By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
While tennis is generally considered an individual sport, seven players from the Nassau Tennis Club’s High Performance Academy had a chance to enjoy the team feeling with the sport.
The players were part of the two Middle States teams at the USTA 14s Zone Championships that were recently held in Cary, N.C. Five of the players were part of the Middle States B team that won the championship, while two others were part of the Middle States A team that lost in the championship match.
“There were six boys and six girls on each team,” said Montgomery resident Ishaan Rabichander, who was part of the winning mixed doubles team in the deciding match in the final. “It was team versus team and you had a position on the team based on your ranking. And you would play doubles with someone. It was a lot of fun.”
Rabichander was joined on the winning 12-player team by five other players from the High Performance Academy — Philip Szkudlarski, Nolan Shah, Sameer Gangoli and Avinika Naraparaju. The other Middle States team reached the finals and included a pair of players from the High Performance Academy — Quinn Snyder and Biren Reddy.
“It was really fun,” said Shah, a Plainsboro resident. “You were with your team the whole time. Usually tennis is individual but this was a team event and a lot of fun. There were teams there from the other areas and regions and you got to play against good players from other parts of the country.”
In the championship match, the Middle States A team led, 9-5, before the B team came back to tie the match, 9-9. Rabichander was part of the mixed doubles team to win the 10-point tie-breaker to break the tie and give their team the title.
Reddy’s team came up just short of the championship, but he thoroughly enjoyed the event and got to see his friends come away with a win.
“They were all jumping and screaming on the court,” said Reddy, a South Brunswick resident. “It was horrible for me and great for them. Overall, it was the most fun I have ever had in my life. It was so much fun. We went to the pool every day and had a lot of fun. And it was great to play tennis against such good competition.”
All of the players felt well prepared from their experience at the High Performance Academy. They attend the program all year round and are also part of the summer program. In the summer the days last from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. During the school year they will take part in training for 2½ hours two or three times a week plus their own lessons.
“It’s not for everyone,” said Marc Hill, who is the Director and Head Coach of the High Performance programs. ”We make that clear in the beginning. But on the other hand for some people it is for them they just don’t know it yet until they get started. You get out of it what you put into it.
“This is tennis the way I knew it. It’s high-level intensity and it takes a lot of intensity and passion.”
Added Shah: “Everything is very intense and competitive.”
The program is in its sixth year at Nassau Tennis Club. There are 150 players in the program.
“I had a small group of kids and I was working with those kids and a lot of the other kids in the area started to get a whiff of the results,” Hill said. “After a while with word of mouth we started to get more popular and more kids started coming.”
The program sent seven players to the zone team tournament this year and had the same number in the 14s last year. A year ago more than half of the Middle States 12s team came from the program.
“It gives us the reassurance that we are doing good work here,” Hill said. “The kids put in the work and are taking ownership of it.”
And being part of the team championship event is a great way to experience a different type of tennis.
“The kids love the team environment,” Hill said. “Tennis is an individual sport so whenever you are able to get on a team it is different and something the kids really enjoy.”
