Boys tennis: Naperville Central in midseason form

Two Invitationals. Two first-place finishes.

The Naperville Central boys tennis team is on the right track this spring.

That track ends at the Class 2A state tournament at Hersey High School on the final weekend of May.

The Redhawks (6-2) won the Rolling Meadows Invite earlier this season, then captured first place at the Moline Invite last weekend.

Naperville Central coach Chris Harrison said the Moline Invite was a solid weekend for his program, helping build confidence and team chemistry for a team which returns eight of their top 11 players from last season.

"I like going to Moline because it's allows us to play Western Illinois schools and some Southern Illinois schools that we don't get to always play," Harrison said, a 2011 Naperville Central graduate. "It's also a fun opportunity to have an overnight event with kids, have some team bonding with a Friday night stay. The Moline invite is a sectional event, so it's top six and you opportunities to get state wins."

"I'm learning that with these top0six tournaments, you really see who grows up, especially among our singles players. They really have to be able to make a lot of in-game adjustments, a lot of our coaches are always around, so making adjustments and piece the puzzle together and problem solving. I have a very quiet team, so with my doubles teams, I'm trying to work on getting them louder, moving together, talking more and mixing up formations."

Thus far, the Redhawks are making a lot of noise on the court with quality victories. Number one singles player Blake Roegner (8-1) is adapting to leading the team in a new spot after teaming with Daanyal Saeed to win the state doubles championship last season. Vincent Yin (10-0) slide over to the No. 1 spot for the Moline Invite with Roegner not able to attend. Yin captured the singles title to continue his strong start.

"Blake Roegner has a chance to getting top four at state, and maybe even winning state this year," Harrison said. "Vincent was next-man up at Moline. Vincent is a grinder, consistent, loves to stay back and makes every ball. He gets to everything and has a big forehand. He was stepping into the court well, getting past five, six balls in his rallies at Moline. His serve has improved dramatically this year and passing a lot of guys when they were coming to the net."

The No. 1 doubles team of Vince Staputis and Daniel Rabinovich is playing well early this season, placing third at Rolling Meadows.

"They have a big jump this year, going from third doubles to number one doubles, so there's a lot of learning," Harrison said. "They've stepped up big-time for us. There's always good teams for them to play at number one doubles. Both are juniors, so this is a chance to play with each other for three years in a row."

Wheaton North update:

Through four matches, Wheaton North has knocked off Naperville Central, Metea Valley and St. Francis to build some momentum for DuKane Conference play this week.

The Falcons' lone defeat came at the hands of Benet.

"Our wins against Naperville Central and Metea Valley were both close, hard-fought wins against great opponents," Wheaton North coach Eric Laird said. "We lost to both of those schools last year, so to come back and beat them was rewarding for the guys this year. Both matches were very close and came down to the wire."

At No. 1 singles, Henry Ros is playing well for the Falcons after spending last season at the number two spot. Laird also noted the play of several doubles teams for sparking the Falcons.

"Henry is an all court grinder, who is a relentless competitor," Laird said. "Our top two doubles spots are again a strength for us this year. Vaughn Smith, a doubles qualifier last year, and Niku Cowart, singles qualifier last year, have taken over the number one spot. Both started the year battling injuries and then just narrowly beat out my other top doubles team of Devon Jones and Will Parrilli to take the top spot. They're truly a number one doubles teams, so I feel very fortunate to have them setting the top of our doubles lineup. They're all very skilled, smart, hard working players with lots of match experience."

The Falcons have St. Charles North, Naperville North, Lake Park and Batavia this week.

"By the end of the week, we should have a pretty good idea where we stand in the conference moving forward," Laird said. "Our goal is to win the DuKane Conference and repeat as conference champions."

Metea Valley update:

Metea Valley opened up the season later than several teams, but experienced a solid start with four wins in its first six matches. The Mustangs had a pair of tough defeats to Wheaton North and Waubonsie Valley, but captured the title at the Lincoln-Way Central Invite.

"We have a solid number one doubles team in Nikunj Tyagi and Akshay Baid," Metea Valley coach Kole Cousing said. "I'm expecting big things from them. They were state qualifiers last year and made it to the Friday of the state tournament. We're hoping to build off that success."

Cousing said Varun Ramprakash and Aadit Gandhi are two players to watch this season/

"Varun played number one singles for us last year but is going to play second singles this year," Clousing said. "He's also a state qualifier, and hoping to build off of last year's success. Aadit Gandhi will be playing number one singles this year. Aadit is ready for the challenge and is taking it head on. He was also a state qualifier last year and is hoping to build off of that success. We have York and Neuqua this week, which will be a great test for our team. Also, we have the Hersey Pitchford invite next weekend and hoping to make some noise there."