The signs aren’t as overt as they are with some other tennis players, but it’s not hard to see when Glenbrook South junior Annemarie Emme is frustrated on the court.
Emme walks a little bit slower than normal between points when she’s unhappy with the way she’s playing. She also seems to fidget with her hair more often — checking for loose strands of hair at the top of her head as if she’s looking for a loose string on her tennis racquet.
Emme regularly did both of those things against Hinsdale Central freshman Isabella Lorenzini in the state quarterfinals on Friday. Lorenzini largely beat Emme at her own game, using power to dictate points and put them away easily. Emme, on the other hand, went away from her game plan and tried to match Lorenzini’s power in a 6-3, 6-1 loss.
She reverted back to her original game plan the following day and wound up finishing sixth overall.
“I didn’t try to go for too much,” Emme said after she defeated Barrington sophomore Michelle Linden 6-1, 6-3 to earn all-state honors. “Yesterday, with all of the wind, I was trying to hit too hard. I wasn’t playing very smart, but she (Lorenzini) was also playing very good. But today, I just tried to hit with a lot less pace, but more placement and be smarter.”
Emme said she spent Friday afternoon and Friday evening resting and relaxing at home. She and junior Martina Dragoytchev made sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies at Emme’s home in Glenview.
Emme, after clearing her head, went 2-1 in the consolation draw on the final day of the state tournament. She began her day by beating Linden, and then she defeated Lake Forest sophomore Christina Zordani 6-3, 6-4. Emme then lost 6-4, 7-5 to Lake Forest senior Elizabeth Zordani, who is Christina Zordani’s older sister, in the consolation championship.
Glenbrook South senior Caroline Ryba watched all three of Emme’s matches on Saturday after Ryba was forced to pull out of the state tournament due to the stomach flu.
Ryba, a No. 5-8 seed this year, said she started experiencing symptoms on Tuesday. She said she spent the majority of her time in bed from Tuesday to Friday.
“Yeah, it’s disappointing,” said Ryba, who finished tied for ninth at the state tournament a year ago. “I was looking forward to sort of coming out and just playing hard and doing better than last year, but I can’t control it. It happens, and there’s nothing I can really do.”
