Athlete of the week: Vineel Mallavarapu

DSC_0701Vineel Mallavarapu

Men’s Tennis

Sophomore Vineel Mallavarapu has started out the young season undefeated in singles matches as well as doubles with his partner, senior Brennan Ashwood. His team is hoping to improve on a second place finish at State last year.

How are you replacing the production from last year’s team?

We still have me, Andy (Mong) and Brennan (Ashwood). That’s our top three and our returning letterwinners. We have three newcomers this year to the top six that are adjusting.

How are you going to keep up your undefeated season and finish without a loss?

We’ve got a tough meet against Iowa City West, and they always have a good team, so we’ll see how that goes, but after that I think that I should be OK.

How did you get into tennis? 

My dad took me to the Black Hawk Tennis Club, and ever since then I’ve been playing.

Do you admire anyone in today’s game?

I like Federer, but I don’t have anyone in particular. I just like the way he plays. He’s always calm on the court and never really shows his emotions. He’s got a lot of cool tricks too.

Have you thought about any college schools?

No schools in particular. Big schools usually wait until later in junior year. I’m going to try to get my recruiting up by playing a lot of league like USTA.

 

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