The Carmel boys tennis team has racked up some impressive streaks over the years, such as four straight state titles and an 83-0 record over the past four seasons.
One streak that doesn’t get as much attention – and probably should – is the Greyhounds’ current streak at the prestigious John Shirley Invitational. This year’s tournament took place Saturday at North Central’s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center, and Carmel won with 53 points. The John Shirley usually attracts some of the top teams in the state, and this year was no exception: Seven of the eight teams in the Shirley (first) division are ranked in the top 20 in the first IHSTeCA poll of the year.
“We played well today,” said Carmel coach Bryan Hanan. He said this early-season event gives the Greyhounds an idea “of any changes we need to make or what improvements, and I feel like today we did some good things. We did some things we needed to improve upon. It’s a good start to our season. Some really good teams here.”
The No. 1-ranked Greyhounds won four of the five flights: Broc Fletcher at No. 1 singles, Eli Mercer at No. 3 singles, Jones McNamar and Srisanth Malpeddi at No. 1 doubles, and Corbin King and Jack Jentz at No. 2 doubles. No. 2 singles Ethan Eckhard finished third.
“We’ve got some new kids taking new positions this year,” said Hanan. “Probably more than any year, we’ll probably make more changes than maybe we have in the past. We’ve got a group of guys that we can interchange in almost any position. So, we’ll see how things go.”
Hamilton Southeastern, ranked No. 10 in the coaches poll, placed second in the team standings with 27 points. The Royals were led by runner-up finishes from Rohan Golla at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Abhi Chaddha and Brandon Sogocio.
“I thought we played great overall,” said Southeastern coach Kirk Webber. “Our goal was to finish in the top three, so obviously really happy with second place. Guys played great. I think this is the best we’ve ever finished here. We talked about making a statement in this tournament because we knew that the top two or three was possible.”
No. 3 singles Andrew Orme and the No. 1 doubles team of Andrew Spirrison and Paul Schneider both took third in their respective flights. No. 1 singles Aiden De Witt finished in fifth place.
“I was proud of the boys,” said Webber. “We came out and won all five matches in the first round, which was a great start for us. Then finished with two strong wins in the last round.”
Hamilton Southeastern placed second with 27 points and had runner-up finishes in two flights: Rohan Golla (left) at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Abhi Chaddha (center) and Brandon Sogocio. (Richie Hall)