Tennis team ready for competition to begin

Some of the matches highlighted on the Varsity Gold tennis schedule are at Mason on Apr. 10, Upper Arlington on Apr. 12, and at St. Xavier on May 7. All three teams have been conditioning since Aug. in preparation for the season. The teams’ first match is on Apr.3 at St. Ignatius in Cleveland. Photo by Alex Wittenbaum.

After a long offseason filled with intense conditioning, the Varsity Gold, Green, and Junior Varsity (JV) tennis teams have been finalized, and the start of the season is near.

On Mar. 24, the season schedule was announced for the Varsity Gold team. The team will start off the year with a spring break trip to Cleveland, to take on three different teams over three days.

“I am really excited for our trip up to Cleveland. We have been working really hard, and now it is time to show what we have done,” said Aditya Venkitarama, 11.

After the trip, they team will take on Fairfield for their first Greater Miami Conference (GMC) match of the year. This will also be the first official match SHS’ new tennis facility.

Story continues below advertisement

“It will be great to debut our new courts against Fairfield. I know that we wil be extra pumped because it is our first home match,” said Noah Stern, 9.

Other matches that highlight the schedule are at Mason High School on Apr. 10, at Upper Arlington on Apr. 12, Versus Toledo St. Johns on Apr. 19, and at St. Xavier on May 7. Each team ranked in the top five in the final State rankings last year.

“Our schedule is stacked this year. We play a good amount of quality teams. I am confident that my teammates and I will be able to get the job done though,” said Mustafa Ahmad, 12.

The team will end the year with the Sectional, District, and State Championships. They will also compete in the Ohio Coaches Tennis Association (OCTA) State Team Tournament.

Here is the complete roster for the Varsity Gold Team:

Mustafa Ahmad, 12
Nakul Narendran, 11
Deepak Indrakanti, 11
Alex Wittenbaum, 11
Aditya Venkitarama, 11
Alex Taylor, 10
Noah Stern, 9

About the Contributor

Alex Wittenbaum, Sports Chief

I am a senior on the Leaf Staff and I hold the title of sports chief. I manage the Sports Center section on shsleaf.org and help design and write for the number one high school newspaper in Ohio, The Leaf. I am an avid sports fan. I love following and watching my favorite teams play, such as the Indiana Pacers, the Cincinnati Reds and the Bengals, and the New York Yankees. My idol is Derek Jeter. I strive to be like him and model my life as he lives his. I also love to play tennis. I was a part of the 2014 State Championship tennis team. It is my biggest accomplishment in sports so far, and I recently signed to play college tennis at Marian University in Indianapolis.