Center Grove’s Daksh Patel hits a return during Saturday’s semistate match against Columbus North.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
Columbus North junior Parth Shah admitted he had plenty of nerves in trying in the final minutes of his match.
With the semistate match against host Center Grove tied 2-2, Shah closed out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over senior Max Williams at No. 2 singles to give the second-ranked Bull Dogs a 3-2 decision over the No. 12 Trojans Saturday afternoon.
“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.”
The Bull Dogs (22-1) will play No. 15 Floyd Central, who edged Avon 3-2 in the Jasper Semistate, in a state quarterfinal Friday 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.
Bull Dogs coach Kendal Hammel said he also expected Saturday’s match would come down to a 3-2 decision. The Bull Dogs defeated Center Grove 3-2 Sept. 7.
Bull Dogs junior Hank Lin improved to 18-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Center Grove junior Tyler Lane at No. 1 singles.
Beasley said Lane played better than the first meeting.
“He had some break points he wasn’t able to convert,” he said.
North’s 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 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 also remain in running for the individual state 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.”
Beasley said he didn’t know what to expect this season.
“We lost a No. 2 singles player (Loc Pham) who didn’t play for us this year,” Beasley said. “That was a killer to the program. The guys stepped up big time, and very well could have won that match today and gone on to the state finals. I’m very proud of the team. They fought to the very end and end and they never gave up.”
Beasley said he didn’t know if Patel was going to be able to play in the semistate.
“Patel came back really strong,” Beasley said. “He had no pain today, so we’re thankful for that.”
Sophomore Jack Dybwad, who played when Patel was out in the postseason, also returns next fall. So does sophomore Louis Teed, who was injured late in regular season.
“Louis was higher on the depth chart and would have played in the sectional and regional in Patel’s spot if he wasn’t hurt,” Beasley said.
