Girls tennis: Naperville North edges Metea Valley
There's the bottom of the ninth inning in baseball, and Tuesday afternoon Metea Valley and Naperville North showed the girls tennis version of that.
With the team scored tied at 3, the last match on the court was No. 3 doubles between Metea's Lauren Dami and Feina Niu and Naperville North's Claire Szilagyi and Magdalena Foster. And like other matches played Tuesday, it was a case of both teams playing well. The winners got a few more shots to go their way and the host Huskies won 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 to take that match and confirm the team's DuPage Valley Conference dual-meet opening victory.
"Coach (Heather Henricksen) didn't say anything about the team score. She didn't want to pressure on us," Szilagyi said.
There are plenty of dual meets left in the season, but they are especially important for teams that can earn points in dual-meet competition that go toward a conference championship, and that's the case with the DVC. Plus, the Huskies hit the court Wednesday at Benet and wanted some momentum.
"We just wanted to win for the team. We're real excited," Foster said.
The team score went to 3-3 after Naperville North's Alejandra Sosa won at No. 2 singles, 6-7 (8-6), 6-2, 6-1.
The first two victories of the afternoon for the Huskies came from Jennifer Ray at No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-4 and the No. 4 doubles pair of Shweta Manoharan and Lauren Sun, who prevailed 6-1, 6-2.
"I am really incredible proud of the team. They showed the will to win. We were down 3-2 with the last two matches on the court. They figured out a strategy and stuck with it," Henricksen said. "We were evenly matched and were evenly matched as well last year."
Tennis players are no stranger to hot weather, but Tuesday's was a little more than usual for a September with temperatures in the 90s and the heat index hitting the high 90s and or low 100s. Players took extra breaks to stay hydrated.
"It's a mental game more than physical. Both teams are dealing with the heat. You just take it shot by shot," said Metea senior Michelle He, who with partner Stacy Wei won at No. 1 doubles 6-3, 6-1.
He, with the now graduated Tarika Patel, went 2-2 last year at state, reaching the third round of the consolation bracket.
"Going to state made me realize what I have to work on," He said.
Wei said she and He bring a different part of the game to the court, and it works.
"Michelle comes up at the net for us and I support her on the baseline," Wei said.
Other Metea winners were Taylor Goldman at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-4 and the No. 2 doubles team of Stephanie Wu and Abbey Woods 6-4, 6-3.
"Every match was close. If a few shots had gone our way, it might have been different. We played well and we had lots of determination," said Metea coach Joe Rizio.
The Mustangs return to action Thursday at home against Naperville Central.