Sneha Rangu continued a great start to her high school tennis career by placing second in the Mercer County Tournament, held Monday and Wednesday at Mercer County Park.
Rangu, a freshman at Hightstown High School, placed behind only Princeton Day School's Samantha Asch in the flight for first singles players. Asch, a junior, won the MCT for the third year in a row.
"She's not beatable," Rangu laughed when asked about her 6-0, 6-1 loss to Asch in the title match.
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The big match for Rangu came in the semifinals on Wednesday. That's when Rangu avenged a loss to Princeton High's Sarah Cen. Rangu won, 6-4, 6-3.
"It felt really good to do that," Rangu said.
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When the two played last week, Rangu lost the first first set. She had to retire due to cramping from dehydration.
"I was making sure to drink more today," Rangu said. "I drank more yesterday. And the day before. And all weekend (laughs)."
Rangu was determined not to make the same mistake again. In addition to making sure she was properly hydrated, Rangu was also determined "to be more aggressive" when she played against Cen.
That strategy worked, earning Rangu the chance to see what she could do against Asch.
"She's playing well," Hightstown Coach Charles Rorer said while watching Rangu in the title match. "You can't just play well and expect to beat this girl [Asch]. She is phenomenal."
"[Rangu] is still a very young player. She'll learn from a match like this. She made a lot of good shots. People may not realize how well she played by looking at the score," Rorer said.
