Oct. 16-17, 2009
PARK TUDOR TOPS BLOOMINGTON SOUTH FOR BOYS TENNIS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Third-ranked Park Tudor needed a little over an hour to defeat eighth-ranked Bloomington South, 3-2, to claim its seventh boys tennis state championship at North Central High School.
With Park Tudor (19-2) leading the match 2-1 thanks to wins at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles, the No. 1 doubles team of Derek Reinbold and Matt Neal, a pair of seniors, clinched the Panthers’ championship with a 6-3, 6-2, victory over Bloomington South juniors Matt Acton and Ben Stowell.
It was the second championship in four seasons for Park Tudor and coach Dave Heffern. The Panthers have never lost a match in their seven trips to the state finals (15-0) and their seven titles rank second in state history only to North Central’s 17 crowns.
Park Tudor’s Brendan Tannenbaum took a 6-1, 6-2 decision from David Wong at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Jack Miles and Sam Geier topped Donovan Thomas and Matt Helm, 6-3, 6-0.
Bloomington South, which finished 18-1, picked up its points from Ronnie Schneider at No. 1 singles and Clayton Fletcher at No. 3 singles.
Park Tudor topped No. 22 Concord, 5-0, in Friday’s quarterfinals and No. 9 Center Grove, 3-2, in Saturday’s semifinal round. Bloomington South, playing in its first state championship match under the dual format, beat No. 11 Zionsville, 3-2, on Friday and No. 10 Munster, 3-2, in the other Saturday semifinal.
This was the first year of a new format that advanced eight teams to the state finals.
PARK TUDOR'S KISHAN SHAH NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Kishan Shah of Park Tudor School was selected by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award following the match.
Shah played No. 3 singles for the Panthers and also played the same position his freshman year in 2006 when Park Tudor last won the state crown.
He is a Cum Laude commendee (the high school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa), owns a cumulative GPA of 4.195 and is a member of the school’s Global Scholars Program. He is undecided on his college plans.
Kishan is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Mitesh Shah of Carmel.
The award is annually presented to a senior state finalist who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in tennis. The recipient is nominated by his principal and coach.
Farm Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Park Tudor School in name of Kishan Shah.