Gahanna Lincoln's Brandon Carpico caps career with second OHSAA boys tennis state title
Considering how dominant Brandon Carpico was through three seasons of high school tennis, maybe it was fitting that his final match fit that mold to a tee.
The Gahanna Lincoln senior completed a 33-0 season in which he didn’t drop a set with a 6-2, 6-1 win over longtime friend Pavan Uppu of Pickerington North in the Division I state singles final Friday at Ohio State, on the same courts where he will spend his college career.
Carpico won his second championship in three seasons, finished high school with a 103-4 record — his freshman season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic — and rarely if ever lost momentum in defeating Uppu for the third time this spring.
“My serve was pretty much money today,” Carpico said. “I think I only got broken once and that was in the first game of (my) semifinal (6-2, 6-2 win over Cincinnati Sycamore’s Nick Meyers). Other than that, it was pretty lights-out and the rest of my game clicked after that. …
“I have more experience (in state finals) than possibly everybody else here today. You feel a little bit more comfortable. The moment isn’t too much.”
Carpico and coach Chris Schwinnen agreed Carpico’s loss in last year’s state final spurred this season’s run.
“I think that just motivated him to say, ‘This is going to be my year,’ ” Schwinnen said. “The other (2022 semifinalists) graduated. He felt like this was his to win and he was going to take it. That’s what he did the last couple days.”
Carpico defeated Uppu 6-4, 6-4 in an OCC-Ohio Division match April 25 and 6-2, 6-2 in last weekend’s district final.
Uppu, a senior, went 24-3 and dropped only seven sets all season, six of them to Carpico.
“I think I started a little bit nervous with the atmosphere and everything, then he started playing better and I never got into a rhythm,” Uppu said. “Getting broke so early in sets, especially against him, he serves so well that it was tough to come back. I can just learn from it and move on.
“You can learn more from your losses than your wins.”
Uppu defeated Sycamore’s Nick Choo 6-2, 6-0 in the other semifinal.
Olentangy Liberty juniors Hummza Ali and Jayanth Ramakkagari swept Olentangy Orange senior Kallan Arledge and freshman Nikhil Bhimireddy 6-3, 6-2 for third place in Division I doubles.
Ali and Ramagakkari, who went 0-1 at state a year ago, lost to Sycamore’s Arjun Rajagopala and Andrew Wittenbaum 6-2, 6-2 in one semifinal. Arledge and Bhimireddy fell to eventual champion Carson Dwyer and Drew Evans of Cincinnati St. Xavier 6-1, 6-1 in the other.
“We knew we could be better and go further, and that’s what we came here to do,” Ramakkagari said. “It was all about chemistry. We don’t necessarily have similar playing styles, but we complement each other well.”
Columbus Academy sophomore Rowen Lo and his freshman brother, Nason, lost a Division II doubles semifinal 6-3, 6-1 to the eventual champions, Pepper Pike Orange’s Gabi Kalir and Chika Nwaozuzu, but bounced back to beat Bexley’s Sam Lessard and Stefan Schiff 6-3, 6-1 for third place.
“We were very aggressive and played with good energy and discipline on our shots,” Academy coach Marc Wurtzman said. “It’s not always easy to play with your brother. They balance each other out and trust in each other.”
Schiff, a senior, and Lessard, a sophomore, lost to Dayton Oakwood’s Arick Baldwin and Noah Boyce 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gahanna's Carpico wins second OHSAA boys tennis state title
