Wallace ends high school tennis career as Class 4 runner-up

The Powhatan senior ended his final season with his third consecutive region title at Mechanicsville High School last week, paving the way for his fourth appearance at the Class 4 State Tournament. After coming up just short of the finals last season, Wallace earned a shot at the state title after winning his semifinals matchup over Deep Run’s Neel Pasunuri Friday at Huntington Park in Newport News.

Taking on Salem’s Drew Perez to decide the 2025 singles state champion of Class 4, Wallace battled hard, but fell in two sets (6-3, 6-2) to Perez, who repeated as the champion of his class as a junior. The two met in last year’s state semifinals as well, which also went in favor of the Salem standout with sets of 6-4 and 6-3.

Wallace beat Pasunuri with sets of 6-2 and 6-1, displaying a controlled effort from start to finish against the Region 4C champion. Through fiery backhands, well-placed corner shots, and aggressive net rushes, Wallace stormed out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, closing the door on it with a final game win through a Pasunuri double fault.

In the second set, Wallace won the first five games, including a fifth game where Pasunuri survived two Wallace advantages before the Powhatan standout delivered a knockout punch. After Pasunuri avoided a set sweep with a win in the sixth game, the two battled back and forth for the opening point of the seventh game that ended in Wallace’s favor. Leading 40-15 with match point in sight, Wallace served, then nailed a backhand shot that Pasunuri failed to return, sending Wallace off to the finals the very next day.

Perez made it back to the finals by defeating Jamestown’s Charles Aractingi in the semifinals (6-2, 6-3), setting up a rematch with Wallace. Perez also beat Pasunuri in last year’s finals (6-3, 6-0).

Wallace’s tennis career will now take him to Christopher Newport, where he’ll compete with the Captains, coached by Eric Christiansen. Christiansen recently guided the Captains to a top-30 ranking and a Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference crown. Working with Christiansen was a major selling point for Wallace.

“The improvement that he has with these guys over four years is really big,” Wallace said to Powhatan Today this spring. “And I looked and I saw that as well, and (coach Christiansen) was like, you’re right in that wheelhouse of where we want you to be now. I think he would help me out a lot with the mental side, which will help me improve a lot.”

Wallace will be the second Powhatan tennis player to play the game at the college level in the past few years, joining Jacob Pfab, who won Powhatan’s only state crown in his senior year and committed to the University of Mary Washington.

Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.