Talk about making an impact.
Freshman Janvi Kothagundia joined the Robbinsville High tennis team this year and, as of Oct. 23, had a 24-1 record, won the Mercer County Tennis Tournament at second singles and reached the Final 16 of the NJSIAA Individual Tournament.
And the most impressive thing is, it didn’t surprise her.
“I was hoping I would get to the finals of the MCTs and I thought I could get to the Top 32 in the state,” Kothagundia said.
When informed of that, Ravens coach Shari Schleifman chuckled and said, “Yeah, she’s a great kidand she knows what she’s capable of.”
Kothagundia was one of the driving forces behind another strong season for Robbinsville, along with her cousin, sophomore Ashika Pinninti. Pinninti, who beat Janvi in their third challenge match to determine first singles prior to the season, reached the NJSIAA Round of 32 and drew a fifth seed in the MCT.
At third singles senior Arushi Singhal advanced to the MCT finals, while the first doubles team of sophomore Nishika Singhal (Arushi’s sister) and junior Neha Jillella and the second doubles squad of juniors Darshana Senthilkumar and Nishitha Bhavanam also contributed strongly to a team that’s only loss in the first 15 matches was to Rumson-Fair Haven in the Central Jersey Group III semifinals. Dual meet highlights included wins over Central Jersey Group III sectional champ West Windsor-Plainsboro North and CJ III finalist Princeton.
“Overall, it’s been a team effort this year,” Schleifman said. “As much as (Koghagundia and Pinninti) have been so good, everyone has really set up each other and stepped up their game and had an impressive year. The whole team is connected. We have cousins at first and second singles, our third singles and first doubles are sisters. There’s a lot of positives to that.”
“It’s definitely fun,” Kothagundia said. “Everyone on our team is always positive. We’re always nice and cheerful.”
It’s easy to be cheerful with the kind of skills Janvi possesses.
After trying a number of sports, she stumbled onto tennis because her sister and Pinninti both played.
“I was interested, so when I tried it, it worked well so I stuck to it,” Kothagundia said.
Janvi began taking lessons at age 9 but when Covid hit it shut down her game for a while. Aftr that she began taking up to three lessons per week and also started youth tournaments.
Prior to entering high school, Kothagundia reached four finals of USTA Middle States Tournament, winning three of them.
“My first win was at Florham Park on clay courts,” she said. “It was an under-14 Level 6 tournament. It was really fun. “It was a new experience because it was a clay court and I never played on it. Playing in those tournaments definitely gave me a lot of confidence. Most of the players that I played in high school played in those tournaments so I know how they play.”
When Pinninti decided to play tennis this season after sitting out last year, it enthused Kothagundia to come out.
“She’s had a pretty big impact on my tennis,” Janvi said. “She’s a big reason why I play. We help each other.”
Asked about playing each other in the challenge matches,” Kothagundia said “It was definitely interesting.”
“They feed off each other,” Schleifman said. “Not just because they’re cousins, but you have two girls that can literally be number one. They’re both already talented, they’re gonna get better. That’s what’s exciting. They’re at the beginning of what will be a promising career for both of them. They have that competitive edge you need on a team to help each other.
“Ashika also had an amazing year. They feed off each other, they have an emotional connction on top of everything else so they can help each other off and on the court.”
When the cousins showed up at practice, Schleifman knew right away she had something good.
“You could see it from the beginning,” the coach said. “I knew they had the ability to go out and make a difference right away. But both of them have exceeded what I thought. But Janvi is at a level that has been pretty impressive this year.”
In the MCT finals, Kothagundia defeated Lawrenceville School’s Katelyn Ni.
“That was a really fun experience,” said Janvi, who is currently sitting eighth in New Jersey’s USTA U-16 rankings. “I was hoping to get to the semifinals or finals. I knew she was good because I’d seen her in my tournaments. I lost to her once and won against her one time. I knew it would be a close match going in.”
It actually wasn’t, as Janvi won 6-2, 6-1 to help Robbinsville finish in third place, just 2-½ points behind champion Lawrenceville. It was the highest finish of any Colonial Valley Conference school, and the highest MCT finish the Ravens ever had.
“It came down to the wire, it could have gone either way,” Schleifman said. “Arushi finished second, all five positions got a seed. They all did a great job and almost pulled it out.”
In the state individual play, Ashika was alpha-seeded 12-16 and Janvi was alpha-seeded 17-24. Pinninti fell in the round of 32, while Kothagundia won three matches to go one round further.
“I learned a lot of things at states,” Janvi said. “There were kids that were older than me who could outlast me in longer rounds because they had that strength and that stamina that I haven’t developed yet.”
She is working hard at it, however. She works out every day to stay in tennis shape, including during the season. It starts with some skipping, and then different tennis drills. She also works on her footwork and strengthening of the arms and legs.
Her work has paid with a powerful forehand shot, which is necessary for the way she plays.
“I would say I’m an offensive baseliner,” Kothagundia said. “I do come to the net sometimes when I need to. Most of the time I attack from the back. That’s just something that always worked for me. I definitely want to go to the net more when I need to, so I don’t always attack from the baseline. And I want to work on my backhand too.”
While one usually thinks of an aggressive player as rushing the net and wreaking havoc with quick returns, Schleifman is impressed at how Kothagundia does it from the baseline.
“She’s a very aggressive player in a good way,” the coach said. “She’s a controlled aggressive player, meaning she does have a plan. For a freshman she understands the court, she understands what she’s doing. She has an amazing forehand that she can put anywhere on the court, so that’s the shot she can have the kill on that she can do anything with. Because she’s aggressive and has no fear, she’s not afraid to rear back and hit it.”
The best thing is, the freshman has no problem taking advice.
“She’s highly coachable,” Schleifman added. “If something does go awry or she gets over-aggressive and starts over-hitting a little bit, you can explain what she has to do and she’ll make the change. That’s another great thing about her. She’s talented but she’s coachable.
“I’d love to see her get to the net as she gets more confident in that. And she wants that. She’s already talking about what she can do to get better. She and Ashika are both great that way.”
Another positive is that when Kothagundia makes a bad shot, she won’t let it eat at her for too long.
“Sometimes it bothers me,” she said. “Most of the time I bounce back.”
Schleifman agreed, saying, “Normally when you’re young that’s the biggest issue you can have. She’s pretty good with it. If she misses something she can get upset but what makes her great is if you just tell her it’s OK then she’ll talk about it, and she’ll move forward.”
“She logically puts things together,” the coach continued. “She’s very good at finding herself quickly. And she doesn’t lose her aggressiveness. Some kids will start getting careful. She might do that for a couple of points. But she’ll find her way back easily. That’s impressive. I think that’s why she had so much success this year.”
But probably the nicest thing for Schleifman, is looking forward to three more years of success with such a talented player.
Janvi Kothagundia.,
