Ethan Rosenberg of Ridgewood (right) celebrates with Ben Caradonna (left) after defeating Brian Song and Daniel Song of Bergen Catholic in the first doubles match of the boys tennis Bergen County Tournament Final at Northern Valley Old Tappan High School in Old Tappan, NJ on Sunday May 18, 2025.

The NJSIAA boys tennis state singles and doubles tournaments will come to a close on Friday at Mercer County Park in West Windsor after an eventful week.

Ian Batra, Weehawken before the Weehawken at Harrison tennis match in Harrison, NJ, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

Due to rain issues since last weekend, the singles semifinals will be held at 9 a.m. with the doubles final to follow at about 11 a.m.

Ian Batra, Weehawken before the Weehawken at Harrison tennis match in Harrison, NJ, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

The singles final will then take place around 1 p.m.

Both finals were supposed to be played at the same time on Thursday afternoon.

See our preview of the last remaining matches below.

SINGLES TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINALS/FINAL

(1)Lucas Rao, Glen Ridge, vs. (9-16)Ananth Vasishta, Hightstown.

(2)Ian Bata, Weehawken, vs. (3-4)Vincenzo Caruso, Christian Brothers.

UTR Ratings:

Rao: 10.53

Vasishta: 9.74

Caruso: 10.37

Batra: 10.21

Tennis Recruiting Network:

Rao: 3-star, No. 12 N.J. (Class of 2025), No. 227 nationally, No. 44 Mid-Atlantic.

Vasishta: 3-star, No. 10 N.J. (2026), No. 336 nat., No. 63 Mid-Atlantic.

Caruso: 4-star, No. 6 N.J. (2027), No. 107 nat., No. 24 Mid-Atlantic

Batra: 4-star, No. 7 N.J. (2025), No. 173 nat., No. 34 Mid-Atlantic

Head-to-head meetings:

Rao def. Caruso, 7-5, 6-3. (4/30/25)

Batra def. Caruso, 2-6, 6-4, (10-8) (6/9/24)

Rao def. Batra, 4-1, 4-1 (2018)

Caruso def. Vasishta, 6-2, 6-4, (2023)

Caruso def. Vasishta, 6-3, 6-0. (2021)

Season accomplishments:

Rao: 23-1, Essex County singles semifinalist.

Vasishta: 27-0, Colonial Valley Conf. first singles champion.

Batra: 20-0, Hudson County first singles champion.

Caruso: 26-1 (DNP in Monmouth County Tournament)

How they got here:

Rao def. Patrick Buonaquista, Middletown North, 6-0, 6-0; Elijah Glaze, Ridge, 6-1, 6-0, (17-24)Neev Rana, Newark Academy, 6-4, 6-3; (5-8)Vaibhav Venkatesan, Edison Magnet, 6-0, 4-6, (10-6).

Vasishta def. Marvin Du, West Morris, 6-1, 6-1; Nikhil Narsi, Ridge, 6-3, 7-5; (17-24)Hudson Bonetti, 6-4, 6-1; (5-8)Andrew Zielinski, Newark Academy, 6-1, 6-4; (3-4)Sourish Gadhi, Marlboro, 6-4, 1-6, (12-10).

Batra def. Yash Gupta, Morris Hills, 6-0, 6-3; Pranav Vaddepalli, Lawrence, 6-2, 6-0; (9-16)Niranjam Ramalingam, Rutgers Prep, 6-4, 2-6, (12-10), (9-16)Todd Edison, Ocean Township, 6-3, 6-1.

Caruso def. Joshua Gordon, Dayton, 6-3, 6-0; Lucius Davis, Deptford, 6-0, 6-0; Tevin Pham, Lenape, 6-0, 6-0; (9-16)Niko Martirossian, Ridgewood, 6-2, 6-2; (5-8)Rohan Vyas, West Essex, 6-3, 6-2.

History:

This is Rao’s first year in the tournament and playing high school tennis despite being a senior. Ron Erskine is the only player from Glen Ridge to win the state singles title in 1980, and he did it against Christian Brothers’ Scott Blessig.

