NA Doubles reach Quarterfinals of WPIAL Tournament
by: Boys Tennis Contributor
At Tuesday’s WPIAL doubles championship, both of NA’s regular doubles teams played some high-level tennis against some of the best players in the area at the North Allegheny High School courts.
In the first round, the fifth-seeded team of senior Nick Scheuring and junior Adhav Ramadas fell behind early but battled back against the strong Franklin Regional team of Prem Nadasen and Arnesh Parua. After getting down 3-2, the pair rallied to win eight of the next nine games to decide the match 10-3. The 10th seeded team of sophomores Shivum Telang and Ronit Ginde pulled off the only real upset of the tournament as they dropped the seventh-seeded team of Sai Chaudry and Kiran Tevar from Shady Side Academy. The duo got out to an early 4-1 lead only to see Shady Side battle back to tie the match at 4-4. The Tiger tandem then won 4 straight to go up 8-4. Shady Side once again rallied to make it 8-7, but NA got a late break to clinch the seesaw affair.
In the quarterfinals, Telang and Ginde fell behind early to the #2 overall seeded Mt. Lebanon team of Luca Ritivoi and Mark Summers, 4-1 and 9-3. However, the pair never quit and gave the Blue Devils all they could handle before falling 10-7. In the other Elite Eight matchup, Scheuring and Ramadas also took on a higher seeded team in Ari Plutko and Shawn Khurana from Upper St. Clair. The back-and-forth matchup saw each team break and hold early as they raced to a 3-3 tie. After a no-break saw USC go ahead, the Tiger duo battled back to go in front 6-5. Unfortunately, the serve of Plutko proved to be the difference as the Panthers prevailed 10-7. Both teams performed admirably and lived up to their seeds.
Next up, North Allegheny travels to perennial powerhouse Upper St. Clair for a non-section tilt on Thursday. This key matchup will prove pivotal for both teams as they head into next week’s WPIAL Team Championships. Match time is set for 3:30 PM.
Tournament Summary
First Round
#5 Nick Scheuring/Adhav Ramadas (NA) def. #12 Prem Nadasen/Arnesh Parua (FR) 10-3
#10 Shivum Telang/Ronit Ginde (NA) def. #7 Sai Chaudry/Kiran Tevar (SSA) 10-7
Quarterfinals
#2 Luca Ritivoi/Mark Summers def. #10 Shivum Telang/Ronit Ginde (NA) 10-7
#4 Ari Plutko/Shawn Khurana def. #5 Nick Scheuring/Adhav Ramadas (NA) 10-7
