LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It's been a busy summer for Wyoming Seminary tennis star Ilana Rosenthal.
Coming off the 2022 AA Singles State Championship as a sophomore, Rosenthal has upped her game and schedule in 2023.
At the recent USTA Girl's 18U National Clay Court Championships in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Rosenthal held her serve against her older opponents and moved up in the rankings to the 136th player in the country and still holds the top spot in Pennsylvania as the number one 16 year old.
"It was really great," Rosenthal said. "I went to clay courts. That was the first time that I played clays, so it was a really great experience, and it just really got me now prepared for hard courts coming up."
Her coach is Todd Kane, who also runs the tennis program at Wilkes University.
"It's a ton of fun to see somebody go from where she was a year and a half ago to where she is now. (I) never thought that it would happen this quick—she, all of a sudden, getting into the biggest tournaments in the country," Kane said.
It's nice when one state champion can hit with another state champion. Karissa Ghigiarelli joined Rosenthal at the Ralston Athletic Complex at Wilkes University. Ghigiarelli played at Riverside, and now she is out at the University of Arizona. Getting in some practice strokes that helps both players.
"I get to see what she has done and what she has accomplished. I really look up to her as a player and as a person, and she has become one of my great friends," Rosenthal said.
"I think that she is playing really well," Ghigiarelli said. 'She has gotten to be one of my best friends, and we play all of the time together, and she is a great hitting partner for me, which is awesome."
Up next for Rosenthal is the USTA Billie Jean King 18U National Hard Court Championships in San Diego, California, from August 6 to 13. The winner earns an automatic berth into the Women's US Open beginning August 28.