SANTA ROSA — These are busy times for talented Middletown High School sophomore Miriam Lane, who in the course of five days will compete in North Coast Section championships in two different sports.
On Tuesday, Lane won first-round and quarterfinal-round matches at the NCS Girls” Tennis Championships at Santa Rosa High School. Lane earned an automatic berth into the sectionals by winning the Coastal Mountain Conference singles title last spring. Girls” tennis is a fall sport for most leagues in the NCS, but it”s a spring sport for CMC teams.
Lane upset No. 4 seed Chloe Dobbert of Carondolet High School of Concord 6-3, 6-3 in a first-round match. She then beat unseeded Annie Wang of College Park High School of Pleasant Hill 6-0, 6-2.
“She looked tough,” Middletown tennis coach Marc Morita said of Lane. “I tried to get her the No. 4 seed (during the coaches meeting before the tournament), but people don”t know where Middletown is. They kept asked me where it was.”
But while Lane may not be a name the coaches know yet, their players are aware of her, according to Morita.
“A lot of the girls who play tennis know Miriam”s a dangerous player,” Morita said. “They all play in USTA events together.”
Lane will take on No. 2 seed Laura Posylkin of San Marin High School (Novato) today in the semifinals. If she wins, she”ll advance to the championship match later in the day. If she loses, she”ll play for third place.
On Saturday, Lane will compete in the NCS Cross Country Championships at Hayward High School. Lane finished seventh last week in the CMC Championships at Brooktrails near Willits. The Hayward meet is a qualifier for the CIF State Championships on Nov. 28 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
