Suffolk swept the Ironclad Conference tennis tournament for boys’ singles and doubles on Friday as Nansemond River High School produced the singles champion and Lakeland High School produced the doubles winner at Huntington Park in Newport News.

Warriors senior No. 1 player Nipun Chhabra used discipline to defeat Denbigh High School senior No. 1 player Josh Ramey in the singles final.

“What I was really proud of was that he was able to encompass the style of play needed to beat the kid,” Nansemond River coach Darryl Yandle said.

He noted Chhabra likes to play a fast, aggressive game against an opponent who likes playing that way as well, and Chhabra was resistant to deviating from this style during the regular season and even some during the postseason.

“Against some of the competition he went up against, he could get away with it and still win,” Yandle said.

In the regular season, Chhabra went 8-6 overall and 5-0 in the conference.

But there was reason to believe that beating Ramey on Friday was going to be a challenge requiring something different from the norm.

When Nansemond River faced Denbigh during the regular season, Ramey did not play.

In the recent conference team tournament, the Warriors claimed the wins required to advance to the final without Chhabra and Ramey needing to finish their match. But when they stopped playing, Ramey was in the lead.

Then, in the doubles tournament this week, NR’s No. 1-seeded team of Chhabra and senior Malcolm Nurse fell in the semifinals 6-3, 6-3 to a Denbigh pair that featured Ramey.

“I felt confident that Nipun could beat him, but he had to use a style of play and strategy that he doesn’t like,” Yandle said. “He had to take a little pace off the ball. He had to be patient. There were longer rallies, but he waited for the proper opportunity to attack and hit it a little bit harder.”

Initially, though, he played his normal style and was down 0-3 in the first set.

Yandle said he talked with Chhabra then and pleaded with him “to have some discipline, not over-hit, and keep the ball in play and move the kid around.”

From that point, Chhabra made the adjustments and won 12 out of the next 13 games to walk away with a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the conference singles championship match.

To reach the final, Chhabra, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, defeated Lakeland senior Lincoln Kerlee 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, after receiving a first round bye. Then, he topped King’s Fork High School senior Marcus Lathan 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Kerlee and fellow Lakeland senior Jack Boswell claimed the championship in the conference doubles tournament by defeating Denbigh’s team of Ramey and Donovan Calupitan.

The Lakeland duo will compete in the upcoming Region 4A South doubles tournament, while Chhabra will participate in the Region 4A South singles tournament.

But first, both Nansemond River and Lakeland begin play in the Region 4A South team tournament on Monday. The Warriors host Hanover High School at 11 a.m., and the Cavaliers hit the road to face Midlothian High School at noon.