Boys Tennis: Arledge, Patel earn Olentangy Orange Pioneers’ top state finish

After playing singles in the regular season, senior Parth Patel and junior Kallan Arledge teamed for doubles in the Division I postseason and set a new standard for the Olentangy Orange boys tennis team.

The duo defeated Dublin Jerome’s Max Fickas and Tanish Pairu 7-5, 6-4 in the consolation final to place third in the state tournament May 28 at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

It was the best finish at state for the program, which had been represented three previous times in doubles and has never had a qualifier in singles. Jordan Phelps and Jonathan Zhuravel (2016), Alex Heiden and Phelps (2018) and Heiden and Soham Pradhan (2019) all went 1-1.

“Credit to my guys because they never gave up and played with a lot of heart,” coach Matt Rutherford said. “They represented our school and our families in the Central District really, really well.”

Patel and Arledge also defeated Fickas and Pairu 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the program’s second district title May 21 at Olentangy. Heiden and Pradhan won in 2019.

“We’re pretty good friends (with the Jerome players) and it makes it more competitive but also fun at the same time playing them,” Arledge said.

The duo defeated Mason’s Vamshi Singidi and Aron Dornhecker 6-3, 6-2 in their state opener and beat Kevin Dong and Arjun Rajagopala of Cincinnati Sycamore 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the second day. In a semifinal, they lost to eventual champion Anish Gangavaram and Akshay Joshi of Mason 6-3, 6-2.

“Mason rattled off four games in a row,” Rutherford said. “We were up 3-2 and they ended up winning 6-3, but really all the credit goes to that Mason team. They really hit some incredible shots when they needed to. There were a lot of back-and-forth points. They made us play two or three extra shots that we’re not used to playing.”

Patel said he and Arledge work well together on the court.

“We both have good volleys, so my serve and his serve sets each other up for easy put-aways,” said Patel, who will play at Southwestern in Austin, Texas. “We just know what we’re going to do.”

Orange had three singles players and two doubles teams qualify for district. Sophomore Eric Tang went 1-1, and sophomore Zach Haar and freshman Dhruv Kapadia both were 0-1. Juniors Nick Clifford and Austin Jackson were 0-1 in doubles.

The Pioneers finished 12-2 overall and won their second consecutive OCC-Central Division championship by going 5-0.

“We have three freshmen coming in next year that will be on varsity immediately, including Parth’s twin brothers,” Rutherford said.

•When rain moved the opening day of the Division I district tournament from May 18 to May 19, it created a problem for Liberty’s doubles team of juniors Hummza Ali and Jay Ramakkagari.

Ramakkagari had an AP biology test May 19, which pushed the team’s state-qualifying match to 4:30 p.m.

The duo defeated Olentangy’s Trevor Gerald and Sujan Sriram 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round that morning.

Coach Adrian Tolentino wasn’t concerned the duo would lose focus after the long layoff and they proved him right. Ali and Ramakkagari defeated Berlin’s Logan Van Horne and Kathir Maarikarthykeyan 6-0, 6-2 to qualify for state.

“We had a really, really tough first round, so I wanted (Ali) to hydrate and get some rest,” Tolentino said. “For Jay, it’s a little different of a story. I wanted to tell him to get some rest, but with having to take the test, it was not so easy. I think (Ramakkagari) was able to turn it off for about three or four hours.

“They’re clutch. They were locked in (against Berlin). I know that my boys strive to be clutch players on and off the court.”

Ali and Ramakkagari finished third at district and fell to Sycamore’s Nick Meyers and Mark Karev 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in the first round at state May 27.

“It’s not fun to lose in the first round, but when you go three sets with the (eventual state) runner-up, it speaks for itself,” said Tolentino, who was OCC-Central co-Coach of the Year with Orange’s  Rutherford. “The guys left it all on the court.”

Ramakkagari and Ali played first and second singles for the Patriots, who went 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Central.

“We’ll be dangerous (next season),” Tolentino said. “It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to for next year. The guys are great to work with, especially Jay and Hummza. You know that these guys are willing to work each and every day to get better and you know what their potential could be.”

—Michael Rich

sports@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekSports

LIBERTY

•Record: 11-4 overall 

•OCC-Central standings: Orange (5-0), Liberty (4-1), Dublin Coffman (3-2), Upper Arlington (2-3), Hilliard Bradley (1-4), Hilliard Davidson (0-5)

•Seniors lost: Aryaman Dubey, Christian Riley and Nolan Russell

•Key returnees: Hummza Ali, Krish Badri, Marcus Bode and Jay Ramakkagari

ORANGE

•Record: 12-2 overall

•Seniors lost: Jayshuk Pandrangi and Parth Patel

•Key returnees: Kallan Arledge, Nick Clifford, Zach Haar, Austin Jackson, Dhruv Kapadia and Eric Tang

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Tennis: Doubles team earns Olentangy Orange’s top state finish