Mason's Greg Bernadsky takes singles state title and more
Mason junior Greg Bernadsky is the 2025 OHSAA Division I singles tennis state champion after a 6-4, 6-4 win over St. Xavier sophomore Nihal Narisetty in the championship match Friday afternoon.
Mason's Greg Bernadsky, here during a district match on May 24, didn't drop a set on his way to the Division I state title Friday, May 30. Bernadsky defeated St. Xavier sophomore sophomore Nihal Narisetty 6-4, 6-4 in the state title match.
The state title caps off a dominant run through the OHSAA playoffs for Bernadsky. He didn't drop a single set through the sectional, district and state tournaments. He beat Narisetty in the final match of each of those tournaments.
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Bernadsky, a Cornell commit, missed all of last high school season with a wrist injury after making the state tournament as a freshman in 2023.
'Ever since the beginning of the season, there was one goal,' Bernadsky said after the match. 'I wanted to win state, because last year I didn't get a chance."
Bernadsky played his first match of the day, where he beat Westlake's Xander Jhaveri 6-0, 6-2, outside, before rain pushed the remainder of the day's matches inside. Bernadsky said it was an adjustment getting used to the indoor courts, which play faster, especially because Narisetty is a big hitter.
Bernadsky and the Mason Comets will compete for the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I state championship this weekend in Wooster.
Indian Hill duo loses in state final tennis match
Indian Hill's Neelan Gandhi and Michael Ryu, here during their district match, May 24, reached the state final before losing Friday, May 30.
After storming through the sectional and district tournaments without dropping a set, Indian Hill's duo of sophomore Neelan Gandhi and senior Michael Ryu finally took a loss on Friday, as they lost to Bexley's Sam and Henry Lessard in the Division II doubles state final match 6-2, 7-5.
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Both Ryu and Gandhi made it further through the state tournament than they ever have. Ryu made the state tournament in each of his four years as a high schooler, but before Friday, he had never made it past the second round. Gandhi made it as a freshman last season, but he and partner RJ Poffenberger were knocked out in the semifinal round.
Ryu and Gandhi still have a chance to grab some hardware, as the Braves will compete for the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I state championship this weekend in Wooster.
Indian Hill underclassmen have strong showing
Indian Hill's Jeremy Starczynowski and Gareth Kurowski react during their district match at Centerville High School Saturday, May 24, 2025.
Freshman Gareth Kurowski and sophomore Jeremy Starczynowski, who lost to Ryu and Gandhi in both the sectional and district finals, cruised through the first two rounds of the Division II doubles state tournament without dropping a set. In the state semifinals, they met the Lessards from Bexley and dropped the match 6-4, 6-2.
Springboro pairing falls in state tennis semifinals
Springboro's Peyton Nelson and Drew Baumgartner react during their district match Saturday, May 24, 2025.
Last week, after Springboro senior Drew Baumgartner and sophomore Peyton Nelson won the Division I doubles Centerville district tournament, Nelson called the chance to compete in states again 'a dream come true,' and said that he just hoped the pairing could make it further than last year, when they fell in the first round.
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Make it further they did, advancing to the Division I doubles state semifinals with a pair of straight-set wins to open the state tournament. Baumgartner and Nelson lost in the state semifinal round, 6-3, 6-3 to a pairing from Sylvania Southview.
Narisetty impresses in first singles state tournament
St. Xavier's Nihal Narisetty reacts during his district match Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Centerville.
For the second straight season, St. Xavier sophomore Nihal Narisetty made it to a Division I state final match.
Last season, Narisetty and then-senior Chase Homan fell to a Sycamore duo in the Division I doubles state championship match. This season, Narisetty made it to the Division I singles state final where he lost to Mason's Greg Bernadsky 6-4, 6-4.
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Narisetty made it through the sectional, district and state tournaments without dropping a set to anyone other than Bernadsky, who beat Narisetty in the sectional, district and state finals.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mason junior Greg Bernadsky takes state title | OHSAA state tennis updates
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