Anvay Atram
By Mark Ambrogi
For The Republic
CARMEL — There were no real surprises for Columbus North coach Kendal Hammel in Friday Boys Tennis state quarterfinals.
“The match went like we thought it would, at least on paper,” Hammel said.
The means Hammel knew the No. 1 singles match would likely decide it.
West Lafayette Harrison won easily at No. 2 and 3 singles spots, and the Bull Dogs captured the two doubles points, so it came down to No. 1 singles set with the score tied 2-all.
Harrison senior Aaron Gu defeated North sophomore Hank Lin 6-2, 6-3 to give the top-ranked Raiders a 3-2 victory over No. 4 North. Harrison (26-0) will meet No. 10 Homestead in today’s state semifinals, while No. 7 Center Grove faces No. 8 North Central in the other semifinal.
“Hank played with a lot of heart today,” Hammel said. “The No. 1 singles player for Harrison is a very good player. He probably played the wind a lot better than Hank did today. If it was a situation where we were playing straight up (without wind), Hank could have had a good shot at him.”
Lin, who finished with a 25-1 record, said the wind did affect him against Gu (26-0).
“The previous matches, it wasn’t windy at all, so it was difficult to adjust to,” Lin said. “I think he just did it way better than I did. He forced more errors. He’s a great player. I hope he goes all the way with his team. We’ll definitely learn our mistakes from this match, and it should motivate us to go farther. I have high hopes for us next year.
The Bull Dogs have won five consecutive semistates, losing to Carmel 5-0 in last year’s semifinals. In this year’s regional, Harrison beat Carmel, which had won six consecutive state titles.
“We can’t seem to get a draw in our favor, and we always have to come up against these top teams,” Hammel said. “We’re right up there, too. The draw does make a difference, but you still have to beat the players to get there.”
The Bull Dogs finished 24-3.
“We’re very proud of this team,” Hammel said. “We’ve had an exceptional year. We’re disappointed, but we hope this will make us hungry for next year, where we have almost everyone back. We can come back and take another step forward.”
Amrit Kar
However, the season isn’t quite over. Juniors Anvay Atram and Amrit Kar moved to 27-0 by beating Emerson Mohr and Daniel Zhang 6-0, 6-2 to advance to next week’s state doubles competition at Park Tudor.
“Coach tells us to adapt to the wind and use it as your strength,” Kar said. “We’ve been working on that all week with the wind (in practice), and I think we did a pretty good job today.”
Kar and Atram played No. 1 doubles together as freshmen. Last year, Kar played No. 1 doubles, while Atram played No. 3 singles.
“I feel Anvay has great groundstrokes, and I do as well, so it complements together,” Kar said. “He also has great hands, so it works together perfect. I feel we’re a very well-rounded doubles team.”
Kar and Atram have only dropped one set all season, winning a three-setter against Center Grove.
At No. 2 doubles, Parth Gupta, the Bull Dogs’ lone senior, and sophomore Parth Shah beat Henry Graham and Jonny Guerra 6-2, 6-4. Gupta and Shah concluded with a 17-2 record.
Harrison seniors Isaac Flanery and Landon Mohr didn’t drop a game in their matches. Flanery beat North junior Austin Clark at No. 2 singles, and Mohr topped Bull Dog sophomore Steven Sun at No. 3 singles. Flanery and Mohr are both unbeaten heading into today’s match. Clark ended with a 16-9 mark, while Sun finished 11-5.
