South Point repeats as tennis champ; Ardrey Kell, Pine Lake Prep fall
Shiv Patel and James Dover won their singles matches and were part of winning doubles teams Saturday, helping South Point win its second consecutive 3A boys’ team tennis state championship.
The Raiders got past Carrboro 5-4, winning two of three doubles matches after the teams split the six singles matches.
Two other area teams, Ardrey Kell and Pine Lake Prep, fell short in their championship bids.
Ardrey Kell fell 5-3 to Green Hope in the 4A finals at the Burlington Tennis Center, and Pine Lake Prep lost 5-0 in the 2A finals to Franklin Academy.
The 2A championship was a rematch of the 2024 finals, also won by Franklin Academy.
In the other final, perennial 1A power Elkin won its third straight state championship, downing Eno River Academy 6-2.
3A: South Point repeats
The team split the six singles matches, and South Point won it by taking two of three in doubles. Shiv Patel teamed with Brandon Cunningham for a No. 1 doubles victory, and James Dover teamed with his brother Rex for a No. 2 doubles triumph.
Carrboro has been in the finals eight times, including three of the last four years. It has won four championships. South Point made its first finals appearance last season.
Results:
Shiv Patel (SP) def. Theo Buchholtz 4-6, 6-4 (10-1)
James Dover (SP) def. Lucas Miyagawa 6-4, 6-3
David Christescue (Carr) def. Brandon Cunningham 7-6 (12-10), 6-1
Kai Spira (Carr) def. Rex Dover 6-1, 4-6 (10-7)
Tyler Cunningham (SP) def. Max Costant 6-2, 6-2
Jackson Halsey (Carr) def. Shin Roh 6-2, 2-6 (10-6)
Patel/B. Cunningham def. Buchholtz/Christescu 8-5
Dover/Dover def. Miyagawa/Spira 8-2
Costant/Noah Simmons (Carr) def. T. Cunningham/Roh 8-0
4A: Knights fall short
Ardrey Kell won the No. 1 and 2 singles matches and prevailed at No. 4, but Green Hope swept the three doubles matches and won its third state championship in school history. The Falcons have played in every 4A final since 2019.
Chinedu Nwokedi and Vedant Kartik opened with singles victories for Ardrey Kell, and Brij Bhatt also won in singles.
Vivek Indiamuri, who won in No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles for Green Hope, was named Outstanding Player of the Match.
Results:
Chinedu Nwokedi (AK) def. Neel Varadan 6-3, 3-6 (10-7)
Vedant Kartik (AK) def. Stephen Gervase 7-6 (12-10), 6-2
Aidan Xu (GH) def. Ivan Vdovichenko 6-2, 6-0
Brij Bhatt (AK) def. Juan Urdaneta 6-4, 6-4
Vivek Indiamuri (GH) def. Abhinav Ramireddy 6-2, 6-1
Seeraj Chenna (GH) def. Vir Singh 6-1, 7-5
Varadan/Bhatt (GH) led Nwokedi/Singh 7-2 when match was clinched
Gervase/Indiamuri (GH) def. Vdovichenko/Urdaneta 8-2
Xu/Adyan Sahir (GH) def. Jay/Sota 8-0
2A: Franklin Academy dominates
Franklin Academy’s Alphonso Sison beat Pine Lake Prep’s Jackson Grathwohl 6-2, 6-2 in No. 1 singles Saturday, in a repeat of Sison’s victory over Grathwohl last Saturday in the 2A individual state singles finals.
That got the Patriots off to a big start in their 5-0 romp over Pine Lake Prep.
Franklin Academy beat the Pride 5-1 in last year’s 2A finals.
It was the fourth straight 2A championship appearance for Pine Lake Prep, which has won the title once.
Results:
Alphonso Sison (FA) def. Jackson Grathwohl 6-2, 6-2
Derek Shute (FA) def. Dylan Patel 6-1, 6-1
Nick DeLisio (FA) def. Matthew Morgan 6-1, 6-2
Hudson Collins (FA) def. Cole Venus 6-2, 6-0
Drew Bolick (FA) def. Jay Schaeper 6-3, 6-2
Akil Vinodh (FA) was leading Christian Endsjo 7-6, (8-6), 4-1 when the match was clinched
1A: Elkin three-peats
Elkin won its 11th all-time state tennis title by downing Eno River Academy 6-2. The Elks have never lost in a championships match. Eno River Academy was making its first finals appearance.
Eno River had something to cheer about when Nathan Bermeo downed Elkin’s Connor Ballard 6-0, 6-1 in No. 1 singles. Bermeo won the 1A individual state title a week ago.
Elkin took four of six singles matches and clinched victory when Grant Ballard and Hayes Thurber won in No. 3 doubles.
Results:
Nathan Bermeo (Eno) def. Connor Ballard 6-0, 6-1
Aidan Ballard (Elk) def. Eli Edwards 6-1, 6-2
Grant Ballard (Elk) def. Jack Wendelbo 6-1, 6-0
Reagan Whitley (Elk) def. Jack Krootheop 6-3, 6-4
Tyler Kirby (Eno) def. Emery Hall 5-7, 6-1 (10-4)
Webb Snyder (Elk) def. Ivan Menolascino 6-1, 6-3
G. Ballard/Hayes Thurber (Elk) def. Edwards/Liam Turner 8-2
This story was originally published May 17, 2025 at 10:00 PM.
