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Boys tennis: Naperville Central outlasts Wheaton North

Junior Bill Zhang had a feeling that he might delay the start of the Naperville Central boys tennis team's Senior Day post-match celebration Tuesday.

Zhang had a tough No. 1 singles match against Wheaton North freshman Kevin Li.

"Word around the street was that Kevin was a grinder, so I always had to stay patient and try not to get frustrated. That's what I tried to focus on," Zhang said.

Zhang pulled out the second-longest match as the Redhawks registered more well-earned victories in their 6-1 dual triumph in Naperville to increase their lead in the DuPage Valley Conference.

Zhang won 6-3, 6-3, but he was the next-to-last match to finish, proceeded by the only three-set battle at No. 3 singles.

"It was pretty windy. And Kevin played well," said Zhang, now 12-1 in singles this season. "He's been playing pretty well of late so I just stayed consistent and tried to get up to the net."

The Redhawks (13-1, 7-0) have 39 of a 42 possible conference points with their final dual Thursday at Lake Park. In the battle for fourth, the Falcons (11-8, 4-3) and Waubonsie Valley each have 26 points and meet Thursday in Wheaton.

Four matches featured opponents that had zero or one DVC dual loss apiece. Naperville Central won three of those with Zhang, sophomore Ryan Roegner at No. 2 singles and the No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Martin Matov and freshman Ammaar Saeed. Senior Kevin Yiu and junior Mark Polowczak and juniors Bailey Chen and Hemanth Kalidindi at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles, and freshman Alex Zhao at No. 4 singles also remained undefeated in DVC play.

For the Falcons, junior Bunch Ros rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over freshman Nathaniel Chavez at No. 3 singles.

"We knew that they were going to be tough at a bunch of positions," Naperville Central coach Dan Brown said. "That was a long 6-3, 6-3 (Zhang victory). Match point was indicative of the match itself, a 20-some-ball rally. Kevin is a great freshman and makes you earn every point that you win."

At Hersey's Pitchford Tournament Friday and Saturday, Roegner (13-6) played No. 1 singles and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Neuqua Valley's Brett Meyers for the second time this season. Zhang rolled to the No. 2 singles semifinals before rain washed out the remaining matches.

"(Meyers) was very, very good," said Li (14-4), of his loss earlier this season. "Bill is definitely up there, but hopefully next time I play him I can have a better match, maybe a closer score. I'm still happy with the way I played, even if I lost."

Roegner moved to 5-0 at No. 2 singles in the DVC with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Wheaton North freshman Chase Bremner (20-1). Roegner was broken his first time serving in both sets.

"(Bremner) very definitely has a lot of potential. He hits a solid ball, good serve, good returns," Roegner said. "I think I performed well. I'm just trying to keep my level up and make sure I'm playing at my top performance when state comes around."

In the No. 1 doubles meeting of teams with one previous DVC loss, Matov and Saeed (11-5) won 6-1, 6-2 over seniors Grant O'Connell and Jack Woods (15-5).

Ros (13-1) looked sharp before and after his match with Chavez (8-3). Afterward, Ros celebrated while wearing a black dress coat, his typical wear for important matches.

"It's my pregame ritual. The bigger the match, the nicer I dress," Ros said. "I take laps around school, walking really slowly, and then I warm up in what I wear to school until right when the match starts."

Ros' victory leaves him, Chavez and Naperville North's Sam Liu with one DVC loss apiece. Ros, who has had four three-set DVC matches, played No. 1 singles in 2015 before the freshmen arrived.

"I've learned so much with the physical aspect of the game and mentally," Ros said. "There are still tough opponents (at No. 3). I feel I have a better edge because I've played with the top people last year."

Wheaton North coach Eric Laird continued a recent lineup switch of junior Mat Frazier at No. 4 singles and moving junior James Volpe to No. 3 doubles with senior Anthony Vuolo.

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