The Dinky competitive doubles team of kinesiology senior Ananya Luthria and industrial engineering senior Devadath Nair defeated team Sweet and Sour, 21-7. The match is the first of intramural pickleball league play on Sept. 9 at the Omar Smith Instructional Tennis Center.
After only three days of practice together, Luthria and Nair defeated the doubles team of general studies freshman Greta Klein and agricultural economics senior Gunner Clapper. Sweet and Sour put up a good fight, but both Dinky players put years of court experience on display to open competitive league play.
Nair said he has played competitive pickleball since sixth grade and also played competitive tennis, while Luthria said she has played squash since ninth grade. Even with years of experience, members of team Dinky agreed they were anxious before the match.
“We are both very competitive people,” Luthria said.
For the next match, Luthria said she would work to improve her serving while Nair said his focus would be sharing the court as a better doubles player.
The match began with a game of rock, paper, scissors for the first serve by Klein, who hit the ball out of bounds. Luthria followed with an unreturnable ball to put Dinky up 1-0. Sweet and Sour managed one point with serves changing sides, but Dinky dominated to end the first period, 11-1, at the break.
Keeping up the pressure, Dinky had a chance to lock it up at match point, 20-2, but Nair’s serve hit the net, giving Sweet and Spicy a chance at a comeback. Nair and Luthria were clearly feeling the pressure.
“We need to lock in,” Nair told Luthria on the court.
Sweet and Spicy rebounded with five points in a row to bring it to 20-6.
Clapper and Klein scored one more point for a 20-7 score before Luthria returned Klein’s serve with a fastball to bring Dinky back to match point again. A quick rally followed until Klein hit the ball out of bounds, giving team Dinky team the decisive win, 21-7.
After the match, Nair and Luthria focused on what they did wrong.
“We played pretty bad and not up to the standards we were wanting,” Nair said.
Nair and Luthria agreed they were excited about their second scheduled game of the night, but the Dink Mode team forfeited in a no-show.
A couple off the court, Nair and Luthria described joining the league as a way to have a good time but also to keep their competitiveness positive. Luthria noted their class schedules are very different.
“We are doing this together because we are dating and want to spend more time together,” Luthria said, who added they like connecting through a sport they both enjoy.
The two Aggies hope to get their next two wins against Chaps and TickleBalls on Sept. 16 in the run up to the league playoff tournament.
Vivien Henry is an English junior and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.
