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ST. CHARLES – As far as brand-new tennis double teams are concerned, St. Charles North’s Shannon Lu and Danielle Dejanovich are a blueprint for what can be accomplished if you trust the process to grow with each another.
Lu, a junior, and Dejanovich, a freshman, formed a bond quickly and became one of the top duos in the Kane County area for a North Stars team that won a sectional title in October.
Lu and Dejanovich ended the season with a 24-3 record, a doubles sectional title and a fifth-round consolation bracket finish at the state meet in October. It was one of the best finishes for St. Charles North at a state tennis meet since Sean Masoncup became coach.
“We were fortunate enough to have Shelby Thomas and Emaira Saini when Emaira was a freshman. ... They were the last duo we had and they were in the top eight,” Masoncup said. “This is the second-best finish I’ve ever had at St. Charles North for girls tennis.”
Considering the resume in their first season, Lu and Dejanovich are the 2023 Kane County Chronicle Tennis Players of the Year.
“They’re just good kids overall. They’re both doing it in the classroom and on the court, which I’m proud of and they’re pretty successful on the court,” Masoncup said.
Lu and Dejanovich were named second-team all state.
“[The state finish] shows a lot about our work ethic and how hard we worked to get where we were. We put in all the hours and it really showed at the end,” Lu said.
The cohesion on the court is visible, as is the budding friendship.
“I would say we’re very engaged with each other,” Lu said. “Between every point, we’ll try to talk to each other and ask each other what we did wrong. ... We don’t always know it ourselves and asking a partner is always the best way I think. Tennis is a super mental sport and every shot you miss you always get super mad at yourself, but that’s why I like doubles because of that talking to each other.”
“We’re always encouraging each other on we can do better and continue to play a certain way,” Dejanovich said.
“Shannon would drive Danielle everywhere, so that time you spend off the court, you really become close as a doubles team,” Masoncup said. “You spend a lot of time on the court and then you’re doing stuff off it. Our program does a really good job, especially our captains, of doing team-building stuff. That really played into where they’ve become a pretty dominant force in the area. The great thing is they’re only a junior and a freshman.”
Their first DuKane Conference match against Wheaton North proved to be a defining match.
“We lost the first set 0-6, came back 6-4 and won the third set and I think that just showed how mentally strong we were because losing 0-6, at that point, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re not that good together’ but once we started to get rolling, [it was a different feeling],” Lu said.
“Another time at state that showed us coming back, we were down 3-7 and we won 9-7 [in the fourth consolation round]. It just showed how determined [we could be],” Dejanovich said.
All Area List:
Singles: Julia Arulandu (Batavia), Alli Gizewicz (St. Charles North), Kelsey Jacob (St. Charles East), Sofia Radovic (St. Charles East), Ashley Rajcevich (St. Francis).
Doubles: Addie Lowe and Erin Connolly (Batavia), Casey O’Brien and Emma Larson (Batavia), Shannon Lu and Danielle Dejanovich (St. Charles North), Reese Thomas and Maddie Zubel (St. Charles North), Lauren Cleveland and Cameron Rajcevich (St. Francis), Elizabeth Szalek and Ella Wozniak (St. Francis).