Columbus North’s Hank Lin hits a forehand at No. 1 singles during Saturday’s semistate match at Center Grove.
Chris Williams | For The Republic
By Mark Ambrogi
For The Republic
GREENWOOD — Columbus North junior Parth Shah admitted he had plenty of nerves trying in the final minutes of his match.
With the semistate match tied 2-2, Shah closed out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Center Grove senior Max Williams at No. 2 singles to give the second-ranked Bull Dogs a 3-2 decision over the No. 12 Trojans Saturday at the Center Grove High School tennis courts.
“There was a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotion going with the crowd,” Shah said. “I was feeling good. I had the lead. Coming in, we knew we should have No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, and we just needed that third spot. Luckily, I was able to do it. The wind was crazy. I was trying to stay hydrated and stay positive. There are always ups and downs in a tennis match.”
North (22-1) will play No. 15 Floyd Central, which edged Avon 3-2 in the Jasper semistate, at noon Friday in the state quarterfinals at Center Grove.
“We knew this was going to go down to the wire,” Center Grove coach David Beasley said. “It just comes down to a couple of points. It was windy today, and the elements weren’t the greatest. That can sometimes help a team. It depends who can handle the wind better. Parth Shah handled the wind a little bit better than Max did.”
The Trojans finished with a 21-6 record. The Bull Dogs captured their sixth consecutive semistate title.
“At the start of the season, that was our goal (to return to state finals), but we still have work to do,” Shah said.
North coach Kendal Hammel said he also expected Saturday’s match would come down to a 3-2 decision. The Bull Dogs had defeated Center Grove 3-2 on Sept. 7.
North junior Hank Lin improved to 18-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Center Grove junior Tyler Lane at No. 1 singles.
The Bull Dogs’ No. 1 doubles team of seniors Amrit Kar and Anvar Atram improved to 25-1 by beating juniors Dimitri Kandris and Carson Bush 6-2, 6-4.
“We knew No. 1 and No. 2 singles are our strong spots,” Hammel said. “They beat them at No. 2 and 3 singles last time, and we beat them at No. 2 doubles. This was a bit of a flip flop this time. It was exciting. I’m very proud of the guys. They believed in them, and that was the key. They had to believe in themselves as a team and as individuals.”
Center Grove junior Daksh Patel defeated North senior Austin Clark 6-1, 7-5 at No. 3 singles.
Patel had played No. 2 singles in the first meeting, but played No. 3 singles Saturday because this was his first match of the postseason after suffering a knee injury right before sectional play.
The Trojans’ No. 2 doubles team of junior Quinn Smith and freshman Yuvraj Dasari topped Michael Crossman and Yoki Murabayashi 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.
North’s No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles remain in running for the individual titles.
“We are saying all year this could be our season of champions,” Hammel said.”We’ve got a lot of potential here. We still have to prove it. We hope to keep playing tennis for the next couple of weeks.”
