Neuqua Valley hosts a DVC boys tennis matchup after beating Naperville North earlier in the week thanks to a sweep in doubles. They host Naperville Central, who are coming off a 4-3 win against Waubonsie. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Neuqua Valley boys tennis once again looks dominant in doubles
We start the day with the two doubles matchup, Neuqua Valley’s Adi Bansal and Rudy Shen face off against Naperville Central’s Jason Xu and Zach Highhouse. The Wildcats get on the board, as Bansal uses the front net presence to hit one home.
Later on, Xu rockets one to the back corner, which allows Highhouse to use the entire court on the next hit. He taps it home and the Redhawks are on the board.
Highhouse puts in a tough serve, but Bansal is able to get it over. The Wildcats head to the net, and Shen quickly knocks it down for a point. Neuqua takes set one, 6-3.
The Wildcats look to close out the second set, and once again they show off the touch in front of the net. They win the match after taking the second set 6-3.
Johnn Mou and Ricky Kim give Neuqua tennis the sweep in doubles
Naperville Central’s Rohan Jha and Peter Paik take on Neuqua Valley’s Johnny Mou and Ricky Kim in one doubles. Jha gets the serve over, and he then stripes one back into the corner. Paik takes advantage of the open space in the middle and gets the point.
Mou is serving and it’s a good one, as he forces his opponent into the net for an ace.
Later on, It’s Kim’s turn to show off the serve. He gets the point, and helps secure a 6-1 win in set one.
The second set needs a tiebreaker, and both teams are fighting for this point. After some volleys, the Wildcat duo secures the point. They win the second set 7-5 and Neuqua Valley sweeps all four doubles matchups.
Jason Cheng gets Naperville Central on the board
Naperville Central looks to break through in the singles portion. Jason Cheng takes on Wildcat Shaurya Kandhari in the number three spot. After some spin on the return, the Redhawk hits the next one high and gets his opponent to miss short.
Cheng serves and on the next swing, plays it short, Kandhari gets to the front to play it. After a couple of quick volleys, the Wildcat forces an overhit.
This match takes all three sets and the final one, goes the distance. Cheng’s forehand nearly paints the back line, forcing his opponent’s shot into the net. He takes the all-decisive third set, 10-5, and the Redhawks are on the board.
In number two singles, Wildcat Evan Yang takes on Redhawk Emil Nehan. After some volleys, Nehan sends one down the left side, but Yang recovers. The next time around, Nehan capitalizes on the high arching shot and just taps it down for a point.
Yang, however, looks strong in this match. He somehow gets to this and his ball just sneaks over the net.
The Wildcat is looking to close it out in straight sets, and he gets the serve over. His next shot is powered into the corner, and he wins in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Naperville Central does well in singles but Neuqua wins the day
Let’s close the day with the number one singles match between Naperville Central’s Charlie Morgan and Neuqua Valley’s Andy Yu. After the serve, Yu and Morgan send it back and forth. Morgan forces a tough shot out of Yu, but the Wildcat sends the favor back and forces the overhit.
Morgan, who’s back at Central after being in Florida for the past two years sends it in on the jump serve. His shot power is a lot to handle, the Redhawk heads towards the net and watches his opponent overhit one for an NCHS point. Morgan takes the win with ease in the number one singles, 6-0, 6-1.
Neuqua Valley, however, earns the team victory by the score of 5-2, and starts the DVC season with a 2-0 record.
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