Twice as nice: Lady Dragons repeat as 1A state champions

Last fall, the NCSSM-Morganton girls tennis team became the first-ever Burke County tennis squad — male or female — to win a North Carolina High School Athletic Association dual-team state championship.

Apparently, the Lady Dragons weren’t satisfied, as they claimed their second 1A dual-team state title in a row thanks to a 5-0 victory over Chatham Charter on Oct. 30 at Burlington Tennis Center.

NCSSM-Morganton’s latest accomplishment came after Anjana Ramanujam and Harshika Chenchu defeated teammates and fellow seniors Leah Gibson and Shrika Chatta in the final round of the doubles portion of the 1A individual state tournament on Oct. 24 at Cary Tennis Park.

“There was not a lot of pressure in the finals, especially since normally every week we play them in practice just for fun,” Ramanujam said of defeating Gibson/Chatta by a 6-4, 6-2 score. “But this was the first time that we’ve actually ever played a match against them. … We were just trying to have fun and also not laugh too much. It was hard to kind of take it seriously.”

“In the second set it started to get a little bit more intense because obviously nobody wants to lose, everybody wants to win,” Chenchu added. “... But at the end of the day, everybody was happy for each other, nobody had any hard feelings, and it was a great experience. And I wouldn’t have wanted to play anybody else in the finals.”

NCSSM-Morganton then turned its attention back to the dual-team state tournament, edging visiting North Stokes by a 5-4 final in the West Regional championship match on Oct. 27 at Freedom Park despite trailing 4-2 after singles play. In doubles, Gibson/Elizabeth Lee and Chenchu/Khushi Kondra won by 8-5 scores on the No. 1 and 3 lines, respectively, while Ramanujam/Chatta collected an 8-3 triumph on the No. 2 line.

Although the Lady Dragons were facing a deficit, head coach Wayne Giese noted that he and assistant Jody Deacon allowed the players to pick their doubles partners, which proved to be a good decision.

“I think we really had to lock in for doubles,” Ramanujam said. “We knew what we had to do.”

And NCSSM-Morganton did just that, punching its ticket to the state title match in the process.

Once there, the Lady Dragons (9-1) dominated the East Regional champion Lady Knights (13-5) in a battle of top-seeded teams.

Gibson led 6-3, 4-1 at No. 1 singles when the match was called early due to NCSSM-Morganton earning enough individual wins to secure the victory. Nevertheless, Gibson was named MVP of the match, with teammate Anamika Hareesh — a 6-2, 6-1 victor on the No. 5 singles line — being chosen as the Lady Dragons’ sportsmanship award winner.

Other results were as follows: Lee won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles; Chatta won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles; Ramanujam won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles; and Chenchu won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.

“It honestly was not that stressful,” Ramanujam said. “... I think we expected to win that way.”

“We just waited for NCSSM-Durham to be finished (NCSSM-Morganton’s sister school ultimately knocked off Pine Lake Prep by a 5-2 final to win the 3A dual-team state title) and we got a little team picture with them, which was nice,” Chenchu added. “And we got to see them play as well and interact with the other team.”

When reflecting on the past two seasons, Ramanujam called it “a privilege to play on such a good team.”

“Everybody’s motivated not only in academics, but excelling on the court, so the group dynamic made me improve my tennis,” she continued.

Chenchu is also proud to have played for a program that has won back-to-back dual-team state championships, stating that it helps dispel the stereotype that NCSSM-Morganton “is a school for people who are … only interested in one specific thing, which is academics.”

“Winning all these state championships kind of shows other people and incoming applicants that we’re more than just academics,” Chenchu said. “There’s a lot we bring to the table, and a lot our school brings to the table as well.”

Finally, when reminiscing on his decades of coaching tennis in Burke County, Giese acknowledged that the last four years at NCSSM-Morganton have provided some of the best memories of his career.

“It’s certainly been a highlight of my career of teaching and coaching at the other public schools that I’ve been involved in and all,” Giese said. “The quality of players that have come through and their sportsmanship and attitude have all been top-notch. … They have high expectations of what they can do, so it’s just a joy to be a part of that in any way we can.”