Recently, the girls tennis team participated in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Divisional Championship, in which Nandini Chandra ‘26 won the first individual championship for Edison on October 2, 2023 in Hamilton, New Jersey.
“I’m pretty happy! I’m glad I made my coaches, the staff and a lot of my team proud, and I can’t thank them enough for all the support!” said Chandra. Winning in straight sets throughout this tournament also made it clear that she is a player to watch out for.
Although the weather on the first day of the tournament was very cold and windy, and it affected her performance, Chandra persevered and was able to perform well enough to move on to the next round.
“I’m happy with how resilient I played in the final,” she said. “Saamya, the girl from East Brunswick who I played with was really consistent so I’m happy I was able to keep pace with her.”
Of course, this win was not easy for Chandra as she also balances honors classes and extracurricular activities. She said that tennis is simply a hobby, and she enjoys playing it to take a break from her everyday life. Eventually, it comes down to time management.
“It’s honestly pretty difficult, but the easiest is to definitely plan out your day based on your school and athletics schedule!”
Overall, Chandra is a talented player whose statistics consist of victories in thirteen out of the fourteen second single matches she has played this year. That being said, there is always room for improvement.
“My backhand wasn’t the most consistent towards the end of the tournament, so I definitely want to work on that.” She proceeded to add that her goals for the future are to, “Hopefully make a good appearance at states!”
As a player that can be described as “social,” “energetic,” and “quite the chatterbox” by her coach—and Edison High School History teacher Mr. Wesley Smith—Chandra says that she has learned many things as a talented tennis player.
In particular, since she has been playing tennis since a young age of merely seven years old, she has grown and advanced in terms of her skills and actions as a player on a competitive team. Furthermore, the fact that both of her sisters were previous captains who played for Mr. Smith also motivates her to continue doing her best and upholding their commitment and sportsmanship.
“One of the most important lessons I’d say I’ve learned is creating a good relationship with others, especially those on my team. I’m really happy that we’re all super close.” said Chandra.
