Girls Tennis notes: St. Charles East's Emaira Saini on cusp of 100-win career milestone

St. Charles East senior Emaira Saini is on the cusp of a tennis milestone.

Saini, who started her high school career across town at St. Charles North, is at 99 wins after a Sept. 21 victory in a match against Naperville Central.

"Reaching 100 wins for me is so surprising. I would’ve never thought me as a freshman would go on and continue to play and win for my team and make it this far," Saini said. "It really [is] amazing and I couldn’t have done it without support from my team and my coaches, of course. Coach [Sean] Masoncup at North and coach [Matt] Bulman at East have both been such terrific coaches."

The achievement has shown Saini that her hard work has paid off.

"The hours of practices, matches, tournaments and even playing in the offseason, all that dedication has led me to where I am today," Saini said.

With it being her last season of high school tennis and playing during COVID-19 restrictions, Saini is cherishing "every moment I can because I know I won’t get it back again."

"The team, the game, the practices, bus rides, everything about it I love and I'm so disappointed things aren’t completely the same," Saini said.

The Saints (8-1) beat Naperville Central on Sept. 21 for the first time in more than a decade. A big part of the win was three doubles victories decided on third-set tiebreakers.

"Over the past couple of weeks, everyone has just been amazing," Saini said. "Our team this year is very hardworking and driven. Also, the new players to varsity this year are just the greatest and work so hard. We push each other to keep going and make sure to cheer and support you during your matches. The teamwork has been incredible."

Freshman Chaggaris settling in as St. Charles North No. 1

Maddie Chaggaris acknowledges how competitive it can be in singles play, particularly as a freshman on varsity.

"There's a lot of mental game," said Chaggaris, a St. Charles North freshman. "I battle with my emotions constantly and I just have to find my zen and get really focused in a place where I'm able to compete and able to stay calm.

"I try to not think of anything," Chaggaris continued. "I try to take a lot of deep breaths and usually, if I get very heated, I try to just tell myself 'you got it' [and] try and put a lot of positivity in my game."

It's that type of mentality that comes in handy at the No. 1 singles spot, a place Chaggaris said she has competed at for the past several weeks.

Chaggaris earned her first varsity win with a 6-3, 6-1 victory in a match against Wheaton North's Hannah Swanson.

"I felt very, very excited," Chaggaris said. "[In] the moment, I was like 'Wow, I won'. But then it kind of set in later, 'Wow, I'm a freshman and I'm playing the No. 1 singles spot and I won for my team.'

"I was just really happy because I won for my team," Chaggaris continued. "That was a conference match and it made me very happy that I accomplished that for us."

The team bond for the North Stars appears to be strong as well.

"They've all been the nicest people in the world. They're all very supportive [and] we all get along great. ... All these girls have been very sweet and we're like sisters. It's so fun," Chaggaris said.