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St. Charles East junior Smita Dhar and senior Caroline Donati project to be tough outs on the tennis court again this season.
The two girls have teamed up together for the last two years. This fall, they’ll be looking to build upon their second-place finish in doubles at the St. Charles East sectional, a result that would’ve sent them to the state competition, had it been held.
“They’re a very tough matchup because Caroline has these really, really wide ground strokes that she’s very high-percentage with,” St. Charles East coach Matt Bulman said. “So she can pull girls way off the court and then Smita is sitting right there to finish the next shot. That’s kind of their one-two punch.”
It’s generally their approach every single point.
“[Dhar] is the one that takes those extra aggressive approaches and she’s super hard on herself when she misses them, but that’s what you need in doubles,” Bulman said. “Caroline can almost read her mind. I mean, she covers the whole court. If Smita is feeling tentative or is not ready to go for a ball, Caroline is right there. She’s got incredible reach and incredible court awareness.”
“She knows how to play against other people instead of against herself and that’s really that has built them up a lot,” Bulman continued on Donati.
“Usually, [Dhar] is amazing at volleying and playing up at the net,” Donati said. “I definitely like to take more of an approach at the baseline...The two roles we have complement each other really nicely because it’s hard to play if you have two super aggressive people [or vice versa].”
Dhar and Donati spent ample time together this summer. It’s helped them grow on the court and as friends.
“We’re not really scared to make mistakes in front of each other because we’re really well connected,” Dhar said. “So, I feel like that’s the best thing you need in a good doubles team.”
“We’re really good friends outside of tennis as well, so I think that definitely helps,” Donati said. “This past summer, we hit together almost every day, so we definitely had a lot of time to bond, which I think definitely shows itself on the court. I think it’s super hard to play doubles if you don’t already have a good connection with your doubles partner.”
Dhar and Donati will be counted on to help usher in the new wave of Saints this season after the graduation of 2020 Kane County Chronicle Girls Tennis Player of the Year, Emaira Saini, among others.
The Saints won their own sectional as a team and went 14-3 in duals, 6-1 in conference.
“We just saw the new team a few days ago, and I’m really happy I get to be one of the leaders for them since I’ve been on the team [for three years],” Dhar said. “I feel like it’s really nice to be able to show them the roots of what we believe in at our St. Charles East varsity team...I’m really glad I get the opportunity to do that this year.”