Red Raiders netters ready for season

HUNTLEY – After a first-place tie in the Fox Valley Conference tournament last year, the Huntley boys tennis team is looking to be a loop power and do well beyond in 2022.

“We want to be one of the best teams in the area and qualify for the state tournament,” Red Raiders head coach Barry Wells said.

“We have a strong lineup and good depth,” Wells said. “We graduated a large number of talented seniors last year, but we return many quality starters. We had a strong JV team last year and I am hopeful they can step into varsity spots and be successful there.”

Seniors returning are Matthew Grubbs, who finished second in the FVC at No, 2 singles and was a state qualifier in doubles; Aryaan Khalil and Varun Paruth, second place at No. 4 doubles in the league.

Junior Ben Hein was part of a runner-up tandem at No, 2 doubles in the FVC and junior Jonathon Stec was part of a winning doubles duo at No 1.

“We are trying to find a lineup that will help us be most successful as a team,” Wells said of pre-season drills. Wells enters his 18th season as the head coach for boys’ tennis.

“When I started, we struggled to fill a varsity team and now we are a respected program consistently competing for conference championships.”

HHS opens the season at the Warren Invite April 2 in Gurnee.