Rohit Nagaraj, JV player and senior, is warming up before a match against Cathedral. The boy’s tennis team is looking to gain a State Championship title this season after being runner-ups for the last three years to North Central.

The men’s tennis team has been preparing for the first round of MIC against North Central for the past few weeks. The match will be on Sept. 15 at North Central at 5:30 p.m. The men’s tennis team has already played against North Central in the regular season on Aug. 27; they won 3-2.

“For the past three years, North Central has beaten us in the State Championship, and we hope to come out on top this year. Also, since this is my second year at Carmel, I think I have a better understanding of the team dynamic, so I am excited to see what happens,” Head Coach Spencer Fields said.

There are four senior players in total, with a new addition to the team Rohit Nagaraj, JV player and senior. Nagaraj was a JV player his freshman year; however, due to a back injury, he has been out of tennis for the past two years and was not able to play for Carmel. Ethan McAndrews and Jay Natarajan, varsity players and seniors, strongly encouraged Nagaraj to try out for the tennis team before school started.

“I am very excited to be back on the team even after a two-year injury. It was great to see how quickly the team accepted me even though I was a new senior on the team. I’m excited to see how we do against our rivals this year, especially North Central and Park Tudor. I can’t wait to represent Carmel Tennis this year,” Nagaraj said.

Returning seniors such as varsity player Mark Zhang, are also excited to go up against North Central again.

“After being on the team all three years, I really want to get that State Championship. As a senior, I want to end my Carmel tennis career out on top. I’m really excited to see this team achieve that feat. We have a lot of young talent this year on the team, which is really exciting,” Zhang said.