Conestoga’s Krishna, WC East’s Gao advance to PIAA 3A state singles tournament

Springfield >> Two Chester County players, Conestoga senior Chait Krishna and West Chester East sophomore Ben Gao, were among the five players at the PIAA District 1 3A tennis tournament at the Springfield YMCA Saturday who are advancing to the PIAA 3A state singles tourney.

While Krishna comes from a program that over the years has sent a number players to the PIAA singles tourney, Gao is the first Viking to advance to the state singles tournament in nearly two decades – and maybe ever. And he had to battle back from a couple of first-set losses in the first two rounds to do it.

“I’ve been the assistant coach at East for 15 years, and head coach for the last two, and this is the first time anyone from East has made it to States (singles) in that time period,” said a happy West Chester East head coach Mike Orenshaw. “This is a big accomplishment for Ben. I’m so proud of the way Ben fought through his matches – he had some really tough matches where he had to battle back after first-set losses, and then was trailing in the tiebreakers.”

In his opening match Friday, Gao defeated Downingtown East’s Abhiraj Srivastava (who finished fourth at States last year), 4-6, 7-5, 10-8. In the tiebreaker, he was trailing 5-0 at one point. In Gao’s second-round match, he beat Central Bucks East’s Yevgen Kuryanov, 3-6, 6-1, 10-5, Friday. Once again, he bounced back after trailing Kuryanov in the tiebreaker (4-1).

After losing to Lower Merion’s Brian Yi in the quarterfinals Friday, Gao had to win two matches in the playback rounds Saturday to capture fifth place (the final qualifying spot for States) and he did it, beating Radnor junior Antonio Fidelibus, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2; then defeating Quakertown junior Max Arkans, 6-0, 6-4.

“Ben never gives up, he fights through every single point,” said Orenshaw. “Even though he was trailing and we (the coaches) were all nervous, he never gets nervous (smiles), he just fights through everything, and he knows he has the game to be able to come back, and he did.”

While Krishna (as the fourth seed in the tournament, he had a first-round bye) clinched his state berth by winning his two matches Friday, Gao (the sixth seed) had to win both of his matches in the playback rounds Saturday to capture the fifth-place spot.

When asked what he thought was his best match of the tournament, Gao replied that it probably was opening round contest against Srivastava.

“He (Srivastava) slowed down the pace a lot, and I was missing shots, getting over-aggressive,” said Gao. “So I had to match his strategy going into the tiebreak.”

In the second round, Gao said confidence was the key.

“I believed in myself, after coming back against Abhiraj,” said Gao.

In the fifth-place match against Fidelibus, Gao remained patient.

“I tried to stay tough under pressure, I didn’t try to hit crazy winners,” said Gao. “I kept playing steady tennis.”

Last week, Gao finished second in the Ches-Mont National singles tournament, after which 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.”

Downingtown East head coach Chris Waychunas also paid tribute to Gao at the Ches-Mont National singles tourney: “Ben is a tough opponent because he is so stoic, he doesn’t tell you how he feels. 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. Ben will probably be a dangerous floater in the district (singles) tournament.”

What was Gao’s first reaction when he won the fifth-place match that put him into States?

“I couldn’t believe it,” said a smiling Gao. “During the season I never expected it.”

Krishna won both of his matches Friday to wrap up a spot in Saturday’s semifinals and an automatic berth in States. After an opening bye, he defeated Unionville’s Andrew Ou, 6-2, 7-5 (after trailing 5-1 in the second set), then beat Garnet Valley’s Ashrith Settivari, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals.

“I was pretty happy (to clinch a state berth) because I had to come back a lot in my Friday matches,” said Krishna, who will play tennis for Haverford College next fall. “I was pretty tired at the end of the second match. I had never played (Ou) before, and in the second set (trailing 5-1) I just tried to stay mentally strong and take it point by point. Against (Settivari), I started to go more toward his backhand, because his forehand is pretty strong. And his serve is strong – he was using it well in the first set, then I kind of neutralized it in the next two sets.”

On Saturday, Krishna lost to Council Rock South’s Alex Sterin (the top seed), 6-0-6-0. Krishna was slated to play Lower Merion’s Brian Yi in the third-place match but Yi was not able to play due to a conflicting Level 4 USTA regional tournament on Saturday. Likewise, Sterin had to play in the same Level 4 tourney, so Council Rock South senior Mikkel Zinder (who defeated Yi 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals) was declared the District 1 3A champion.

Zinder, who has committed to the University of Dayton for tennis, finished first at District 1 3A singles last year and has finished third at the PIAA 3A state singles tournament each of the last two years. This spring, Sterin and Zinder have alternated at the first singles spot for Council Rock South.

“I always enjoy playing (Sterin), but on the court we’re not friends, we don’t know each other, then off the court it’s back to being best friends and feeling like brothers,” said Zinder with a smile. “Brian (Yi) is tough, we always have good matches. This being my senior year, it would be great to win the state title, I just have to play better in the semifinals (laugh).”

NOTES: Yi, the No. 3 seed, qualified for the PIAA 3A state tournament by winning his two Friday matches. After an opening round bye, he defeated Central Bucks East Alan Zhang, 6-1, 6-0, then defeated Gao in the quarterfinals Friday before falling to Zinder in the semifinals Saturday.

The two players that Gao defeated Saturday, Arkans and Fidelibus, distinguished themselves at the district tourney. Arkans advanced further than any Quakertown player ever has in the District 1 singles tournament, and Fidelibus (who has compiled an 11-1 record at first singles for Radnor) came from behind to defeat No. 7 seed Matt Miller of Unionville in the second round Friday, 3-6, 6-2, 10-2.

Radnor head coach Beth Bernabeo said, “Antonio is a fierce competitor, and his performance this weekend shows his grit and persistence. Against (Gao), he maintained his positive energy and aggressive baseline play throughout. His game draws on his ability to adapt and offer his opponent a lot of variety in pace and shot selection.”