Waubonsie Valley hosts Metea Valley boys tennis with the DVC tournament just a couple weeks away. Mother Nature plays a heavy role in this matchup after the first scheduled meeting was rained out and the second was put on pause due to heavy rain coming down once the match had already begun. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Metea Valley shows strength in singles despite a tough challenge
At one singles Akshay Baid from Metea Valley faces Revanth Kothapalli from Waubonsie Valley. Kothapalli with a strong serve that Baid returns, but the Warrior whips a shot back down the line for the point after Baid slides too far to his right.
Baid serving in the near court now and the Mustang aggressively approaches the net. Kathapalli gets to several returns, but Baid overpowers him with a quick flip into the front corner for a point. Baid wins set one 6-2 before the rain delay.
Set two is on a new day but has a similar result. Kathapalli is able to hang tough, but Baid puts a ton of backspin on one of his shots and then blasts the return to the open portion of the court for a straight set winner, 6-2, 6-2.
Waubonsie Valley gets a win in two singles from Smayan Tayal after Jack Jordan is forced to retire the match due to injury. In three singles the Warriors look for a win from Ethan Yoon against Nikash Divakaruni from Metea.
These two go through several lengthy volleys throughout the match. Yoon forces the Mustang to pop up a lob near the back before lanuching a perfectly placed backhand over his opponent’s head. A brilliant shot gives the point to Yoon.
In the second set, Divakaruni returns the favor. Yoon tries to power one past him, but the Mustang digs out a return and lofts it high enough to force the error. Metea takes the three singles victory 7-5, 6-1.
Metea Valley holds off a fiesty Waubonsie squad in the doubles division
Moving on to doubles on the second day where Aarav Jhveri and Kailash Seshan from Waubonsie Valley challenge Dhanush Chittaluri and Kaushik Nanduru from Metea.
The Mustangs take the first set 6-3 after a serve and several returns from Chittaluri set up Nanduru who steps in for the quick return for the point.
The Warriors battle back in the second set. Jhveri with a nice lob to push the Mustangs back, which allows Seshan to power a point home to force a tiebreaker.
Metea serving in the tiebreaker from the far court but Seshan fires a laser of a forehand across the court as Waubonsie forces a third set.
In set number three, Jhveri serves in the near court for Waubonsie. Chittaluri with a great reaction to get to a return. Jhveri lunges to keep the ball alive, but Chittaluri finishes things off with a line drive down the middle for the point. The Mustangs take set three 6-3.
In one doubles, Ameya Tyagi and Rish Railkar from Metea Valley face Ishan Suresh Kumar and Saisahan Tirukovalluru from Waubonsie.
After winning the first set 6-4 on day one, on day two the Mustangs serve in the far court, initially to Suresh Kumar. Both Warriors with some quick reactions to get their returns back over. After a strong shot from the back from Railkar, Tirukovalluru somehow gets a racquet on the ball and flips it over the net for the point.
Railkar serves again in the second set, volleying with Suresh Kumar. Tyagi then lunges left and drops a quick return that falls for the point as the Mustangs take the lead once again.
The Warriors looking to force a third set with the serve, but Tyagi is ready with a strong return that splits the court. The Mustangs win in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Metea Valley wins as a team 6-1 over Waubonsie Valley boys tennis following several days of strong competition.
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