Uwchlan >> After winning its first three matches of the season by a 7-0 score, the Downingtown East girls’ tennis team continued to roll Monday afternoon against visiting West Chester Rustin (1-2), defeating the Golden Knights 7-0 and winning all seven matches in straight sets.
The top of the Cougar lineup Monday featured an interesting mix of freshmen and seniors, including two ninth graders at singles and one at first doubles.
“We have a good camaraderie between the seniors and the freshmen, there’s a good kind of chemistry there,” said Downingtown East head coach Chris Waychunas. “(Bad) chemistry can be the ruin of a team, but our seniors have been very welcoming to the freshmen and they’ve kind of taken them under their wing, and so far it’s working.”
On Monday, the first singles match featured an interesting matchup between a couple of seniors who last fall received Daily Local News all-area second team honors for singles. The Cougars’ Dhriti Munagala, who finished third in the Ches-Mont National singles tourney last fall, faced Rustin’s Maya Tashie, who placed third in the 2022 Ches-Mont American singles tournament.
Munagala prevailed Monday, 6-1, 6-4, to improve her record to 4-0, and said it was her best match of the season to date.
“When I fell behind in the second set, I didn’t give up, I kept going after every ball, so she’d have to hit it really well for me to lose a point,” said Munagala.
“Dhriti’s been playing well, she stepped up and started playing first singles for us this year,” added Waychunas. “She played a little bit of first singles each of the past three years. She really dedicated herself in the off-season to get better, and it’s starting to pay off in her results.”
At second singles, Cougar freshman Maya Shankar won 6-0, 6-0, improving her record to 4-0, with all four matches won in straight sets.
“I’d say the key (today) was staying calm and consistent and trying to figure out my opponent’s game,” said Shankar, who as an eighth-grader played for High Performance Tennis Academy in Bala Cynwyd.
At third singles, D-East freshman Mahi Patel won, 6-0, 6-4, playing in the first high school varsity match of her career Monday.
“I feel like I played a good aggressive match today,” said Patel.
“Maya and Mahi came to us with a lot of playing experience,” added Waychunas. “They’re both ranked pretty high in PATD (Philadelphia Area District Tennis) and they have a lot of match experience, so as a coach it’s almost plug and play – I can put them in and know that they’re going to be able to handle a tight situation, it makes things a lot easier (for a coach).”
At first doubles, D-East senior Libby Blok and freshman Joya Mentrikoski, won, 7-5, 6-2. It was the first varsity match they have played together.
“Libby’s very solid, she’s a good senior leader out there,” said Waychunas. “Joya just has a lot of youthful energy and enthusiasm for the game that’s kind of contagious to anybody she plays with, so it’s a good (doubles) combination.”
At second doubles, seniors Kenley Bernhardt and Aarushi Jain won 6-0, 6-2; at third doubles, junior Twisha Dudgundi and senior Kayla Orischak won 6-0, 6-1; and at fourth doubles, seniors Sofia Khalifa and Naishu Vytla won 6-1, 6-0.
“Our doubles teams are so solid; they’ve just bought into the system,” said Waychunas. “They fight hard, they never give up and run everything down. This is the fourth year I’ve had these seniors, and it’s enjoyable to see how much they’ve learned in four years.”
The Cougars were Ches-Mont National Division team champions last fall, but were seeded no higher than 10th in the PIAA District 1 3A team tournament due to many of their non-league matches being postponed due to weather. This fall, Downingtown East has a solid slate of tough non-league opponents on its schedule, including PAC favorite Methacton Sept. 1 and defending PIAA 3A state champion Conestoga Sept. 8. Last year’s PIAA 3A state runnerup, Unionville, is on the schedule for Sept. 14.
So far this season, the Cougars have defeated Rustin, Kennett, Sun Valley and Garnet Valley.
Rustin head coach Billy McElroy found some encouraging notes for the Golden Knights in Monday’s match in addition to Tashie’s effort against Munagala.
“I thought our first doubles team (juniors Emma Skinner and Via Fogarty) played a very tight match against a very good team,” said McElroy.
Earlier this season, the Golden Knights lost to perennial power Unionville and defeated Avon Grove, 5-2.
“I thought we showed great resiliency in the win against Avon Grove,” said McElroy. “We had a number of three-set matches in that one, which is good for teaching the kids how to (compete), they learn how to deal with tough situations.
“Our team has good cohesiveness. We’re still relatively inexperienced. Maya is the only one who has really played her position for four years; so all of our other girls are playing in higher positions than before.”
Downingtown East 7, West Chester Rustin 0
Singles: Dhriti Mungala (DE) def. Maya Tashie (WCR), 6-1, 6-4; Maya Shankar (DE) def. Jayda Lila (WCR), 6-0, 6-0; Mahi Patel (DE) def. Alex Han (WCR), 6-0, 6-4.
Doubles: Libby Blok/Joya Mentrikoski (DE) def. Emma Skinner/Via Fogarty (WCR), 7-5, 6-2; Kenley Bernhardt/Aarushi Jain (DE) def. Alena Sinton/Marley Seaman (WCR), 6-0, 6-2; Twisha Dudgundi/Kayla Orischak (DE) def. Liv Schuffler/Mel Lighthill (WCR), 6-0, 6-1; Sofia Khalifa/Naishu Vytla (DE) def. Emma Ridgers/Skylar/Finney (WCR), 6-1, 6-0.
