Columbus North’s Hank Lin returns a forehanded shot against Carmel during the No. 1 singles match at the Boys Tennis State Finals on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at DePauw University in Greencastle.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
Columbus North’s Hank Lin, Anvay Atram and Amrit Kar have plenty of confidence heading into the Boys Tennis Singles and Doubles State Finals.
It’s for good reason. Lin has topped everyone he’s faced so far in the postseason. For Atram and Kar, it’s been a little more of a battle, but the duo are still undefeated as the state singles and doubles tournaments begin Friday. The semifinal matches are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Park Tudor, with the championship matches at 2 p.m.
After having bad draws the past few years, the draws are very much favorable for Lin and Atram and Kar. By virtue of making it to the state championship match as a team Saturday against Carmel, both Lin and the Atram-Kar duo have the top seed in their respective brackets. As a result, they drew a bye to the semifinal contests, which will take place on Saturday.
In the singles bracket, Lin will play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Bloomington North’s Connor O’Guinn and Guerin Catholic’s Max Fuller in one semifinal contest. On the other side of the bracket, North Central’s Alex Antonopolous will take on Columbia City’s Alex Rongos in a quarterfinal match, and Culver Academies’ Tyler Li squares off with Mt. Vernon’s Adam Koon. Those winners will meet in the other semifinal match.
Lin will be making his first appearance in the state singles final tournament. Going into Saturday, the junior is a perfect 21-0 on the year.
“It’s definitely going to be an exciting experience playing in both the individual finals and playing one of the top players. I’m definitely preparing myself a lot this week, hydrating and getting more practices in,” Lin said. “There’s definitely going to be pressure. Going into every match, I just remind myself that’s no pressure and to have fun and relax and keep the same mindset going.”
Lin could have been in this position last year, but a bad draw in the team quarterfinals matched him with West Lafayette Harrison’s Aaron Gu, who eventually went on to become the state singles champion. Lin could be considered the favorite to win the singles championship on Saturday.
“Hank is Hank. He’s going to step out there and be ready to play,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “He’s going to be doing his same routine, his same thought process and working very hard at trying to get us a state championship here, for sure.”
Columbus North’s Amrit Kar stretches to return a shot against Carmel in the No. 1 doubles match at the Boys Tennis State Finals on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at DePauw University in Greencastle.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
In the doubles bracket, Atram and Kar will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Evansville North’s Nathan Mitchell and Jacob Hafele and Munster’s Ethan Walker and Joseph Foster. Homestead’s Alex Graber and Eric Ji drew a bye into the semifinal and will play the winner of the other quarterfinal matchup between Shelbyville’s Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith and Carroll’s Connor Sparks and Jaxson Sparks.
This is Kar and Atram’s second appearance in the state doubles tournament after finishing runner-up last year.
“We definitely have a lot more experience this time and more confidence going into the tournament and less pressure since we lost last time,” Atram said. “We definitely want to win this time because we definitely didn’t play as well in the finals (last year), and this time, we want more.”
Columbus North’s Anvay Atram returns a forehanded shot against Carmel during the No. 1 doubles match at the Boys Tennis State Finals on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at DePauw University in Greencastle.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
Kar and Atram are both seniors this year, so Saturday will mark the final match or matches for the duo. That will give them extra motivation to walk off the courts as champions.
“It feels good being back in the tournament and giving us one more shot at winning the state,” Kar said. “This is my last shot. I’m willing to show that we could be state champions, and we deserve to be state champions. I feel this is like a redemption. It’s time to prove ourselves.”
While they were the underdogs last year, Kar and Atram could be considered the favorite this year. They are 27-1, only losing to the Carmel doubles team Aug. 29. They avenged that loss in the team state finals on Saturday.
“They proved themselves at the beginning of the year beating the Jasper team and the Zionsville team in three sets. Coming down the stretch (in the postseason), they have proved themselves that they are there and to be reckoned with, no doubt about that” Hammel said. “The fact that they were there last year and it was really close — 6-4, 6-4 — they were really disappointed and hurt them a lot last year. They felt that pain a little bit. They’re going to come out and not overlook anybody. They’re going to be ready to go.”
