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The two Ches-Mont Doubles Tournament championship finals Thursday both turned out to be exciting three-set affairs, with Downingtown East’s Srivastava twins prevailing in the National Division for the third year in a row, and the Unionville sophomore pair of Matt Miller and Andrew Ou winning the American Division crown.
The National final, at West Chester Henderson High School, was an all-Downingtown East affair between the top two seeds in the bracket, while the American final at West Chester Rustin turned out to be a nip-and-tuck nailbiter in which Miller and Ou rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the third set.
Miller and Ou, the top seed in the American bracket, won the first set handily, 6-2, then the Great Valley senior twin duo of Krish and Revant Mendiratta rallied to win the second set, 6-3. The Mendiratta twins, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, took a 4-0 lead in the third set before Miller and Ou came up with a rally of their own to win, 6-4.
Unionville head coach Jimmy O’Rourke said, “Down 4-0, you almost think that, you don’t need a miracle, but a miracle would be nice. And then, all of a sudden the heart of two kids who are only sophomores but play beyond their years … this is a match (they) can build upon for more than just the next week or two.”
Ou said, “I think we brought back the energy at the end, and pumped ourselves up.”
Miller added, “We got locked in during the third set … and it worked.”
O’Rourke said, “I think the key for them in the third set was just staying with it. In the first set, they looked good, and I told them after the first set that, we know the Mendirattas and they’re going to be changing some things, so be ready to adjust. The Mendirattas beat our first doubles team in the semifinals, and played that one perfectly.”
In the American semifinals, the Mendiratta twins defeated Unionville’s Ryan Megill and Jack Barrickman, 6-4, 7-5, before going three sets against Miller and Ou.
Great Valley head coach Gerry McGrath said, “Krish and Revant had a great semifinal match and came out with high intensity at the beginning of the third set (of finals) and built a lead. The final match was a series of ebbs and flows. When (the Mendirattas) came to the net and put away volleys, that’s where they had their success. I’m proud of them. …. Hats off to Unionville, they never gave up and they forced (the Mendirattas) to play almost perfect tennis to win points.”
In the National final, the top seed, the senior twin pair of Abhiraj and Abhineet Srivastava, prevailed against the No. 2 seed, sophomore Shrihan Madam and freshman Vishruth Madam, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Last spring, the Srivastava twins won the District 1 3A doubles tournament, then finished second in the PIAA 3A state doubles championships.
“Abhiraj and Abhineet are just a natural doubles team,” said Downingtown East head coach Chris Waychunas. “People talk about whether twins can read each other’s minds; the more I watch these two play, I think they can, they just have a chemistry that you can’t teach.”
Abhineet said, “Shrihan and Vishruth are incredible players and we’re so lucky to have them on our team. They make sure that they get the best out of us. I think the key for us (winning) was keeping in mind that pressure is a privilege.”
Abhiraj added, “During the pressure points, we (tried) to just play our game, and not to be afraid of what we can do, and give it all you’ve got. …Winning it this year was a little more difficult because (Abhineet and I) went to India for a couple of weeks (late March and early April), so we were out of touch for a while.”
Abhineet said, “When we came back, we put in a lot of effort to make sure that we didn’t let the team down and that we play our best. Winning this a third time is an honor.”
The Madam siblings advanced to the National finals after defeating Avon Grove’s Joe Ingram and Jack Perlman, 6-4, 6-1.
“Normally, siblings tend to be rivals but (the Madam) siblings tend to support each other,” said Waychunas. “Having Shrihan out there as an older brother is like having another coach.”
The third-place matches Thursday were very important – the third-place finisher automatically earns a berth in the upcoming PIAA District 1 3A doubles tournament.
In the American third-place match, Megill and Barrickman defeated the Great Valley duo of senior Will Otterbein and sophomore Anuj Awatramani, 6-3, 6-1. During the regular season, Barrickman and Megill, who hold down the first doubles spot for the powerful Longhorns, lost only one match.
Barrickman, who went to the District 1 3A doubles tourney last year with teammate Matt Farrell, said, “We’re excited (to advance to Districts). We both have big serves and play well at the net, and we trust each other.”
The National Division third-place match was won by the Downingtown East pair of senior Rohun Gargya and sophomore Ashwin Natarajan. They defeated Ingram and Perlman, 6-2, 6-2, giving the Cougars three doubles teams that have automatically earned berths in the District 1 3A doubles tournament.
“This was kind of a goal that the team set for itself this year – they all kind of wanted to compete for the title,” said Waychunas. “This team is a unit that really loves seeing (their teammates) excel.
“Rohun came to me a couple of years ago from North Carolina (laughs), walked into my study hall, and I asked him, ‘Hey do you play tennis?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I played singles for my high school team,’ and I said, “You’ve got to come out for our team.’ Last year, he played doubles for us, and this year, he’s played singles and doubles. And Ashwin has all the skills – he has a beautiful finesse for the game. Those two together, it’s just a lethal combination.”
National Division Finals
Abhiraj Srivastava/Abhineet Srivastava (DTE) def. Shrihan Madam/Vishruth Madam (DTE), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
American Division Finals
Matt Miller/Andrew Ou (UN) def. Krish Mendiratta/Revant Mendiratta (GV), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
National Division Third Place Match
Rohun Gargya/Ashwin Natarajan (DTE) def. Joe Ingram/Jack Perlman (AG), 6-2, 6-2.
American Division Third Place Match
Ryan Megill/Jack Barrickman (UN) def. Will Otterbein/Anuj Awatramani (GV), 6-3, 6-1.
National Division Semifinals
Abhiraj Srivastava/Abhineet Srivastava (DTE) def. Rohun Gargya/Ashwin Natarajan (DTE), 6-1, 6-0; Shrihan Madam/Vishruth Madam (DTE) def. Joe Ingram/Jack Perlman (AG), 6-4, 6-1.
American Division Semifinals
Matt Miller/Andrew Ou (UN) def. Will Otterbein/Anuj Awatramani (GV), 6-0, 6-1; Krish Mendiratta/Revant Mendiratta (GV) def. Ryan Megill/Jack Barrickman (UN), 6-4, 7-5.
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