Last season, Saucon Valley junior Deven Pandey had to recover from a 6-1 first-set loss to beat Bethlehem Catholic’s Armaan Makwana in the District 11 Class 2A championship match. Pandey had another slow start on Tuesday at Freedom High School in the district final against Moravian Academy senior Ford Koch.
But the Panthers junior shook off an early 3-1 deficit in the first set and ended up securing a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Koch in the final.
“Ford came out and played some of the best tennis I’ve ever seen him play,” Pandey said. “He was serving big. Not a lot I can do there. I just kept trying to put the balls in play and just get what I can back. I mean it’s tough. I kind of leveled out.”
It’s the third consecutive district singles title for the steady and stoic Saucon Valley junior. Pandey credits Neil Curtis, who has been coaching him since the age of 4, for his calm demeanor on the court.
“He always taught me it’s best to stay as cool-headed as possible,” Pandey said.
“Those are the players who he looked up to the most. And those are the players who I looked up to the most. That’s what I try to do on the court. Yea, it gets frustrating or you get unhappy, but I just try to keep a cool mind and be very calm on the court.”
“He doesn’t get overdramatic. It’s like he’s been here before,” Panthers coach Mike Krentz said of Pandey.
“He trusts himself. He doesn’t get way down or way up. He just takes that smooth approach and it gets results.”
Koch broke serve in the second set to trim Pandey’s advantage to 4-2. Then, with the Moravian Academy senior serving, the two battled through a long game that featured five deuce points. Pandey won the game on a double fault and took a 5-2 lead.
The top-seeded Pandey put the championship away by successfully holding serve.
The Saucon Valley junior posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Moravian Academy sophomore Aveer Chadha in the semifinals on Tuesday. The second-seeded Koch battled past third-seeded Allentown Central Catholic senior Tim Spinosa 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 in the semifinals.
For the Moravian Academy senior, it was his first trip to the district singles final after semifinal appearances the last two seasons. Koch and Chadha will now look to defend their district doubles title on Thursday and Friday at Freedom.
“There were pros and cons with winning and losing because I won district doubles last year,” Koch said of the singles final.
“So, if I won this match, I wouldn’t have been able to play with my teammate. I think I’d rather win district doubles because I just like the camraderie.”
Pandey advances to the state tournament on May 24-25 at the Hershey Racquet Club. He fell in three sets in the opening round last season after advancing to the quarterfinals as a freshman.
“I’m feeling good about this year,” Pandey said about the state tourney.
“The last couple years haven’t been great. Some injuries here and there. I’m feeling better this year. Given the chance, I’ll do as good as I can.