Hightstown or Weehawken has never had a player make the singles final. Vasishta made the third round last season, while Batra advanced to the quarterfinals.

Caruso played in the fourth round a year ago where he fell to Batra in a 10-point tiebreaker. Christian Brothers had had three state singles winners in David Kenas (1995), Chris Gambino (1988) and Jerry Brown (1964). CBA had reached four more finals as well.

In their own words:

“It feels good. It’s my first time being in this tournament. I like these courts. They play well. The heat was rough today, but I got through it.” — Rao

“It’s insane. My goal was always to win the tournament this year. These matches have been tough and I wasn’t sure that I could make it through. But, I’ve had my team and the support here which has helped me.” — Vasishta

“It feels amazing. I’m just happy I got through both of my matches today. There was a lot of heat. I’m glad I pushed through and I’m pumped for tomorrow.” — Batra

“This run has been fun. It’s been a great experience. I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” — Caruso

Semifinals picks:

(1)Lucas Rao, Glen Ridge over (9-16)Ananth Vasishta, Hightstown, 6-2, 7-5.

(3-4)Vincenzo Caruso, Christian Brothers, over (2)Ian Bata, Weehawken, 6-4, 4-6, (10-7).

Final pick:

(3-4)Vincenzo Caruso, Christian Brothers over (1)Lucas Rao, Glen Ridge, 7-5, 6-3.

DOUBLES TOURNAMENT

FINAL

(3-4)Rohan Ramachandran/Shriyan Kumar, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

vs.

(9-14)Ben Caradonna/Ethan Rosenberg, Ridgewood

UTR Ratings (Doubles):

Ramachandran: 8.14

Kumar: 7.95

Rosenberg: 8.12

Cardonna: 8.05

Tennis Recruiting Network:

Ramachandran: 3-star, No. 20 N.J. (Class of 2027), No. 453 nat., No. 80 Mid-Atlantic.

Kumar: 2-star, No. 29 N.J. (2027), No. 589 nat., No. 103 Mid-Atlantic.

Rosenberg: 2-star, No. 32 N.J. (2027), No. 627 nat., No. 111 Mid-Atlantic.

Cardonna: 1-star, No. 32 N.J. (2025), No. 897 nat., No. 153 Mid-Atlantic.

Head-to-head meetings:

None

Season accomplishments:

WW-PS: 24-3, CVC first doubles finalists.

Ridgewood: 16-0, Bergen County Tournament first doubles champions.

How they got here:

WW-PS def. Christian Brothers 2, 6-2, 6-1; (9-14)Millburn 2, 6-3, 7-5; (5-8)Pingry, 6-3, 7-5; (5-8)Princeton, 6-0, 6-3.

Ridgewood def. Hillsborough 2, 6-1, 6-0; (5-8)Chatham, 7-5, 6-2; (3-4)Newark Academy 2, 6-4, 0-6, (10-5); (2)Millburn, 6-2, 2-6, (10-5).

History:

Ridgewood has never made a state doubles final. West Windsor-Plainsboro South on the other hand has been in the doubles final three times with a win in 2007 by Junjiro Mori and Piray Sekari.

Ramachandran and Kumar together advanced to the state doubles tournament quarterfinals last season as freshmen,

In their own words:

“It feels good because last year, we lost in the quarterfinals and we really wanted to make it to the finals,” — Ramachadran

“It’s great. We just played one of the best doubles matches we have played and we hope to continue that tomorrow.” — Kumar

“It’s once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to be in the state finals and have a chance at this. We’ll get a good sleep tonight and come back nice and energized tomorrow and we will be ready to go.” — Rosenberg

“It’s a privilege to play a team like [WW-PS]. We may not be the favorites, but we are going to give it everything we got.” — Caradonna

Pick: Ridgewood, 6-3, 2-6, (10-5).

West Windsor weather forecast: Mostly-cloudy, 80-degrees, 45% humidity, winds E at 5-10 MPH.

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