Young Naperville Central Tennis Squad Off To 9-5 Start

To say that Naperville Central's girls tennis team is a young group would be an understatement.

With only two varsity starters back from last year's squad, and three freshmen and sophomores in the lineup Thursday against Wheaton Warrenville South, the Redhawks are certainly green.

But Central is off to a solid start. After Thursday's 5-2 DuPage Valley Conference win over the Tigers, the Redhawks are 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the conference. They beat West Aurora 4-3 on Tuesday.

"They're learning a lot," senior Meghan Griffin said of her young teammates. "We only have two returning varsity players. They're doing well. There are still some things that we need to work on. We need to work on putting shots away when we need to, but we're getting better."

Griffin and junior Edeline Chen picked up a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles for Central. Griffin has had to adjust to a new partner on the fly this season after senior Sonia Nilakhe was forced out for the season with a shoulder injury.

After an impressive sophomore season with the varsity, Nilakhe missed all of last season with an injury to that shoulder, attempted a comeback, and had to be shut down again.

"She worked hard; she came back," Central coach Don Bonet said. "Two weeks into the season, the doctor said no more. I feel sorry for her. It's her senior year. But it's an injury that we have to deal with."

Griffin is now teamed with Chen.

"It's just an adjustment, getting a feel for each other," Bonet said. "Some days they look real good together. Other days, they're still working out the kinks."

Freshman Cindy Liu has stepped into the No. 1 singles role for Central, no small task in the always-rugged DVC. She fell to fellow freshman Keisha Clousing Thursday, 6-0, 6-1.

"She's fit in well," Bonet said. "I think what helps her is the fact that we have some other young kids on the team. It's not like she's the only freshman with a bunch of seniors. They're able to group around together, so it's nice for them. She's done a great job of just fitting in and maintaining her poise at first singles."

Sophomore Maria Mihailescu (No. 2) and senior Melody Chiang (No. 3) also recorded singles wins Thursday. Junior Jennifer Lee and sophomore Lisa Huang (No. 2) and senior Allie Madonia and freshman Meaghan Bedigian (No. 4) notched doubles wins.