Boys tennis: Naperville North's Zhang enjoying the fit at doubles
Hoping to reach his first boys tennis state meet, 6-foot-3 Naperville North senior Kevin Zhang made a big but relatively easy decision.
Rather than return to singles, where he came one victory from qualifying at the 2017 Class 2A Naperville North sectional, Zhang now plays No. 1 doubles with junior Sam Liu, a top-12 state doubles finisher last year with graduated Kirk Williams.
"Oh yeah, for sure, definitely (I was interested)," Zhang said. "Sam was without a partner. I was like, 'Well, he made it to state last year. Hopefully, we can do the same.' "
On Thursday, Zhang and Liu and the Huskies continued their winning ways in their final DuPage Valley Conference regular-season dual with a 6-1 victory at Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Huskies (6-2 in DVC with 37 points) will enter next weekend's DVC Tournament in third place behind defending Class 2A team champion Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley and 3 points ahead of fourth-place Metea Valley.
The Tigers (2-5 with 17 points), contending for sixth, still must complete Wednesday's suspended dual with Wheaton North on Monday.
Zhang and Liu improved to 12-4 and completed DVC duals 6-2. At the Huskies' 2017 sectional, Liu was among six non-seniors who qualified in doubles. All four state singles qualifiers were non-seniors.
"(Zhang has) done a really good job transitioning to the doubles game," Liu said. "He's got a lot of skills that he can bring into the game. He's got really steady groundies (strokes), and he's really big so he's good at the net, too."
Also winning for the Huskies were senior Ian Guppy and junior Preston Chao (12-4) and senior Kevin Mackh and junior Abid Anwar at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and junior Rahul Korrapati and sophomores Zach Xi and Vince Li at Nos. 2-3-4 singles. Li finished 7-1 for DVC duals and Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and No. 3 singles also were 6-2.
WW South sophomore Phasu Sirinit won again at No. 1 singles.
Guppy and Chao defeated senior Michael Zubak and junior Luke Reynolds 6-4, 6-3 and Zhang and Li defeated senior Jack Lillig and freshman Paul Choi 6-1, 6-4. The other five victors won in straight sets, losing no more than two games total.
Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen said she left Zhang's position decision up to him, especially for his senior year.
"I think it would be fun to end my senior year with the state tournament," Zhang said.
"I've seen Sam play last year with Kirk. I know he's a great doubles player at the net so I just hope to complement him with my strengths."
At Hersey's Pitchford Tournament Saturday, the Huskies lost their opening match to Hinsdale Central but then won four straight to claim the consolation championship. The final victory came over Neuqua's Arjan Bahel and Alex Neuman 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 10-8 in a third-set super tiebreaker.
"They had a lot of tight matches. They played really well under pressure," Henricksen said of Zhang and Liu. "They're really starting to click at the right time. It's really exciting to see them do so well."
Sirinit, a 2017 state singles qualifier from the St. Charles East sectional, is 6-1 in DVC play and holds a 5-2 lead on Wheaton North standout Kevin Li in their suspended match. Lillig and Choi are 4-3 in the DVC.
With only two losses this season Sirinit attributes his improvement on diversifying his game.
"Last year I was more of a retriever. I like playing defense, like a counterpuncher," Sirinit said. "(Now) serving and volleying have been a big part of my game, which is completely different, a polar opposite, from last year. I've been incorporating the best of both worlds."
The Huskies' Vince Li also is showing improvement, losing so far only to Naperville Central in a tight three-set match. Last year, Li was switched between the varsity and junior varsity levels, eventually winning the JV's DVC Meet No. 1 singles title.
"Mentally, that's the most important aspect I've improved upon," Li said. "Being on the bubble last year between JV and varsity, I would get frustrated sometimes. I think I've been able to tone that down a little bit so I can just focus on my game."