Boys Tennis: Olentangy Berlin Bears fall just short of state tournament

The Olentangy Berlin boys tennis team crept closer to having its first Division I state qualifier, but fell short on the opening day of the district tournament May 19 at Olentangy.

Junior singles player Josh McKnight and the doubles team of senior Kathir Maarikarthykeyan and sophomore Logan Van Horne both lost in state-qualifying matches.

McKnight won his opening-round match against Dublin Coffman’s Dhruv Kapadia 6-0, 6-1 before losing to Worthington Kilbourne’s Owen Alderman 6-1, 6-3.

“I’m not happy with the final match, but I’m happy with the season overall,” said McKnight, who lost in the opening round of district last season. “I went a step further, and it’s all about the process.”

Maarikarthykeyan and Van Horne defeated Orange’s Nick Clifford and Austin Jackson 6-1, 6-4 before falling to Liberty’s Hummza Ali and Jayanth Ramakkagari 6-0, 6-2.

“The doubles team played fantastic, and they were just excited to get to district,” said second-year coach Richard Hunt, whose team finished 12-5. “They have been playing their best tennis of the year at the right time. They played great, winning in straight sets (in the opener) against a really good team.

“Josh played a great first match and played well in the second match. (Kilbourne’s) coach (Stephen Metzmaier) said (Alderman) played one of the best matches he has ever played. It’s tough when someone is playing at a high level like that.”

McKnight went 5-0 to win a sectional title May 14 at Hilliard Bradley. Maarikarthykeyan and Van Horne went 3-1 and placed third.

“I felt like I played well, and I have definitely improved from the beginning of the year,” McKnight said. “At the beginning I was still a little shaky and lost some matches that I shouldn’t have lost. I kept improving and working on stuff.

“Next year, I want to be able to better deal with people who are able to throw in those off-speed balls when you come to the net. I want to be able to do something different than hit it down the baseline. I’m working on jump-shots and adding new elements to my game. Overall, I still need to learn how to counteract what they are doing just a little better.”

Senior Samuel Gadkar and sophomore Vishal Puttagunta both played at sectional, finishing 1-1 and 0-1, respectively. Senior Aaron Dhillon and junior Jayce Boyce were 0-1 in doubles.

•Olentangy played as a unit, which was the biggest factor in its success this season.

The Braves qualified two doubles teams for the Division I district tournament. They finished 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Cardinal Division to place second behind Dublin Jerome (5-0).

Olentangy also notched wins over Berlin (5-0 on April 12), Liberty (3-2 on May 12) and Orange (3-2 on April 28).

“It’s the most cohesive team I’ve probably ever had,” coach Jeff Luxenburger said. “The guys just got along really well. They were the most coachable guys I’ve had and it was just a blast all season long.”

Senior Trevor Gerald and sophomore Sujan Sriram, who played first and second singles during the regular season, teamed up to qualify for district, where they lost to Liberty’s Ali and Ramakkagari 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

“There was a bit of a momentum shift in the middle of the match and we never quite recovered,” Luxenburger said. “But the guys played awesome. I know they were disappointed, but there was nothing to be ashamed of in the way that they played.”

Gerald and Sriram both were second-team all-league and went 9-5 and 11-2, respectively, in singles play.

Seniors Athin Shetty and Vishal Vivek were first-team all-league at second doubles.

Junior Mitch MacDowell and senior Dakshin Pisini were second-team all-league and qualified for district, falling to Jerome’s Max Fickas and Tanish Pairu 6-1, 6-0.

“(Sriram) made a huge leap from last year to this year,” Luxenburger said. “If he makes another leap, he’s going to be scary good next year. Mitch MacDowell will be a senior next year. Vedant Dave (5-3 at third singles) will be a senior next year. He’s been a singles specialist and played a lot of three. We have a lot of j.v. players this year that are definitely ready for varsity. Our j.v. team was undefeated, so we’ll still be super strong next year.”

–Michael Rich

•There’s plenty to look forward to for Delaware Hayes, which expects to return two of its top three singles players in junior Gabe Fogle and sophomore Grant Lamar.

Fogle, who was first-team all-OCC-Capital, went 12-4 at first singles and qualified for the Division I district tournament, where he fell to Coffman’s Nik Shough 6-0, 6-0.

“It was a rough one for him (at district),” coach Gary Hibinger said. “He didn’t play as well as he would have liked to. But obviously, (he had) a fantastic season overall. It was a good learning experience for him.”

Lamar, who was third-team all-league, went 10-6 this season, including 7-3 at third singles.

Senior Ryder Kardas was named second-team all-league after going 10-5, including 10-4 at second singles. The Pacers also lose seniors Joe Molina and Ryne Higgins, both of whom played doubles.

“We lose three seniors,” Hibinger said. “But I think we’ll be really good next year if the kids work hard this summer and fall. (They need to work on) foot speed (and) playing at these higher levels – just the pace of the game. But I think a lot of them have committed to working really hard this summer.”

–Michael Rich

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BERLIN

•Record: 12-5 overall

•OCC-Cardinal standings: Dublin Jerome (5-0), Olentangy (4-1), Berlin (3-2), Thomas Worthington (2-3), Marysville (1-4), Hilliard Darby (0-5)

•Seniors lost: Aaron Dhillon, Samuel Gadkar, Kathir Maarikarthykeyan and Matthew Rao 

•Key returnees: Jayce Boyce, Josh McKnight, Vishal Puttagunta and Logan Van Horne

DELAWARE

•Record: 9-7 overall 

•OCC-Capital standings: Dublin Scioto (7-0), Big Walnut (6-1), Worthington Kilbourne (5-2), Delaware (4-3), Westerville North (3-4), Westerville South (2-5), Canal Winchester (1-6), Franklin Heights (0-7)

•Seniors lost: Ryne Higgins, Ryder Kardas and Joe Molina

•Key returnees: Gabe Fogle and Grant Lamar

OLENTANGY

•Record: 13-2 overall 

•Seniors lost: Trevor Gerald, Dakshin Pisini, Athen Shetty, Sammy Thotapalli and Vishal Vivek

•Key returnees: Mitch MacDowell and Sujan Sriram

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Tennis: Olentangy Berlin falls just short of state