As the Nos. 2 and 3 singles players for Columbus North this spring, Shweta Srinivasan and Jaline Tay played against each other numerous times in practice.
This morning, they’ll play against each other with a city junior tennis championship on the line. They’ll meet in the 18-and-under singles final at 9 a.m. at North.
“We’re good friends, so it will be a good competition between us,” Srinivasan said. “We’ve played each other in the past, and I’ve beat her, and she’s beat me, so it will just depend on who’s hitting better. It can go either way.”
Srinivasan, who will be a senior, is the top seed in the bracket. She beat Abby Johnson of Hauser 6-1, 6-1 in Saturday’s semifinals.
Tay, who will be a sophomore, is the No. 2 seed. She beat Soumya Paliwal 6-0, 6-2 in the semis.
Tay, who is only 14, said tournament director Mike Burt encouraged her to play in the 18 division to face better competition. There is no girls 16 division and no women’s open division.
“I’ve never played 18s before, so it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m really excited,” Tay said. “Sometimes, she wins. Sometimes, I win. So it will be really interesting, and it will be fun.”
In the Girls 14 division, top-seed Aya Saad beat Radhika Chandra, and No. 2 seed Japneet Kaur topped Grace Riordan, both by 6-0, 6-1 scores. Saad and Kaur will meet for the title at 9 a.m. today.
The Boys 16 final will feature a pair of incoming sophomores who played JV for North last year and could battle for varsity spots this fall. Top-seed Joseph Kloepfer advanced after beating Coltan Henderson of Edinburgh 7-5, 6-2.
“I did not play good the first set, but I still pulled out, and then second set, I finally got the nerves out and played well,” Kloepfer said. “I think (today) will be a little tougher. I was kind of nervous for the first round, but I think I’ll play a lot better (today).”
Kloepfer will play in today’s 9 a.m. final against Shawn Joseph, who survived a third-set supertiebreaker against another North incoming sophomore, Jacob Shinkle. Shawn Joseph prevailed 6-4, 3-6, (10-8).
“My backhands were not doing too good, but by forehands were pretty good,” Shawn Joseph said. “Jacob played pretty well, too, so it was a pretty fun and interesting match. Joseph (Kloepfer) was the best freshman on the team last year, so it’s going to be very tough to defeat him.”
The other final to be played at 9 a.m. today will be in the Junior 14 division, a mixed division for beginners. Teddy Littrell, who beat Carson Fu 6-4, and Parth Gupta, who downed Issa Imanka 6-4, will meet for the title.
The boys 14 semifinals will be played at 9 a.m., with the final to follow at 11:30 a.m. Top-seed Anvay Atram will meet No. 3-seed Ronit Jha, and No. 2-seed Armitanshu Kar will face No. 4-seed Parth Shah in the semis.
One title was decided on Saturday. Lauren Degner beat Gabe Howe 6-2 to capture the Junior 10 division.
Play also began in the men’s open singles and doubles brackets. In doubles, North graduates and No. 3-seeds Anthony Sanders and Rahul Jha beat Stephen Fuller and Ethan Fuller 6-0, 6-2 to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals.
