Howard County Times 2024 girls tennis All-County: Hammond state champion Shivaani Selvan named Player of the Year

Hammond senior Shivaani Selvan had a clear focus entering the 2024 season. Selvan won county and regional girls singles titles as a junior, but her quest for the trifecta fell just short at the Class 2A state championships after she suffered an injury and retired in the state championship match.

That unfortunate ending fueled her as she remained focusing on winning a gold medal at states. The veteran brought a heightened intensity level to each match but maintained a careful balance between the present and looking too far into the future.

Selvan utilized each match to work on herself and improve her game. Her mentality paid dividends as Selvan, an Air Force Academy commit, closed her career with her best season yet.

“Shivaani is such a team player and always made sure that the other players felt heard,” Hammond coach David Engelhardt said. “She almost took a big sister role in guiding them and helping them develop their skill. I saw how team-oriented she was right off the bat. I love how consistent her game is. She is a fighter and a problem solver. I think that’s her biggest asset. She knows what her strengths are and then she figures out how she can make sure that her strengths are highlighted against whoever she’s playing.”

However, Selvan’s greatest asset wasn’t always a part of her game. Selvan worked diligently with coaches to develop that skill and attack an opponent’s weaknesses.

“I’ve been working on it because I used to not do it,” Selvan said. “I would just play with nothing in my mind. Even though that’s good, I couldn’t really think about an opponent’s weakness or what I’m good at. It started a few years ago when my coaches said, ‘You need to start finding a weakness and attacking it.’ Then across my high school career, from the warmup, I was trying everything and trying to find little things. That went on to point play as well.”

It yielded great results as she won both the Howard County Cup title at No. 1 singles and the 2A West Region II singles crown for the second straight season. Selvan then returned to a familiar stage and delivered her ultimate goal.

She dropped just three games in the state tournament and won the 2A girls singles title with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 win over La Plata’s Isabella Hunt. After accomplishing her Day 1 goal, Selvan is the 2024 Howard County Times girls tennis Player of the Year.

Selvan’s resilience and problem-solving skills were tested in the County Cup semifinals against a close friend, Reservoir’s Kiersten Tambe. Tambe, the eventual 3A state singles champion, jumped out to a 2-0 lead and had three break points on Selvan to increase the lead.

With much of the crowd cheering against her, Selvan showed her fight. Down Love-40 on her second serve, Selvan hit a kick serve and sprinted to net to fend off one break point. Her mentality from then on was, “Get every ball back and limit mistakes.”

She followed through, holding serve and winning the next seven games to close out an 8-2 victory.

“The environment was crazy,” Selvan said. “I really couldn’t do anything for the first three games. It kind of shifted momentum after I won that third game, that, ‘I can do this and I want to do it.’ That’s when I started being confident and saying, ‘Come on, let’s go, right here.’ That’s what really carried me through out of that hole.

“That was the biggest match that I felt gave me the momentum to go forward. After that match, I knew that if I could play Kiersten like that, I could win counties, regionals and states. So, it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Selvan conceded just one game in her three regional matches and moved one step closer to her long-coveted goal. The senior dominated en route to the state championship match, winning her quarterfinal and semifinal matches, 6-0, 6-0, and 6-1, 6-0, respectively.

Then, in front of her coach and teammates, Selvan concluded her career on top, wearing the gold medal so she eagerly sought.

“Being there with her and helping her stay calm and knowing that this is her moment to take, it was fantastic,” Engelhardt said. “Just to see the joy in her face and her light up when she hit a volley winner on match point was just amazing. I’m at a loss for words because it was such a special moment for her. I knew how hard she worked for it. I knew how much it meant to her to accomplish that goal. It was just a moment of pure joy and excitement for both of us.”

She was also the first of two her in family to win a state title, as her second cousin, Marriotts Ridge senior Mukundh Boopathi, won the boys 3A singles title later that day.

“I was feeling really good,” Selvan said. “This is what I worked for. I really deserve this win. I was really happy that I had coach there with me and all of my friends cheering me on. I was just so happy that I could finish it off.”

All-County first team

Ariela Dumesh, Centennial, sophomore

Dumesh was a County Cup quarterfinalist at No.1 singles. She then transitioned to doubles in the postseason, winning both the 2A West Region I and 2A mixed doubles titles alongside Vijay Jagarapu. In three matches at states and regionals, the dominant pairing lost just a combined seven games.

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Riya Rai, Mt. Hebron, junior

Rai emerged into a key singles player for the Vikings. She was a County Cup semifinalist at No. 1 singles. The junior won the 3A East singles title as the No. 5 seed, defeating Marriotts Ridge’s Erika Kang, 6-2, 6-1, in the final.

Kiersten Tambe, Reservoir, senior

A two-time first team All-County selection, Tambe flourished at No. 1 singles for the Gators. She was a County Cup finalist at No. 1 singles. The senior then won the 3A South Region II title as the No. 4 seed, losing five total games in three matches. She ended her season with a first career gold medal, defeating South Hagerstown’s Atlee Hilliard, 6-1, 6-3.

Joanna Blackman, senior and Michelle Fradlin, senior, Centennial

The senior tandem performed at their best in the postseason, winning a regional and state title. Blackman and Fradlin fought off a challenge in the regional semifinals to win a third-set tiebreak. The veteran pairing then concluded the season with straight set wins in all three state matches.

Nithya Chilukuri, senior and Kristian Jordan, junior, Mt. Hebron

Chilukuri and Jordan developed into a strong doubles pairing. They captured the 3A South Region I title with a pair of straight set wins, losing just three total games. The Vikings’ top doubles pairing then reached the state semifinals before losing to the eventual state champions.

Adelaide Houston , senior and Adele Lair, junior, River Hill

Lair excelled at both singles and doubles. In No. 1 singles, she was the County Cup runner-up. Then transitioning to doubles, Lair and Houston dominated. The doubles tandem won both the 3A South Region II title and the 3A state championship, not dropping a set. They capped off a strong season with an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 win over Wootton’s Veronica Chunikhin and Katherine Yao.

All-County second team

Kacie Cheng, River Hill, sophomore

Erika Kang, Marriotts Ridge, sophomore

Julian Kim, River Hill, sophomore

Stella Lee, Marriotts Ridge, sophomore

Maddie Williams, Howard, junior

Cassie Dragalescu, junior and Radhika Shah, senior, Reservoir