The DuPage Valley Conference boys tennis championship is being held a bit earlier this spring, with Waubonsie Valley serving as the host. The Warriors, Metea Valley, and Naperville North all tied with a 4-1 record in the DVC regular season. The championship matches were pushed to a third day after the end of the semifinals were rained out. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Waubonsie Valley starts strong with a win in one doubles
A big-time matchup in the one doubles championship features Rish Railkar and Ameya Tyagi from Metea Valley against Revanth Kothapalli and Ishan Suresh Kumar from Waubonsie. The Warriors narrowly defeated the Mustang duo during their regular-season matchup.
Tyagi serves early in the first set. Kothapalli showcases his powerful forehand to take the early advantage as he sends it back to the corner for a point.
Tyagi serves yet again, and Kothapalli returns just above the net. Suresh Kumar gets a spinning backhand that Tyagi sends back before Kothapalli finds the net, giving a point to the Mustangs.
Kothapalli sends a hooking serve into the box as he volleys with Railkar. The Mustang then whips a backhand right at Suresh Kumar, who ducks. The shot gets through as Metea stays close.
The teams flip courts with Railkar serving in the second set. Both Warriors charge the net and keep the pressure on with their returns. Kothapalli taps a backhand near the front corner, and Tyagi’s lob sails too far out of play. Waubonsie Valley wins one doubles after an exciting 6-4, 6-4 matchup. Noah Eun and Aayush Puntambekar win the third-place match. Waubonsie also gets a win in the three-doubles championship from senior Kailash Seshan and junior Aarav Jhaveri.
The Mustangs impress in two doubles
To the number two doubles championship, where Henry Oyekanmi and Kaushik Nanduru from Metea take on Alp Tunar and Akhil Matham from Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats enter as the one seed after defeating the two-seeded Mustangs during their regular-season matchup.
In the first set, an impressive volley ensues with Tunar scooping out a return near the net. Matham with a backhand, but Oyekanmi is ready and waiting by the net as he obliterates a smash down for the point. The Mustangs win the first set 6-3.
Oyekanmi then serves in the second set and volleys back and forth with Matham. Tunar then drops a soft backhand right to the open court and down for the point. A heads-up play as the Wildcats battle back.
But the Mustangs turn on the power later in the set to pull away. Oyekanmi with a strong backhand for a point, and Nanduru throws in a powerful ace. Metea takes two doubles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Neuqua and North battle in the singles championships
Over to the number two singles championship, where Shaurya Kandhari from Neuqua Valley takes on Yanson Lew from Naperville North.
Kandhari plays with a slower pace and under control, and likes to force his opponents into mistakes. He does just that in the first set after a nice return as Lew hits the net.
Later in the set, Kandhari with a strong serve right at Lew, who gets his racquet up just in time for the return. They volley back and forth, and then Lew rips a forehand to his left that gets through. The Huskie goes on to win the two singles title, 6-2, 6-0.
Naperville North looks for the singles championship sweep after Aarav Soni wins the three singles bracket. Ritvik Korrapati competes for the Huskies against Keshav Menon from Neuqua. Menon defeated Carter Donnelly from Metea in the semis, while Korrapati defeated Mani Gautam from Waubonsie in a tiebreaker.
In the opening set, Menon gets things started with a serve in the near court. A lengthy rally goes back and forth between the opponents playing near the back. Eventually, Korrapati slices a slow drop shot that falls just over the net and out of reach for the Wildcat. Korrapati wins the first set 7-5.
Naperville North wins the DVC title
A lightning delay pushes the finals back another day to finish up the championship matches, with players returning to cheer on their teammates. One day later and twenty degrees colder, Menon digs deep and forces a third-set tiebreaker with a good forehand near the back line.
In the tiebreaker, Menon serves on the far court. After a volley, Korrapati again uses the drop shot. Menon gets to the ball just in time for the return, but Korrapati is ready and powers a line drive through for a point. The Huskie wins the tiebreaker 10-5, clinching the DVC championship for Naperville North. After four days of competition, the Huskies edge out Waubonsie Valley who takes second, Metea Valley in third, and Neuqua in fourth.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
