Glen Ridge HS senior Lucas Rao beams as he holds his New Jersey State Interscholstic Athletic Association's state singles tournament championship plaque.
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — For any high school singles tennis player, winning the state singles championship is the ultimate dream goal.
Glen Ridge High School senior Lucas Rao had the pleasure of fulfilling that goal.
Rao, the No. 1 seed out of a field of more than 100 players, captured the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s boys state singles tournament championship on Friday, June 13, at Mercer County Park.
The tournament schedule was thrown into chaos due to inclement weather.
Day 1 was moved from Saturday, June 7, to Sunday, June 8. Rao won his first-round match at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
However, matches were not completed on Sunday because of inclement weather, and the tournament had to be postponed on Monday and Tuesday, June 9-10, because of more inclement weather.
The second and third rounds were played on Wednesday, June 11, at Veterans Park. Rao defeated Rai Iwasa, of Leonia, 6-0, 6-0, in the second round; and he defeated Elijah Glaze, of Ridge, 6-1, 6-0, in the third round.
The fourth round and quarterfinals were played on Thursday, June 12, at Mercer County Park. Rao def. No. 17-24 seed Neev Rana, of Newark Academy, 6-4, 6-3, in the fourth round, and he defeated No. 5-8 seed Vaibhav Venkatesan, of Edison Magnet, 6-0, 4-6, (10-6 tiebreaker).
In the semifinals on June 13, Rao defeated No. 9-16 seed Ananth Vasishta, of Hightstown, 6-1, 6-1. Rao completed his state championship run later in the day, as he defeated No. 3-4 seed Vincenzo Caruso, of Christian Brothers Academy, 7-5, 6-4, in the final.
Rao became the second GRHS player to win the state singles tournament championship, joining Ron Erskine, who won the title in 1980.
This was Rao’s only year of playing high school tennis. Rao, who has US Tennis Association experience, had some quality wins during the season, as he defeated Montclair Kimberley’s Sean Wang and Newark Academy’s Andrew Zielinski.
“Lucas has been a great addition to the team this year,” lauded GRHS longtime head coach LIsbeth Crouse. “He is an excellent tennis player, as well as a great role model for the players on the team. I wish I had him (for) all four years!”
Photos Courtesy of Glen Ridge HS head tennis coach Lisbeth Crouse
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