MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Ananya Panicker has a lot of interests.
She loves art, and she has won awards for her skills, including placing second in a contest where she created a design for a skateboard, and another for what she called a “peace award.” She is considering again picking up the violin, an instrument she has played in the past.
Panicker also enjoys tennis, though. And she’s pretty good at that, too.
The Signal Mountain freshman won twice Thursday in the Class A girls’ singles state tournament at the TSSAA Spring Fling, and she will get the opportunity to play for a championship Friday at the Adams Tennis Center.
Panicker is not alone when it comes to Chattanooga-area hopefuls in the finals.
McCallie will have only its fourth-ever singles state champion and the first since Andrew Rogers won in 2000, as senior teammates Juozas Cioladis and Gabe Getz will face off in the Division II-AA final. The Blue Tornado, fresh off their fifth straight team championship, will also be represented in the doubles final as Sean Clark and Henry Imorde go for that title.
There will also be a guaranteed Chattanooga champion in girls’ doubles, as Baylor’s Helen Guerry and Sloane Proffitt will take on Maud Fiorello and Addie Tabibiazar of rival GPS for the DII-AA crown.
Arts & Sciences senior Ethan Porterfield is in the Class A boys’ singles final for the third consecutive year.
For the second straight day, weather led to matches being moved inside the tennis center, which is a more tight space with spectators hovering over the eight courts. If that caused any problems for Panicker, she didn’t show it as she quickly dispatched of Merrol Hyde eighth grader Logan Foster in straight sets after doing the same outside to University School of Johnson City’s Jordan Havert in the quarterfinals.
“I want to win. I set my standard at winning” a state title, Panicker said, noting that when any nerves hit, she made eye contact with her twin sister Arshia, who is a minute younger. “Today wasn’t too overwhelming; it was like any other tournament. The atmosphere is really good here because there are so many people and they’re all cheering, so it’s cool.”
Silverdale Baptist Academy’s Gabi Fernandez won a match Thursday in DII-A girls’ singles competition before losing in the semifinals, as did two Signal Mountain doubles teams — Payne Hurst and Joey Webb for the Eagles, and Brooke Martin and Bindi Patel for the Lady Eagles.
Class AA’s Soddy Daisy advanced to state for the first time since 2017 in girls’ doubles and the first time since 2009 in boys’ doubles, but both teams fell in the quarterfinals. East Hamilton, Meigs County and Walker Valley also had individuals qualify in the public school classifications, but they all fell in the quarters.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.