On May 23, freshman Arnav Talreja won the Regionals Singles title for Jefferson, defeating Woodson senior Ryan Battaglia in three sets: 7-5, 6-4 and 11-9 (tiebreaker). Along with the Regional Singles title, Talreja will be playing at the states quarterfinals the following week as a starter.
Coach Palomo tells his athletes to always play their style of game during matches no matter what. This meant blasting balls back and forth in intense rallies at the baseline with his opponent.
“I got into this mentality when I first joined the team and have used it in all of my matches so far, especially against my opponent in regional singles.
This was Talreja’s second meeting with Battaglia, as he lost the previous encounter at Team Regionals.
“[It was] definitely a sweet victory, especially since I got my revenge from losing to him last time at Team Regionals. I felt that the entire match was impossibly tight with us having to fight out every point, so props to him. [I] couldn’t really keep the energy I had in the second set, but I always come back and I took the tiebreaker and match,” Talreja said.
In just the first ten minutes, Talreja was up and gaining momentum on his opponent. Other than a couple of forced errors and good shots by his opponent, Talreja maintained a lead. Eventually, through supportive cheers from the stands and his newfound mentality, he pushed on and took the first set.
“One thing I love about playing tennis is definitely the support I get from the [Jefferson] crowd. Every point I get I hear so many familiar voices cheering and it just gives me the adrenaline I need to keep going,” Talreja said.
Talreja went on to win both the District and Regional Singles titles and is preparing for States, where he will meet more players from other regions. However, at States, he will compete alongside other Jefferson starters to compete in Team States.
“I’m excited to compete alongside upperclassmen who have more experience than me. [I’m] definitely excited to just look over at the other courts and see the team playing well and having fun. In the end, tennis is a team sport and getting support is really important for you to do well,” Talreja said.