Cincinnati Seven Hills claims first singles state title, Nalagatla and Baker notch fourth-straight doubles state crown for Cincinnati Country Day
MASON, Ohio — Cincinnati Seven Hills senior Nicholas Williams earned the first singles state championship for Seven Hills in a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Division II singles state final, while Cincinnati Country Day seniors Vishaal Nalagatla and Justin Baker earned the fourth-straight Division II doubles state crown for Country Day by way of a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win in the Division II doubles state final at the 2017 OHSAA boys tennis state tournament.
Williams notched two-set victories in all of his state tournament matches and earned a victory over defending Division II singles state champion, Cincinnati Country Day senior Kevin Yu, in the state final. Yu finished as state runner-up after two set victories on day one of the state tournament and a hard-fought, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 victory in the state semifinals over Cincinnati Indian Hill junior Andrew Pregel. Lodi Cloverleaf senior Austin Hanna earned third place honors by way of default, the highest finish for a Cloverleaf boys tennis state qualifier in school history. Pregel earned fourth-place honors to notch the highest finish for an Indian Hills boys tennis state tournament qualifier since 2008.
Cincinnati Country Day’s Nalagtla and Baker earned the seventh doubles state title for Country Day, tied for second-most all-time with Bexley. With the win, Nalagatla became just the third OHSAA boys tennis state tournament qualifier to win three doubles state championships all-time, doing so with three different partners. Gahanna Columbus Academy seniors Austin Lawrence and Eric Min earned Division II doubles state runner-up honors, marking the third doubles state runner-up finish for Columbus Academy in the past four years. Gates Mills Hawken seniors Michael Lee and Josef Horwath defeated Bexley sophomore Leo Schottenstein and junior Mark Nudelman in the consolation match by a final tally of 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 to take Division II doubles third place honors. Schottenstein and Nudelman recorded the highest doubles finish at the boys tennis state tournament for Bexley since 1996.