Tennis ranks first in preseason polls
First serve set for March 30
Joe & Linda Stern
Senior Deepak Indrakanti is one of four seniors to play on the team. They will travel to Northern Ohio on March 30 to take on St. Ignatius and Massillon Jackson. According to OhioTennisZone.net, they are ranked first in the pre-season poll.
After claiming the first Ohio Tennis Coaches Association (OTCA) Division One State Team Title in school history in 2014, the Varsity A tennis team is back on the courts preparing for their first match of the 2015 campaign.
Returning starters from last year are seniors Deepak Indrakanti, Nakul Narendran, Alex Wittenbaum, Aditya Vekitrarama, junior Alex Taylor, and sophomore Noah Stern. Class of ’14 Mustafa Ahmad’s spot on the team will be taken by a sophomore Regis Liou and freshman Nathan Zhang.
“Losing the defending OHSAA Doubles State Champion is always going to be a huge loss. I am confident that the team will not be affected by his absence and will surely do great things this year,” Stern said.
“Ahmad was extremely clutch for us last season. When we needed him to win, he did. However, I am still confident that we are one of the best teams in the state without him,” Indrakanti said.
The team will open the season with their annual spring break trip to Northern Ohio. This year, they take on St. Ignatius (pre-season ranked third), and Massillon Jackson (pre-season ranked sixth). To see the full pre-season rankings, click here.
“It will be cool to travel as a team up to Cleveland. Even though we will be playing our first two matches, we will treat them as if we are already in midseason form,” Venkitarama said.
“The matches will put ourselves to the test early on in the season to see what we need to work on to achieve our goals later on” Narendran said.
After spring break, they will come home and begin Greater Miami Conference (GMC) play. Mason, Colerain, and Lakota East finished second through fourth respectively in conference play last season (SHS finished first).
Other notable matches throughout the season come against Toledo St. Johns (pre-season ranked second), Cincinnati Country Day School (defending Division Two State champions), and Louisville St. Xavier (defending Kentucky State champions).
“We are excited to test ourselves with these tough matches. They motivate us to practice harder and with a greater purpose,” Taylor said.
The team will leave to open their season at St. Ignatius on Mar. 30. Follow @aves10s on Twitter for post-match scores and updates.
