Hard court sense

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Rosary senior Emily Reuland is the Chronicle Girls Tennis Player of the Year. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@kcchronicle.com)

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Emily Reuland wouldn’t mind a radar gun pointed at one of her first serves.

“That’d be kind of cool to see how hard I hit it,” Reuland said.

A reading might help satisfy Reuland’s curiosity, but from a practical standpoint, the number would have offered little consolation to her long list of victims this season. Reuland’s serves – and most of her groundstrokes, too – were much too powerful to be dealt with throughout a dominant season in which the Rosary senior nabbed Chronicle Girls Tennis Player of the Year honors.

Rosary junior Angelina Goheen is grateful her attempts to handle Reuland’s serve just came in friendly practice sessions.

“When I play her I try to just block it back, just try to get it down the middle because there’s so much power on it,” Goheen said. “She’ll put [opponents] on the defensive right away with her serve.”

Reuland the game to keep them there, too, counting a more punishing backhand among the new touches she added as a senior. Reuland overpowered opponents to the tune of a 32-3 record, culminating with a fourth-round berth at the IHSA State Tournament. Her season-ending loss was especially upsetting because Reuland was faring well against opponent Kristy Dodge of Barrington before severe leg cramps came into play in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 loss.

“Her recent tournament at the state finals really showed her capabilities, and what’s scary is she still has a lot of room to even be better than she showed,” Royals coach John Tsang said. “She really had the weapons to even make a run for a state title and it’s unfortunate in the last match against a No. 3 seed, her legs kind of gave way after a long day of matches.”

With her college decision behind her – Reuland will play Division I tennis at Bowling Green State University –  Reuland thought she was playing some of the best, most pressure-free tennis of her life until the cramps set in.

“I was having such a good time out there,” Reuland said. “Kristy Dodge is a player I really love to play against because she gets very angry. I just feed off of people that get angry. It just makes me want to win even more, and it just gets me in a really great mood. That always helps me.”

Reuland completes her Rosary career as a four-time state tournament qualifier and three-time sectional champion, including winning the West Aurora Sectional singles title this season.

“She’s going to leave Rosary probably as the most decorated tennis player in school history,” Tsang said. “She has a lot to be proud of with that. She certainly has made the program a lot better. I’ve learned a lot from her. It’s a great opportunity as a coach when you have a chance to coach an elite player. You really get to grow along with that player as well.”

Reuland had little down time following the state tournament, and is already hitting indoors with other elite players in the area in preparation for college.

Being tested by Division I opponents – and maybe even a radar reading at some point – offer plenty to look forward to.

“I’m really sad to be leaving but I’m really excited to go [to Bowling Green],” Reuland said. “I’ve met the team, hung out with the team, and they’re all just so cool, and the coach is so nice. I know I’ll have a lot of fun there.”
 

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