Boys' Tennis News

by: Boys Tennis Contributor

At Tuesday’s Section 2 Doubles Tournament, both of NA’s teams won two rounds to advance to the semi-finals. Seeded #2 and #8 overall, both teams made quick work of their first-round opponents. The Tigers #1 team of senior Matthew Kampi and junior Ashwin Sudhakar took on the #2 team from Pine-Richland comprised of Eisenhower Faust and Darren Lee. The tandem had onlookers questioning how they weren’t given the #1 seed as they dominated from start to finish in a decisive 10-1 victory. Meanwhile, NA’s #2 team made up of a pair of juniors in Shivum Telang and Ronit Ginde, played against the #1 team from Butler, consisting of Ryan Conaway and Landin Schooley. They also got off to a hot start which enabled them to cruise to a 10-3 win.

In the quarterfinals, it was more of the same from Kampi and Sudhakar as they downed Jackson Brandt and Trent Gordon from Seneca Valley. Although facing a step up in competition, the tandem left no doubt as to who would be advancing to the semifinals by routing their Raider opponents, 10-1. The upset of the tournament came from Tigers #2 team as they faced off against the #1 overall seed in Sewickley Academy’s Ben Terrell and Finn Wentz. Perhaps feeling a little disrespected by their low seed, Telang and Ginde proved that they are not the average eight seed. In the seesaw battle, the pair got off to an early 5-2 lead, only to see that lead largely evaporate to 6-5. Another run, put the Tigers up 9-6, but SA answered to make it 9-8. Finally, Telang held serve to put the match on ice, 10-8.

Both teams’ excellent play today assured that they will advance to the WPIAL Championships next week.

However, the section tournament must first be decided. The two teams will return to action on Wednesday in the semifinals hoping to set up another all-NA final.

The penultimate matches are set to begin at 1:00 PM with the championship and consolation matches to follow at the NASH courts.

Tournament Summary

First Round
#2 Ashwin Sudhakar/Matthew Kampi (NA) def. #15 Eisenhower Faust/Darren Lee (PR) 10-1
#8 Shivum Telang/Ronit Ginde (NA) def. #9 Ryan Conaway/Landin Schooley (BUT) 10-3

Quarterfinals
#2 Ashwin Sudhakar/Matthew Kampi (NA) def. #7 Jackson Brandt/Trent Gordon (SV) 10-1
#8 Shivum Telang/Ronit Ginde (NA) def. #1 Ben Terrell/Finn Wentz (SA) 10-8