Another beautiful day for tennis with the Waubonsie Valley girls hosting Neuqua Valley in a DVC showdown between a pair of undefeated teams in conference play. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Waubonsie Valley starts strong in doubles play
A warm afternoon with a slight breeze greets number two doubles, where Emma Mathew and Pragathi Palavesam from Neuqua Valley take on Sana Kalra and Kerri Gaur playing for Waubonsie. In the opening set, Gaur has the serve in the far court as Mathew makes her return. Gaur pops a backhand over the head of a charging Palavesam and down for the point.
Later in the set, Gaur is still with the serve as she volleys with Mathew. Palavesam lunges left for a return, exchanging rapid volleys with Kalra. The Wildcat freshman stays poised as Kalra tries to dig out a return, but it sails too long and out of play. Set one heads to a tiebreaker, all tied at 6-6.
The Wildcats serve as the opponents flip courts. Sana Kalra makes a great return on the short hop to flip the ball over as Palvesam sends back a lob. Gaur with a running lob that Mathew intercepts with a backhand, but Kalra sees the Cats out of position and places the ball into the open court to earn the point. Waubonsie takes the tiebreaker 7-5 and wins the second set 6-2, putting the Warriors on the board.
Waubonsie looks for another win, this time at number one doubles, where Devi Rao and Chloe Cochran square off against Sophia Chiou and Kylie Tra,n representing the blue and gold.
In the opening set, Rao serves on the near court. Chiou has the initial return until Tran lunges into the picture and redirects the ball into the corner, just keeping it in play for the point. The Wildcats take the opening set 6-2.
Rao is serving again in set two, briefly volleying with Chiou. Tran again goes for the deflection near the net, but the ball pops into the air. Cochran’s eyes light up as she runs over and launches a two-handed backhand that slams home for the point. The Warriors take a lead in the second set.
After the Wildcats even things up, Waubonsie looks to rebound and force a third set. Tran has a return that is cut off by Cochran and sent back by Chiou. Rao then joins her teammate near the net as both Warriors battle with Chiou. Eventually, Chiou forces a return into the net. The Chiou Chiou Tran as the duo is now called by teammates, rolls on to another victory, 6-2, 7-5.
More great battles in the singles division
Moving over to singles, where the closely contested battles continue. At number three singles, Myrna Jamal from Waubonsie Valley takes on Fatima Faruqi from Neuqua.
The Wildcat is in control early on. After forcing her opponent over to her right, Faruqi sends another return right on the back line as Jamal runs out of room. A 6-1 set one win for Faruqi.
In the second set the tide changes as the Warrior freshman makes her move. She spins a return that drops just over the net as Faruqi charges in just to get the ball back. Jamal then earns the point by lining a shot right back at her opponent. The match goes to a third set 10-point tiebreaker.
With the score tied in the tiebreaker, Fatima serves in the near court. Following a return, she lines a backhand that skims the top of the net and drops over for the point. That helps the Wildcat gain the edge and win the tiebreaker 10-8 after the marathon matchup.
At two singles, Waubonsie Valley sends senior Amanda Kornak against promising Neuqua Valley freshman Jennifer Tang.
Kornak serves in the far court across the net, using forehands and backhands to move Tang around the court. She puts the point away with a perfectly placed backhand that lands right on the back corner.
Kornak serves again, but this time Tang waits back and pounces by ripping a forehand back to Kornak’s right, catching her opponent off guard. The Wildcat earns the first set win 6-1.
In the second set, Kornak spins another serve over. Tang has a return ready, but then needs to chase down a lob that lands near the back corner. Kornak looks to slice a backhand that lands near the net, but Tang is ready with another strong forehand that powers past the Warrior. Another singles win on the board for Neuqua Valley by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Matham vs. Parranto lives up to the hype
One of the most exciting singles matchups of the young season has first-year player Anshu Matham from Neuqua Valley going head-to-head against Waubonsie Valley sophomore Lydia Parranto. Two of the most talented young players in the area.
These are two players who know each other from the club level and have few weaknesses on the court. That leads to long volleys full of hard, line drive returns. In the opening set, Matham uses the wind at her back to her advantage with a long-range lob that bounces at the back line and drifts high near the back fence, preventing Parranto from making a return. The Wildcat takes the first set 6-3.
In the second set, it remains a struggle to gain the edge with each player sending powerful backhand blasts towards the back line. Eventually, Parranto is able to get in position for a forehand that swoops to her left and remains inside the line for the point. The Warrior forces a tiebreaker after taking the second set 6-4.
Matham serves in the far court in the tiebreaker, which is all squared at 3-3. Parranto unleashes forehands that have vapor trails coming off the ball. The second one gets through as the Warrior goes on to take the tiebreaker by a 10-6 score. An afternoon full of fun matchups, but Neuqua Valley heads home with the team victory by the score of 5-2.
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