Tense tiebreaker gives South 3-2 victory
Sep. 9—The first Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South varsity tennis match for South sophomore Vatsal Mannepalli was probably one he'll remember for awhile.
After winning his first set easily on Thursday evening at North, Vatsal found himself in a spirited battle with North's Connor Bishop in the second set, Bishop coming from behind to take a 6-5 lead before the South sophomore won a game and sent the set to a tiebreaker.
That was a tiebreaker with the team score even at 2-2, meaning all eyes were on the two players at No. 2 singles who were playing for the match, if Vatsal came out on top, or playing to force a third set and test the Patriots' tennis court lights, if Bishop continued his momentum. Bishop's teammates went back and forth to support him on either side of the net, and every point was acknowledged with a roar.
"It was nerve-racking," Mannepalli said after his 9-7 tiebreaker score gave the visiting Braves a 3-2 win and the retention of the Racket Trophy and saved a few dollars of electrical costs. "I was down a couple of times [in the tiebreaker] . . . I could have won so many times."
"It was kind of distracting," said Vatsal's twin brother Vaishant.
Vaishant paused while serving in the final game at No. 1 singles to watch what he hoped would be match point earlier, only to have Bishop fight that off in the 10th game. "I had a 5-2 lead [in the second set], so I wasn't worried about my match."
South had the first point of the match in a little over an hour, after Raghav Bakshi and Connor Hatch made short work of the second set at No. 1 doubles. Then the Patriots answered with points from Gabe Dunbar, who won at least the last nine games at No. 3 singles, and Dru Long and Cole Marts, who put together some winning spurts at No. 2 doubles.
Thus the match came down to South's twins, who had appeared to be sure things early in the match.
"It was a lot closer than any coach would like," said South coach Ethan Caldwell afterward. "We're an incredibly young team, with a lot of first-year varsity members."
"The guys had a lot of energy tonight, a lot of spirit," said North coach Matt Wilson. "Our two doubles was out of sight, Gabe Dunbar had a great match and played like a leader, and Connor Bishop played his heart out."
"It feels good [to beat North], it feels really good," said Vaishant Mannepalli. "I think that's 10 in a row [vs. the Patriots; Caldwell can confirm six]."
"We'll continue to work on our craft, try to get as good as we can be by the end of the season," Caldwell said. "This was good for [the Braves'] morale and gives us a lot of confidence going into our invitational on Saturday."
"Definitely the sectional will be a fun time," Wilson concluded.
