Naperville Central badminton hosts Waubonsie Valley in their final DVC matchup of the season. Both teams hope to finish conference play on a high note before conference championship matchups. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville Central badminton and Waubonsie split the top two doubles matches
Central’s Megan Moreno and Zoey Tian matchup against Waubonsie’s Tisha Dubey and Vaishnavi Cheedepudi in one doubles.
Both sides are able to keep up with the back-and-forth rally. While approaching the net, Cheedepudi sends a fast shot toward Tian, which ends the rally.
After the Warrior serve, Moreno and Tian each respond with nice returns. Tian puts an end to the rally, playing it short for the score. The Redhawks get the tough first set win 24-22 as they look to get the two-set victory.
Early in the second set, Cheedepudi starts with a well-placed return before moving back for a powerful return. Cheedepudi gets enough touch on the return, which the Redhawks are unable to send back.
Another back-and-forth begins as both teams look to capitalize. While approaching the net, Tian perfectly places a shot in the corner as the Warriors are unable to keep it going. Moreno and Tian get the two-set victory for the Redhawks.
Now over to the two doubles action between Warriors Hana Rahman and Harshita Baskaran and Central’s Hannah Chu and Yinuo Zhang.
After the Redhawk serves, the rally doesn’t last long as Chu gets enough touch on her return for the score for Central.
Zhang and Baskaran exchange nice returns before Rahman attacks the net and sends a nice shot in between Zhang and Chu for the point.
The Warriors take control as they look to wrap this up. Baskaran goes for the smash, which the Redhawks cannot return. Baskaran and Rahman get the two-set victory for Waubonsie 21-13, 21-18.
Zoey Tian closes the night with a win for Naperville Central
Time for two singles as Moreno takes on Cheedepudi. Moreno sends multiple shots towards the backline, which Cheedepudi gets back for each return. Moreno gets the birdie to drop just over the net for the point.
After the serve, both players share a rally with a series of rapid returns. Cheedepudi’s final shot is out of Moreno’s reach while remaining in play for the point.
Intense from start to finish, Cheedepudi comes out on top after playing it short to put an end to the rally. Cheedepudi gets the hard-fought two-set victory, 22-20, 21-18.
Ending the night off with two of the area’s best, Waubonsie’s Tisha Dubey and Central’s Zoey Tian, in one singles.
Both Dubey and Tian move around the court to keep the rally going. Dubey puts an end to the rally with a powerful strike for the point.
After moving to the back line, Tian sends a nice shot for the return, which Dubey is unable to return.
Looking to close the night out with one more win for Central, Tian keeps the Warrior close to the net as the rally comes to an end, as Dubey can’t get the power she needs behind her shot. Tian gets the two-set victory 24-22, 21-13.
Naperville Central racks up a pile of wins in the other matches, ending conference play with a 12-3 victory over Waubonsie Valley.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
