Naperville North boys tennis sweeps Naperville Central

Naperville Central and Naperville North boys tennis clash in an early DVC matchup in Redhawk territory. Central returns home after being swept at Neuqua Valley, while the Huskies have their second DVC road matchup of the week after taking down DeKalb. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

The Huskies look to start strong

The top singles match features Ritvik Korapatti of Naperville North against Kayen Basrai of Naperville Central.  This set goes back and forth as the two players trade blows until Basrai hits a high lob that goes to the back of the court.  Korapatti preps for the return, but the ball just bounces just past the baseline, giving Korapatti the point.   

On the next court over is the two singles match between Redhawk Jason Cheng and Huskie Yanson Lew.  The two also engage in a lengthy rally for control of the set. Cheng hits a high lob right to Lew that sets the Huskie up for the strike.  His blazer is on line but has a little too much going out of bounds, handing Cheng the point.  

But Lew gets the best of Cheng later in another back-and-forth rally. This time, Lew executes a perfect groundstroke past Cheng. He claims straight set wins by scores of 6-0 and 6-2.  

Naperville Central hangs tough in one singles

Onto doubles with the one doubles team of Noah Eun and Aayush Puntambekar from North facing off against Central’s Jaithra Sheeram and Nick Tangedahl.  Eun attempts to fire a return to the other side, but Sheeram reads it and forces Puntambekar into an unsuccessful backhand shot. The Redhawks swoop in for an early point in the set.  

In a later game, Sheeram makes a good backhanded lob that sails all the way towards the baseline, but rushing to it is Puntambekar, who keeps the ball in play. The momentum is short-lived as Sheeram hits a sidewinder to Eun, who doesn’t get the angle, giving Central another point.  

Back to one singles. Korapatti tries playing the short game with Basrai, who looks to go the opposite. He hits another high lob back towards the baseline, but the ball lands just outside the line, giving the Huskie another point.  

Naperville North completes the sweep

Then, a bit later, they both go long range until Korapatti slowly moves towards the net.  Striking at the right moment, he gets the dropshot beyond Basrai’s reach, handing him the point. The Huskie wins in straight set victories of 6-1 and 6-4.  

North one doubles are also heating up at the right time.  The teams appear to engage in another rally, until an error by Tangedahl sees the ball bounce into the net to draw the Huskies close to victory.  

Then a bit later, it’s Puntakembar getting the better of Sheeram as an early long game rally quickly turns short distance as the Huskie hits it low and off the racket of the Redhawk for the point. That helps Naperville North sweep the day against Naperville Central, handing the Redhawks their second DVC loss of the season. The Next DVC match for both teams is on Tuesday, with Central hosting DeKalb, and North facing Metea Valley.