Unionville’s Miller, D-East’s Madam win Ches-Mont boys tennis singles titles
A couple of sophomores, Unionville’s Matt Miller and Downingtown East’s Shrihan Madam, were the big winners at the Ches-Mont League boys’ tennis singles tournament Friday.
Madam, the top seed in the Ches-Mont National Division singles tourney for the second year in a row, defeated West Chester East sophomore Ben Gao, the No. 2 seed, in the championship final, 6-4, 7-5, at West Chester Henderson High School.
The Ches-Mont American Division singles championship final was an all-Unionville affair, with Matt Miller defeating sophomore Andrew Ou, the defending champion, 6-3, 6-3, at West Chester Rustin High School.
Miller plays first singles for Unionville, and last year was at the No. 3 singles spot for the Longhorns while Ou was at first singles.
“Over the winter, Matt really worked hard with his teachers and he got faster with his feet, he’s gotten taller by several inches and put on some muscle,” said Unionville head coach Jimmy O’Rourke. “Last year, he was very consistent, but now he’s added some pace – changing his pace a little bit to make his opponent hit a shot in an uncomfortable way, so that maybe you could put it away on the next shot – and it makes him hard to battle.
“Also, Matt has been controlling his shots. A lot of people can be physically gifted, but it’s the mental side that he’s really been working on – where to put the ball, and where to be when the ball’s coming at you.”
O’Rouke mentioned that Miller and Ou have paired up as a solid doubles team in several tournaments.
“They’re both very consistent, quick and very smart players who make very few mental errors,” said the Unionville coach. “At this level, it’s not as much about the winners as it’s about how few unforced errors you have.”
Miller noted that he and Ou both play at the High Performance Tennis Academy in Bala Cynwyd.
“I really like playing doubles with Andrew because I’m a lefty and he’s a righty,” said Miller. “His volleys were particularly good today when I would try to attack – I really like playing against him.
“Winning this tournament feels really good because last year, I lost in the second round. Today, my forehand crosscourt was really working well, I got to attack his backhand.”
In the American Division singles semifinals Friday morning, Miller defeated Unionville senior Matt Farrell, 6-4, 6-0, and Ou defeated Great Valley senior Krish Mendiratta, 6-4, 6-2.
In the National Division championship final, Madam improved on his third-place finish in last year’s tourney. Madam had lost to Gao in the tourney semifinals last year, and Gao went on to finish second.
“I think the main key today was to make sure I played aggressive,” said Madam. “I didn’t want to fall into the trap of keeping behind the baseline. I wanted to play 80 percent with my forehand, hit my kick serve and try to get into the court as much as possible.
“I knew that beating (Gao) was going to take a lot of effort, he’s a grinder. But I knew that if I played my game, if I was aggressive, I could get it done. … I think this was my best match of the season so far – I played (Gao) earlier this season and won in three sets, but he was really focused today and getting a lot of balls back.”
Waychunas said, “Shrihan hits a very heavy ball, and he was really committed to conditioning during this past off-season, which I think carried over to his game. He really improved his fitness and his technique a lot, particularly on his backhand, and he moves very well.”
Waychunas also paid tribute to Gao.
“Ben is a tough opponent because he is so stoic, he doesn’t tell you how he feels,” said Waychnuas. “He can lose three points in a row, then run off five points in a row, because he’s got these blinders, he’s so focused. It was a good win for Shrihan today, and Ben will probably be a dangerous floater in the district (singles) tournament.”
West Chester East head coach Mike Orenshaw said, “Ben fights for every point, he grinds for every point – you’re not going to get into his head. Ben is also an extremely smart tactical player – when he’s out there, he’s always thinking and his mind beats the opponent instead of his shots sometimes. … Shrihan is an extremely solid player, played a great match, and he deserved (the title).”
In the National Division singles semifinals Friday afternoon, Gao defeated Downingtown East senior Abhiraj Srivastava (who won the last two Ches-Mont National singles titles), 7-5, 6-2, while Madam defeated Cougar freshman Soumil Patel, 6-2, 6-3.
In the American Division singles third-place match, Mendiratta defeated Farrell, 7-5, 7-5, thereby wrapping up a berth in the upcoming District 1 3A singles tournament. Last year, Mendiratta placed third in this tournament, and two years ago, Farrell finished first in the tourney.
Mendiratta said, “I just wanted to get up to the net as much as possible – Matt’s a really consistent player.”
“Krish has an all-court game,” said Great Valley head coach Gerry McGrath. “He’s able to put his serve to spots. Today he was really working on getting the high kick serve to the backhand and following it in. He wanted to close on the net as much as possible, and was pretty successful.
“Matt played a phenomenal match – his lobs were picture-perfect, so Krish often had to hit more than one great shot to win points.”
In the second set, Farrell hurt his ankle, and was attended to by a trainer. He soldiered on before falling, 5-7.
Farrell said, “I’m proud of myself for staying in it today. The first set I was losing 4-1 and then brought it back before I lost (5-7). Then in the second set, I was one point away from winning and I rolled my ankle but everything happens for a reason. I’m happy for Krish – he’s a good competitor.”
Patel finished third in the National Division singles tourney, as Srivastava retired from the third-place match due to illness.
“Soumil is a pretty high-ranked Middle States player, he has a lot of experience and what he brings to our team is a lot of fight,” said Waychunas. “He fights for every point, and he doesn’t give up. He really wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s a fighter.”
