Lakes senior Megan Heuser rarely loses her direction, whether the defending Class 1A singles state champion is focused on the court or driving around town.
Of course, Heuser has good guideposts on the roads in Lake Villa and Lindenhurst these days. After she became the first player in program history to win a state title last fall, the villages put up two road signs to commemorate her achievement.
“It’ll be up (forever),” Heuser said. “So when I come back to Lake Villa and Lindenhurst, it will be cool looking back on it, that I did that, when I’m older.
“I always know where they are because one is just outside school — I see it almost every day — and the other one is off Route 45 and Grand, at the corner. I drove by it on Tuesday. It’s cool to see my name on it. Not many people can say they have a street sign.”
Heuser, a three-time state qualifier and an Illinois recruit, stormed to the singles title last year, winning all six of her matches at the state meet in straight sets. None of her six opponents won more than one game in a set. In fact, Heuser (29-0) didn’t lose a set all season after finishing third in singles in each of the previous two seasons.
Now stronger and more experienced, she is looking to add to her growing legacy in Lake County.
“I feel I accomplished one of my goals,” she said. “I felt more complete after I won the title. Hopefully, this year we will have a state tournament and I can repeat. My main goal is to win state, (but) also to win conference and sectionals. My confidence has really grown since winning a state title.”
Lakes coach Bryan Plinske has watched Heuser grow over the years and said he plans to challenge her this season with a tougher schedule, especially since she missed spring and summer United States Tennis Association tournaments because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“She’s a gamer — hasn’t lost a step,” he said. “She’s gotten stronger and faster, just maybe from not having played every weekend or most weekdays because of COVID-19.
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“She wants to repeat as a state champion. We’re going to do whatever we can to ensure she has that opportunity by making the best effort to provide the best competition.”
Heuser said she was scheduled to play in at least 10 tournaments, including in San Diego in early August. Instead, she kept sharp by ramping up her training and recharged mentally.
“I was actually training for a purpose, not a specific way to beat an opponent,” she said. “It was nice being home and being able to train stress-free.”
Plinske said Heuser has helped raise the profile of Lakes tennis throughout the state by winning three state medals. Plinske said she’s on target for another memorable run, although the Illinois High School Association hasn’t decided what to do about a state tournament amid the pandemic.
“She definitely put Lakes on the map,” he said. “Her accomplishments have given a number of our players a goal to reach for. There’s certainly a lot of schools in the state of Illinois who know who Lakes is now.
“It’s been so much fun watching the progression of her game over the last three years. She’s developed such a well-rounded game.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.