Columbus North’s Hank Lin hits a shot in a No.1 singles tennis match against Columbus East’s Erik Takahashi at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Aside from each other, another opponent that the Columbus North and Columbus East boys tennis teams were battling Tuesday afternoon was the weather.
The heat and humidity that has soared into the 90s for afternoon highs didn’t have a factor on the match, however, as the third-ranked Bull Dogs made quick work of the Olympians in a 5-0 victory at the North tennis courts.
Staying hydrated during the match was a key point of discussion for both teams heading into Tuesday’s match.
“We did fine. Playing this past weekend (at the Jeffersonville Invitational) and playing two matches in one day, I think that helped us a little bit. Short matches helped out, as well,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “We really talked a lot about being prepared and drinking, drinking and drinking a lot (Monday) and during the day for today’s match. In that conditioning with what we had, it was fine. We did what we needed to do. We took care of business for the most part and ready to move on to our next matches. They’re only going to get tougher.”
Parth Shah beat Brady Redelman at No. 2 singles, and Amrit Kar and Anvay Atram defeated Jacob Dettmer and Ethan Bumbalough at No. 1 singles by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
Hank Lin topped Erik Takahashi at No. 1 singles, and Michael Crossman and Yoki Murabayashi defeated Henry Ulrich and Iynigo Tan at No. 2 doubles by scores of 6-0, 6-1. Austin Clark beat Tyler Ernst 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
“I had a lot of water and a lot of Gatorade today. My coach always told me to hydrate and drink a lot of liquids. I made sure I stayed on top of that,” Clark said. “I got in the groove and was just rallying back-and-forth and setting up the points and trying not to focus a ton on the heat and put it in the back of my mind.”
East coach Matt Malinsky said he worked with the Olympians (0-3) to prepare for Tuesday’s heat.
“We worked a lot the last couple of days on being ready for the heat. We did a fine job. No one collapsed, nobody was struggling physically. The matches weren’t incredibly long, so that’s not a huge risk under those circumstances,” Malinsky said. “I’ve been happy with the preparation they’ve been doing. It’s a tough matchup, so there’s only so much you can do under those matchups. I feel good about the effort level. I saw a lot of good shots. It’s just tough to make that translate into the scoreboard.”
