Boys’ Tennis starts off strong

Syna Bojjawar

   Olentangy Berlin High School Boys Tennis has been on a roll this season with the varsity team at 7-3 with two wins this week. 

   The boys’ tennis team has eight people on varsity. One of the best players on the team is Joshua McKnight 23’ who is the first singles on the team. His record for the team last year was 17-5. McKnight is 6-2 right now for singles with losses against Olentangy High School and Pickerington North High School.

   Second singles is Logan VanHorne 24’ is 6-2 with a loss against Dublin Jerome. Last year VanHorne played second singles and first doubles. Vanhorne’s record for the team last year was 8-3 for second singles and 6-3 for first doubles. 

   Third singles on the tennis team and first doubles is Vishal Puttagunta 24’ who is currently at 3-1 for third singles and 1-3 for first doubles. Puttagunta has losses against Olentangy, Pickerington Central, Dublin Scioto, and Dublin Jerome this season. Puttagunta played second doubles and second singles last year. Puttagunta’s record was 3-10 for second doubles and 0-3 for second singles from last year. 

   Jace Boyce 23’ plays first doubles on the team and is 3-5 after a loss against Dublin Jerome. Boyce played first doubles last year as well for the varsity team. Boyce’s record for last year was 7-9 with losses against Bexley, Thomas Worthington, Olentangy Liberty High School, and Watkins Memorial. 

   Second doubles and third singles for the tennis team is Tejas Sinha ‘25. Sinha’s record as of now is 0-1 for singles and 3-3 for doubles. This is Sinha’s first year on the varsity tennis team and his most recent loss was against Dublin Jerome. 

   Stephen Howell ‘24 plays second doubles for the team and joined the varsity team this year. Howell’s record for the season so far is 3-2. Howell’s most recent loss was against Pickerington North on April 12. 

   Individual play this season for boys’ tennis has been good but teamwork can improve. 

   “The team is pretty good, always areas to improve but so far I think they’re doing pretty well,” Allison Snyder, first singles for the Berlin girls varsity tennis team said.

   Another new player this year for the boys’ varsity tennis team is Justus Franks ‘25 who plays second doubles. Franks’ record is 2-2 with his most recent loss against Dublin Jerome, on April 18. Franks has played doubles with Howell and Zach Hiester ‘25 this season.

   Zach Hiester ‘25 plays third singles and first doubles for the team. This is his first year on the varsity team and Hiester has a record of 2-1 for third singles and 2-3 for first doubles. Hiester’s most recent loss was against Dublin Jerome. 

   The varsity boys team has done well this season and there is more they will accomplish as the year progresses. For more photos and videos, check out the Berlin Boys Tennis Instagram page.

Photo Courtesy: OhioTennisZone.com