4 years of perfection: Archmere senior completes unbeaten career in DIAA Tennis
MIDDLETOWN – Andy Zhu has been feeling the pressure all season.
It reached a peak on Thursday.
“I was nervous warming up over there,” the Archmere senior said. “I was tight. My serve wasn’t feeling good today.”
Zhu fought through the nerves at St. Andrew’s School and won 6-2, 6-4 over Charter of Wilmington’s Ryan He to become just the second player to win four straight boys first singles titles at the DIAA Tennis Tournament.
Zhu finished his high school career with a 61-0 record, joining Wilmington Friends’ Brint Morrow (1989-92) as the only boys to win four championships and go undefeated since the state moved to its tournament format more than 50 years ago.
When He’s final return of serve bounced just wide, Zhu shouted, “Let’s go!” and fell to the court.
“I’m just so relaxed now,” he said. “There’s no more pressure. I’ve done it.”
It wasn’t easy. He, a freshman, was unfamiliar to Zhu coming into the year.
The Archmere senior defeated He 6-0, 6-2 in a regular-season match on May 3, but the final was closer and took almost two hours.
ON THE ROAD Archmere tennis star could be the second to achieve this feat
“I’ve been working more than four years to get to this spot,” Zhu said. “It’s been up and down at some points, but I’m just so glad. This means the world to me.
“This is probably the biggest accomplishment I’ve done in my life.”
The girls first singles final was just a little shorter, but was decided by the same score. Tower Hill junior Ava Emrich defeated Caesar Rodney sophomore Gracie Clark 6-2, 6-4.
“I just grinded through it,” Emrich said. “I’ve been preparing a lot this season, practicing with a lot of discipline. I’ve been playing a lot of consistent players, that definitely helped.”
Clark was a familiar foe for Emrich, who continued her career progression. She lost in the first singles final last year as a sophomore, after reaching the semifinals as a freshman at Smyrna in 2022.
“I grew up playing her,” Emrich said of Clark. “She has definitely gotten a lot better over the years. She really posed a big challenge for me this year.”
Tower Hill swept the team titles, edging Charter 23-20 in the boys standings and outscoring Archmere 26-23 for the girls crown.
The Hillers’ Rikhil Sanjeev won the longest boys match of the day for the third singles title. Charter’s Navin Armstrong won second singles.
Tower Hill’s Jack Allen and Samuel DeSantis teamed for the first doubles championship, with Porter Read and Mingqi Xie of host St. Andrew’s winning second doubles.
Archmere earned two girls titles – Brianna Yang in second singles and Susan Shipley in third singles. Tower Hill swept the girls doubles, with Anna Schiltz and Ellen Kirifides winning the first title and Meghan Mumford and Lily Leung rolling to the second crown.
After a perfect run through high school tennis, Zhu will play at Johns Hopkins next year.
“I feel like this is only the beginning for me,” he said. “I do want to do more with tennis, especially in college. So I’m still going to keep working hard to keep going.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X (aka Twitter): @BradMyersTNJ
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: DIAA Tennis Tournament: Archmere's Andy Zhu wins fourth straight crown
