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Carmel tops Homestead completing unbeaten season
INDIANAPOLIS - After a year hiatus from the IHSAA boys tennis finals, top-ranked Carmel returned with a vengeance and captured its 16th state championship.
Despite losing at one and two singles, the Greyhounds won easily at the two doubles spots, then used a gutty performance by three singles Vishal Shankar to pull out a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Homestead.
After losing to Brebeuf in the regional round in 2024, Carmel returned and completed a perfect, 25-0 season.
“It’s been a unique year,” Carmel coach Dan Brunette said. “We’ve had high expectations for these guys all year. We played all the top teams, some multiple times and these guys never rested, never settled.”
Carmel dominated its opponents this season, winning all but one of its previous matches 4-1 or 5-0. The Greyhounds scored a 3-2 win over defending-champ Brebeuf during the regular season, then took a 4-1 win over Brebeuf in the regional semifinal.
In the title match, Carmel’s doubles were nearly perfect. Andrew Hall and Rajeev Singh were first off the court with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Shamyant Boda and Connor Cook, followed by a 6-1, 6-1 victory at one doubles by David Liu and Jude Sangar.
Homestead hung tough, however, as the brother duo of Joe and Ben Garrean pulled off wins at one and two singles. Joe Garrean, a freshman, defeated Wes Worobel, 6-4, 6-3, knocking Worobel from the ranks of the unbeaten. Worobel came in at 25-0 this season.
Ben Garrean, meanwhile, took a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Andrew Kim at No. 2 and those two results evened the match at 2-2.
That left it up to the three singles court, where Shankar won the final three games of the first set to win, 6-4, over Eric Ji. In set two, Shankar got out to a 5-2 lead, only to see Ji rally back within 5-4.
Shankar, however, settled himself and, despite falling down love-30 in the 10th game, rallied himself to pull out the game and clinch the match.
“I had a sneaking feeling all year, it would come down to Vishal,” Brunette said. “He pulled out to a 5-2 lead in that second set, then the momentum shifted. I still thought he’d be fine.”
Brunette was right and, as a result, claimed his fifth state title as a head coach. He previously won three as head man at North Central and led Carmel to the title in 2023. His five titles ranks third-best on the state list.
For Homestead, it was another trip to the brink of a state title only to have its hopes dashed. The Spartans, who were making their first trip to the title match since 2006, have now lost all 10 times its advanced to the final.
“We played Carmel in August (a 4-1 loss), then won 26 straight matches, so it’s kind of poetic that we had another shot,” Homestead coach Michael Hower said. “I feel like it was a good result for us. Carmel has been dominant for a long time and to push them to the final court was huge.”
During the awards ceremony, Carmel's No. 2 singles player Andrew Kim was named the recipient of the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA's corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Carmel High School's general scholarship fund in the name of Andrew Kim.
