While High School North fell shy of expectations and failed to advance any players past the quarterfinals, South successfully defended its Mercer County title, edging Princeton by 1.5 points to repeat as county champions. The Pirates’ Robert Siniakowicz, who is undefeated this season, lived up to his No. 1 seeding, winning the individual title at second singles. South’s other individual champions were the second doubles team of Martin Malik and Rahul Ramanathan.
While wins are expected for the Pirates, ranked among the top 20 in the state, the win at second doubles was special for Malik. The senior has competed despite undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diagnosed in February. Malik, who will attend the University of Illinois next fall, has been completing his school work from home but was medically cleared to play tennis in March.
North (6-3). A 5-0 win against Hamilton West on April 16. Singles 1: Sriram Bapatla, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 2: Kristian Dudchak, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Aditya Bemby, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 1: Arjun Krishnan & Louis Wang, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 2: Vihan Desilva & Aditya Shastri, 6-0, 6-0.
A 3-2 win against Hightstown on April 17. Singles 3: Krishnan, 7-6, 6-0. Doubles 1: Desilva & Shastri, 6-3, 7-5. Doubles 2: R. Kacham & N. Sidha, 6-0, 6-3.
A 5-0 loss against Montgomery on April 23.
A 5-0 loss against Princeton on April 24.
South (11-3). A 3-2 win against Notre Dame on April 16. Singles 1: Kabir Sarita, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. Singles 2: Robert Siniakowicz, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Singles 3: Matt Michibata, 6-3, 6-4.
A 3-2 loss against Lawrenceville on April 17. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-4, 7-6. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-1, 6-2.
A 5-0 win against Allentown on April 24. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 2: Michibata, 6-0, 6-2. Singles 3: Paul Yin, 6-2, 6-0. Doubles 1: Martin Malik & Rahul Ramanathan, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 2: T. Feng & J. Yuan, 6-1, 6-2.
A 5-0 win against Haddonfield on April 25. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 7-6. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 1: Malik & Ramanathan, 3-6, 3-3, 10-7. Doubles 2: Chiru Koiloth & Kai Zheng, 6-2, 6-3.
A 3-2 win against Dwight-Englewood on April 25. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-1, 6-4. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 6-1. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-3, 6-0.
A 5-0 win against Steinert on April 27. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 1: Malik & Ramanathan, 6-1, 6-1. Doubles 2: Koiloth & Zheng, 6-0, 6-0.
A 5-0 win against Ewing on April 28. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles 1: Koiloth & Aditya Ravi, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles 2: Feng & Yuan.
