Neuqua Valley boys tennis welcomes Metea Valley for the second week of DVC play. The Wildcats swept Naperville Central a week ago while the Mustangs fell to Waubonsie to start conference action. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Metea Valley takes a lead thanks to the doubles division
Neuqua Valley took a win in one doubles behind Ricky Kim and Evan Yang over Rish Railkar and Ameya Tyagi. In three doubles, Jayden Chiou and Aditya Rakshit from Neuqua take on Henry Oyekanmi and Kaushik Nanduru from Metea. Rakshit makes a strong forehand return, which is popped up by Nanduru. Chiou rushes over and slams the point down. The Wildcats take set one 6-4.
It’s a back-and-forth third set with Okeyanmi making a hard backhand return. Nanduru waits near the net and flips his return back to the left for the quick point. The Mustangs win set two 7-6.
Metea takes control in set three. Okeyanmi serves and Nanduru pounces near the net, tapping the Neuqua forehand over the net for the point. The Mustangs win the third set 6-1.
In two doubles, Boris Sirotkin and Anthony Yang from Neuqua Valley square off against Royce Lalani and Sakthidharan Karthikeyan from Metea. A heavy wind blowing south from right to left across the court plays a major factor in the matchups on the day. Karthikeyan hustles back for a return and the wind carries the ball near the back line. Yang lobs one back, but Lalani is there waiting to smash the point down.
A really even matchup between these four players, with everyone working hard to earn every point. Neuqua wins the first set 7-6 in a tiebreaker as Sirotkin drops his return just out of reach.
Metea Valley wins set two 6-4 before needing another tiebreaker in the third set. Lalani makes the initial return before the Mustangs swap places as a volley goes back-and-forth. Eventually Lalani is able to put away the point as Metea takes another 7-6 set.
Shaurya Kandhari helps the Wildcats at two singles
Moving to number two singles where Shaurya Kandhari from Neuqua faces Dhanush Chittaluri from Metea. Chittaluri serves in the near court. Following his initial return, he charges the net and drops a shot into the open court for the point.
Later in the opening set, Chittaluri serves in the far court. He charges the net once again, but this time Kandhari is able to line a two-handed backhand past him for the point. The Wildcat takes the first set 6-3.
Kandhari gains control through most of set two. A strong serve pushes his opponent into the back corner, giving Kandhari space to fire a return to the left side for the point. The Wildcat wins in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
Mihir Arya secures the win for Metea Valley
Mihir Arya from Metea Valley competes in one singles against Alp Tunar from Neuqua. Tunar serves in the near court and spins several shots near the back, his final return gets Arya off balance as he finds the net.
Flipping the courts late in the first set, Arya sends a line drive back the other way before a strong backhand down the line gets through as the Mustang sweeps the first set 6-0.
In the second set, Arya uses the elements to his advantage. Spinning the ball into the wind, the ball continuously curves away from Tunar. On the final backhand, Arya hooks it and allows the wind to carry the ball out of reach. The Mustang wins the second set 6-2 as Metea Valley earns the team victory over Neuqua as well by a 4-3 score.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
