Fenwick’s Damania learned from losses

Senior bounced back from rough start to regular season, finishing with trip to Columbus.

To say the 2010 boys tennis season was a learning experience for Fenwick High School’s Rahul Damania would be an understatement.

Coming into this season, Damania hadn’t lost a regular season match in two years. So when he lost his first two, he knew he had to make some adjustments to his game. The result was the Falcon senior’s first trip to the state championships in Columbus.

“When I lost those two matches, I was really frustrated,” said Damania, The Middletown Journal’s Boys Tennis Player of the Year.

The talented senior could have stubbornly stuck to his guns and continued to wail away at opponents. But instead, he took the advice of several coaches to heart.

“I was getting too impatient. I wanted too much too soon,” Damania said. “So instead, I put more spin on the ball and was more patient with each point. I think my biggest advantage was my mental game. I never yelled at myself after an error. I’d just brush it off and move on to the next point.”

Damania lost just one other match in the regular season. He won the Division II sectional tournament and qualified for the state tournament with a fourth-place finish in the district tournament a week later.

After four years of trying, he’d finally reached his goal of playing for the state title.

“As soon as I won my state qualifying match, I looked at the spectators. It was such a relief. I’d waited three years to do this. I was so happy ... but I knew that playing at state would be a whole different playing field,” he said.

Damania met up with district champ Colin Bernier of Canton Central Catholic and bowed out in the first round 6-3, 6-4. Fenwick’s top singles player finished his senior season with a 16-6 record.

“To be playing on the same courts that the past champions had played on, it was a great honor. I’d like to thank everyone for the support. Two friends of mine even painted themselves with my name on them. I didn’t make it far, but it was a nice feeling to see my friends supporting me like that,” he said.

Damania, who was accepted into the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, hasn’t ruled out playing tennis during his undergraduate years at Youngstown State University.

“I’ve been talking with their coach and players. If it fits into my academic schedule, I’d definitely like to give collegiate tennis a chance.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.