Quick 6 with Uni's Aryan Sachdev

URBANA - Undefeated yet this season, Aryan Sachdev won his fifth match last Wednesday after defeating Urbana High School's Xander Ashley at #1 singles. The two-time state qualifier and senior at Urbana University won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Photo:Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Finishing his junior year with a 13-5 record in singles and 8-1 in doubles, he is looking good for a third trip to state and a deeper run into the championship bracket.

At the 2023 IHSA state tournament, Sachdev lost his first-round match to Olney senior Evan Uhl, 6-0, 6-1. Working his way back through the consolation draw, he made quick work of Belvidere North senior Jack Dickerson, 6-1, 6-0. Later, he dropped his second-round consolation match 6-2, 6-4 to Morton's Carter Kendall.

During his state appearance his sophomore year, Sachdev finished 2-2, losing to Alleman's Nicholas Patrick and later Sterling's Brecken Peterson in an 8-game pro set. As a sophomore, he showed resilience in his two wins, the first over Rockford Christian's Chatham Mcilroy, and edging out a 9-7 victory over Highland's Tyler Kutz.

Sachdev started playing tennis when he was eight with his dad, a huge tennis fan. As he chilled with teammates after his match at Blair Park, we thought it would be a great time to hit Urbana's top prep tennis player with six questions.
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SENTINEL: What is your dream job?

SACHDEV: Dermatologist.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite pre-game meal or snack?

SACHDEV: Dave's Hot Chicken.
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SENTINEL: Three people you would like to have dinner with?

SACHDEV: Roger Federer, Barack Obama, and Prince.
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SENTINEL: Your favorite actor or actress?

SACHDEV: Leonardo DiCaprio.
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SENTINEL: Which movie describes your life so far?

SACHDEV: Diary of a Whimpy Kid.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite Taylor Swift song?

SACHDEV: Shake It Off
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Urbana Tennis Royale, Tigers lose season opener to the Illineks

URBANA - Aryan Sachdev is off to a great start on the hardcourt this spring. The Urbana University senior picked up his fifth win of the season after defeating Urbana's Xander Ashley 6-1, 6-1, on the #1 singles court on Wednesday. In fact, the Illineks took all six singles matches to prevail 8-1 over the Tigers.

It wasn't all bad for Ashley, who later partnered with teammate Luke Pankau to win their match at #3 singles.

Meanwhile, on doubles court #2, Urbana's Santi Lleras and Karl Bonita pushed their match against Uni's Robert Gao and Ian Pan to a third-set tiebreak. Dropping the first set 7-5, Gao/Pan rallied back strong to take the second 6-1. Unable to match the firepower from the University High opponents, Lleras/Bonita gave a valiant effort as the sun dipped below the horizon, losing 10-4 under the lights.

Uni plays their next home match April 11 against Paris at Atkins Tennis Center starting at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers host Matton tomorrow at Blair Park at 2 p.m.


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BOX SCORE ~

Singles:
No. 1 - Aryan Sachdev, U-High def. Xander Ashley, Urbana, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Mason Miao, U-High def. Joe Solava, Urbana, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Taehan Lee, U-High def. Ian Peters, Urbana, 6-0, 7-5
No. 4 - Swapnil Kumar, U-High def. Samuel Sherwood, Urbana, 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 - Kyle Fan, U-High def. Jack Perry, Urbana, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 - Shreyas Singh, U-High def. Santi Lleras, Urbana, 6-3, 5-7, 10-2

Doubles:
No. 1 - Taehan Lee/Swapnil Kumar, U-High def. Joe Solava/Ian Peters, Urbana, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 - Robert Gao/Ian Pan, U-High def. Santi Lleras/Karl Bonita, Urbana, 5-7, 6-1, 10-4
No. 3 - Xander Ashley/Luke Pankau, Urbana def. David Risinger/Collins Rosch, U-High, 7-5, 6-1

FINAL: University High 8 - Urbana 1


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Ashley/Pankau pick up win doubles for Urbana at home tennis match

Urbana's Xander Ashley (left) and partner Luke Pankau congratulate their opponents after their doubles match on Wednesday against U-High's David Risinger and Collins Rosch. Despite securing their win at #3 doubles, the Tigers fell 8-1 to the visiting Illineks. Urbana is back in action at Blair Park for another home match, hosting Mattoon starting at 2 p.m. on Friday. Ashley and Pankau prevailed after a 7-5 first-set nailbiter, taking the second set six games to one.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks


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