In both doubles and singles draws, the varsity tennis team dominated districts at Chancellor’s Family Center on April 24, running it back from last year’s successes.
Senior Saachi Gupta played alongside her doubles partner, senior Veer Tummala, in the past Katy Varsity tournament. The mixed doubles team had a clean sweep last tournament and they swept once again.
“We played against Heights High School and won 6-3 and 6-2,” Gupta said. “When the Heights team had bad spirit, I smashed it in their faces on the last point and it was really satisfying.”
This district tournament was Gupta’s fourth and final district tournament of her high school career.
“I’m a little sad, but it feels like I’ve had my time on Bellaire tennis and [I’m] grateful for the memories,” Gupta said. “Although I don’t feel like I played my highest, I still think I played pretty well.”
Gupta has played in many tournaments with Tummala this year, and they expect to advance to regionals together.
“It felt pretty nice to feel the team’s energy and vibes this year,” Gupta said. “Playing with [Tummala], you always have a good time.”
Through tennis, Tummala’s and Gupta’s friendship has flourished both on and off the court.
“The team had good energy overall which definitely made matches more hype,” Tummala said. “The fact that it was our last tournament added pressure, but you get used to it. It’s great that we are able to play together and become great friends in classes.”
Sophomore Raya Jogi played four sets in the girls’ doubles draw against Lamar and Bellaire alongside her partner, sophomore Ruby Olsen.
“We won the first match against Lamar pretty easily,” Jogi said. “I think both of us were serving well during the entirety of the match which was the main reason that we were able to take the sets so quickly. The second match, we ended up losing. We played the first set really well and went up 5-1 pretty quickly, but I think we kind of let that get to our heads and we started to play slower and less precise.”
This was Jogi’s second time qualifying for districts. Next year, she hopes to play in the tournament a third time.
“I’d definitely want to play with [Olsen] next year if I decide on doubles,” Jogi said. “It’s always really fun when we play together, and we tend to do pretty well in matches.”
After playing in the doubles draw this tournament, Jogi hopes to continue pursuing her high school tennis career, but would rather play in the singles draw.
“I’m not completely sure what I want to play next year because both singles and doubles have their upsides,” Jogi said. “I’m leaning more towards singles at the moment just because I think it’s a lot more of a challenge to be on the court by yourself. I think that the team aspect of doubles really makes it a completely different game from singles.”
