Aarav Shah went to states, even though the trip didn’t go the way he wanted it to.

The Newburgh Free Academy junior was eliminated from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship tournament on Thursday when he was beaten in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, by Harborsfield High School’s Christopher Qi on Thursday morning at the USTA Tennis Center in New York City.

He punched his ticket to states nearly a week earlier on May 25 when he finished third at the Section 9 tournament beating Middletown’s Kwaku Agyeman, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
It was the fourth time they had faced each other this season.

Shah had taken the first two matches during the regular season, but Agyeman had beaten him during the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.

But coming back into their latest match, Shah felt the pressure was on Agyeman, who was coming off a grueling semifinal match that lasted about three hours.

Sha’s semifinal loss to Cornwall’s Gurv Suri took about an hour, giving him an extended break.

“I walked around, and I didn’t sit down too much,” Shah said. “I watched a lot of his semifinal match as it was going on. I stretched and just tried to keep my mind focused and ready for the consolation.”

That didn’t stop Agyeman from taking the first set, putting Shah in an early hole.

“On the first set, I pretty much beat myself,” Shah said. “I was making all the unforced errors. I had a game plan in the beginning, but I didn’t really stick to it. The game plan was to make him move because I thought he was going to be tired. So, in the second set, I just focused.”

It still wasn’t easy, but he managed to win the next two to take third in the tournament.

Shah’s third-place finish gives him the section’s third at the state tournament.

“That was my main goal,” Shah said. “I was playing to qualify for states, and I had experience with my opponent, playing him twice before.”

It wasn’t Shah’s first trip to states, as he went as a doubles player in 2019 with his older brother.

It was the last state tournament as the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and there was no tournament in 2021.

“It was such a great experience to see amazing players compete and play against amazing players, especially at the U.S. Open,” Shah said. “I’ve just wanted to do it again, especially in singles this time.”

Shah advanced to the semifinals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Rhinebeck’s Marc Hoffman. He opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Red Hook’s Jason Swart.

In double action, Newburgh’s Michael Deyo and Henry Goings-Perrot were eliminated by a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Cornwall’s Ryan Geller and Cyrus Yarpezeshkan. They opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Wallkill’s Ryan Greer and Eric Blackshear in the first round.

Newburgh’s Emilien Boyer and Chase Rounds also were eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing 6-2, 6-3 to Middletown’s Jaden Jones and James Cangialosi. They won their first match of the day, 6-2, 6-3, over Red Hook’s Patrick Horiszny and Brendan Donohue.

“He’s not only a great player, but he’s a great person,” Newburgh coach Arturo Santana said. “I’ve gotten to know him in a short amount of time, but what people might not know is that it seems like everybody likes Aarav. Kids are asking to be excused from school so they can go watch him play on their own time.”