Senior Night is always a cause for celebration, and all the more on Tuesday night for the Mustangs.
The end of September means the girls tennis regular season is nearing a close. Metea Valley commences its senior night match in a DVC fight against Waubonsie. The Warriors are fresh off a win over Naperville Central last week, while the Mustangs return home after a road win over Downers Grove South. Both teams are eager to get vital conference points as the postseason looms. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Waubonsie shines in two singles play
Let’s jump into the action starting with two singles. Metea’s Diya Sunder takes the court against Waubonsie’s Jaya Kumar. This set quickly gets to the short game, as Kumar is able to hit a drive to Sunder and the Mustang stumbles on the return hit, allowing the freshman to take the point.
A little later, Kumar tries to get the long game going. After being served with a line-drive chance, her swing has too much zip as Sunder wisely lets it land behind the line to take the point.
The set would go back and forth for a while, but eventually, Waubonsie would secure the advantage. Kumar makes the long game count with this deep send, and Sundar can’t swing it in time, giving the Warrior the point. It’s Kumar claiming the match with straight-set wins of 6-2 and 6-0.
Onto our doubles matches, starting off in two doubles. It’s Metea’s Katie Madden and Tvisha Shah squaring off against Waubonsie’s Liya George and Kerri Gaur.
The teams play a short game of back and forth until the Warriors hit a high volley back over the heads of the Mustangs, which bounces into no man’s land and out of play, securing a WV point.
But the Mustangs would have a hand on a majority control of the match. This back-and-forth rally sees the Warriors try and spike it down, but Madden responds with a high volley that just lands within no man’s land to secure the point for Metea. The Mustangs take the victory with a straight-set win of 6-4 each.
Our top singles match of the day is Warrior freshman Sahana Dinesh against Mustang Lily Tang. Early on, the players exchange hits until Tang is able to send a sidearm shot landing just next to our camera crew, while earning a point in the set.
Dinesh would rebound. After switching sides, she and Tang go back and forth for a much lengthier rally. Tang tries going sidearm again but can’t clear the net, as the Warrior hangs right with the Mustang.
But the Mustang would keep a stronghold for much of the match. They both go on the long game rally for an extended time, but like earlier, Tang is able to push forward and get the hit off to the side enough for another point. She takes the match with straight-set wins of 6-0 and 6-1.
The Mustangs come out on top
Onto the other top match of the day, one doubles, featuring Warriors Chloe Cochran and Aditi Yalamati against the Mustangs of Leah Liu and Smitha Shah. Off the initial serve, Liu steps up, deflecting a shot to the side, forcing Yalamati on the run. She gets crossed into the path of doubles two, allowing Metea to gain the point.
Some time later, Madden tries again from a bit farther back, but this time she can’t clear the net, allowing the Warriors to hang right with them.
But a bit later, the Warriors try moving up the short game. Cochran slowly moves closer to the net and is gifted a spike to the other side, but the ball just lands out of bounds, handing the Mustangs a point. Liu and Shah take the match in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-3.
The longest match of the day comes from three singles with Warrior Myrna Jamal against Mustang Samiksha Bururi. This one would head to extra sets with the third-set tiebreaker. Bururi and Jamal head back and forth again in another lengthy rally until the Warrior hits it in the net, giving a point to the Mustang.
But switching sides is the key to success for the Warrior. She gets into another rally with the Mustang and, like the matches before her, she’s able to push up the right side again and get the shot down for the point. Keeping the match neck and neck.
The Warrior breaks out of the see-saw battle later on. Hitting a sidehand shot from across the court that has Bururi running. The Mustang gets the shot, but the ball lands just on her side of the net, handing Jamal the point. The Warrior takes the last set with a narrow 10-8 score, but her efforts are not enough as Metea Valley wins on senior night 5-2 over Waubonsie. Up next for the Mustangs is a rescheduled match against Neuqua on Thursday, while Waubonsie returns home against Wheaton Academy on Wednesday.
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