young child learning the game. It's pretty much been the place to find Gillinov ever since.
I started playing when I was four or five so pretty much forever.
Both my parents played in high school and my mom played for a year in college. We've always been sort of a tennis family.
I remember one summer we took a trip to my dad's friends house in the Hamptons. Our family went out and played tennis, we basically stayed out there all day.
I think tennis was mostly something my family liked to do and I liked being with them so I just kind of went along with it.
I like how it's competitive. I'm a competitive person. I really like how it's also social because I get to meet a lot of people that I wouldn't be able to meet otherwise.
Winning a state title, it still seems kind of surreal. I still kind of can't believe it happened. It feels really good and I was proud I was able to accomplish that this year.
I think I want to be a doctor when I grow up but it could definitely change.
My hobbies? Mostly just tennis.
My coach is really big on the mental part of the game like preparing yourself mentally. Before my semifinal match at state, he told me that I should think about it like an analogy to a math test. If you work hard and do all your studying, you deserve to get an A, just like you deserve to maybe win another match. You should show your hard work in the moment that it counts.
I like my backhand the best and my groundstrokes. My backhand is probably more consistent than my forehand. I also feel like I can generate a lot of power on it.
I think I've learned that I really do like being competitive and I like to be able to put in hard work and see results instead of not really focusing that much. I think it helps me to develop a good focus for other parts of my life too, not just tennis. I think in school it's helped me. If I work hard and I concentrate on something then I can achieve the results I want most of the time.
I wouldn't have even picked up a tennis racket if it wasn't for my parents.
My dad always tells me it's not important whether I win or loss, but that I play the best I can, that the outcome doesn't matter. That's always been helpful to take some pressure off.
2014 GIRLS TENNIS ALL STARS (listed alphabetically)
Catherine Areklett
Hathaway Brown, So.
Doubles player
College: Undecided.
The two-time state qualifier made it to state in her first two years of high school. In her first year, Areklett, along with partner Ally Persky, lost in the opening round. During her sophomore season, Areklett and Persky beat defending state champions Alissa Nakamoto and Adrian Young before finishing second in the state.
Danielle Buchinsky
Laurel, Sr.
Singles player
College: Undecided.
Buchinsky, a four-time state qualifier, did better at state each time she returned. Her freshman year, she finished as state runner-up in doubles. Sophomore year, she lost in the opening round in singles. Her junior year, she finished fourth. In 2014 for her senior season, Buchinsky went home with a medal with third place in Division II singles.
Alissa Nakamoto
Orange, So.
Doubles player
College: Undecided.
Nakamoto is a two-time state qualifier. She won the Division II doubles title as a freshman and finished third in the Division II doubles bracket as a sophomore. Her strong baseline game helped complement partner Adrian Young's netgame.
Ally Persky
Hathaway Brown, So.
Doubles player
College: Undecided.
The two-time state qualifier has a similar bio to doubles partner Catherine Areklett, which only makes sense since the two have been paired up in the state tournament for both their sophomore and freshman seasons. After losing in the opening round of the Division II doubles tournament as a freshman, Persky used a high energy to beat the defending doubles champion in 2014 and then went on to finish second in the state.
Molly Sandberg
Walsh Jesuit, So.
Singles player
College: Undecided.
The sophomore is a two-time state qualifier. Her freshman year, she was knocked from the state tournament early, but in 2014 Sandberg grabbed a spot as the state-runner up. Sandberg's mental attitude and her consistent groundstrokes have given her a combination that's left her hard to beat in just two years as a high school tennis player.
Adrian Young
Orange, Sr.
Doubles player
College: Quinnipiac University
Young is a four-time state qualifier and the 2013 Division II doubles champion, along with partner Alissa Nakamoto. In her senior season, Young and Nakamoto finished third in the state doubles tournament. (She also finished third in doubles as a freshman with then-partner Amy Smedira.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Nora Myers, Hathaway Brown
For the last two years, the Division II state singles champion came from one school: Hathaway Brown. In 2013, it was Ariana Iranpour. In 2014, it was Lauren Gillinov. Myers also helped coach her doubles team of Areklett/Persky to a semifinal upset of the Orange's defending doubles champions and a spot as state runner-ups.
HONORABLE MENTION (listed alphabetically)
Claudia Althans, Gilmour; Paige Carmichael, Walsh Jesuit; Emily Dunbar, Cloverleaf; Sydney Green, Hawken; Emily Hissong, Walsh Jesuit; Anjali Kashyap, Orange; Madison Nakon, Avon; Nayana Ravishankar, Hawken; Madisyn Rini, Avon; Luisa Schunk, Hawken; Emily Stankovic, Orange; Michelle Tokman, Orange; Jamie Vizelman, Mayfield; Natalie Weaver, Mentor.
Contact high school sports reporter Stephanie Kuzydym by email (skuzydym@cleveland.com) or on Twitter (@stephkuzy). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.
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