Naperville Central’s girls tennis team competed in the DuPage Valley Conference Championships on Oct. 12 and fell half a point shy of the first-place title.

In a standout performance, senior Sofia Olaru secured her fourth consecutive DVC title by defeating Waubonsie Valley’s Lydia Parranto.

The team has faced an uphill battle this season, marked by unexpected illness among players.

“We have had more illness than I’ve ever experienced on a team, with people legitimately being sick,” head coach Jaclyn Kwiatt said. ¨The impact of having two to five players out on a small team each day significantly affected both practice and matches.¨

Despite these challenges, the team demonstrated ¨remarkable adaptability¨ according to Kwiatt.

“One thing the girls have done very well is roll with the situation and be flexible,” Kwiatt said, “There were some days when we didn’t know if someone would be sick, and the lineup had to change.”

Senior captains Sahana Patil, Rhea Jha, and Olaru played large roles in leading the team through the season.

“I’m really proud of the team in terms of adaptability and being able to be open-minded,” Jha said. “We had to play different positions and with different people.”