Girls tennis sectionals are here, with Metea Valley being one of sixteen 2A sites. The host Mustangs, DVC champions Neuqua Valley, and defending sectional champions Waubonsie Valley represent the area against seven other teams competing for top performances ahead of the state series. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
We start with third-place singles as Neuqua’s Jennifer Tang takes on Elena Grmusa from West Aurora. Tang wastes no time as her sidearm shot goes out of Grmusa’s range for the point. Tang puts on a dominating performance in the third-place match and sweeps Grmusa by scores of 6-1 to finish in third.
Lydia Parranto goes back to back for Singles
The singles championship features defending sectional champ Waubonsie’s Lydia Parranto and Oswego’s Savannah Millard. Millard finished as the sectional runner-up twice, and she’s off to a good start with a rally against Parranto. Millard finds an open gap to place her tap and get the point. The rallies continue to be a theme for both players, but this time it’s Parranto getting the favor after a failed send back. Parranto gets the job done by locking up a point with an aggressive sidearm and is a back-to-back sectional champion for singles.
Double State qualifiers for Metea Valley
Metea Valley gets state qualifiers in both doubles, and they happen to face off in the third-place match. It starts with Tvisha Shah and Smitha Sathya winning a back-and-forth battle over Leah Liu and Lily Tang. Though Liu and Tang take over from there and sweep to a third-place finish but both squads are heading to state.
We save the best for last as Waubonsie’s pair of Chloe Cochran and Devi Rao face off against Neuqua’s Kylie Tran and Sophia Chiou. Cochran and Rao start it off on the right foot as Cochran fires a powerful overhand for the WV point. Teammate Rao feeds off her shot and follows by displaying a strong overhand for herself to continue the strong start.
However, Tran and Chiou are just getting started. Tran plays for the Neuqua tennis sectional as she lines up in front of the net, ready for what’s to come, and she eventually overhands it just out of sight to give momentum to her and Chiou. The first set goes to a tiebreaker, and Tran and Chiou look to close it out. Chiou is far back and delivers the response to the left side and down for the point and the tiebreaker win.
Cochran and Rao regroup in set two, and Cochran gets another point thanks to another fantastic overhand. Their teammates call them the green beans as they continue to bring the fire to the opponents.
Doubles play helps Neuqua Valley win 2A girls tennis sectional
That’s no problem for Tran and Chio because they react quickly as Tran lands the favor for the Neuqua duo. There’s another tiebreaker, and a win for Neuqua claims the tennis sectional. The cats bring pressure on Waubonsie, the warrior pair can’t send it back, and Tran and Chiou not only win the sectional for the doubles, but the Wildcats do a celebration dance because they are sectional champs. Neuqua Valley finishes ahead of Waubonsie and Metea Valley.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
