The Mid-Penn has seen its fair share of dominant players in all of its sports.
Mifflin County cross country runner Carter Smith, Harrisburg football’s Micah Parsons, Central Dauphin girls basketball’s Alyssa Thomas and State College swimmer Molly Workman just to name a few.
Cumberland Valley girls tennis star Riya Srinivas can rightfully call herself one of the Mid-Penn’s most dominant athletes as her career comes to a close.
After a season filled with accolades, Srinivas added to her loaded trophy room after being named PennLive’s girls tennis Player of the Year for the third time in her career.
Srinivas added a Mid-Penn 3A singles gold medal, Mid-Penn 3A doubles gold, District 3 3A singles gold, and District 3 team bronze this season. Just one year after missing her entire junior year with an injury.
She significantly strained her ankle during a tournament in May of 2024 following her sophomore year. Srinivas spent the next seven months rehabbing the injury, missing out on her junior campaign.
“I couldn’t play at all,” Srinivas said. “That was a really rough time in my life. Recovery was painful.”
The pain was two-fold.
She was obviously physically hurt, but the CV star also suffered mentally. Admittedly, the mental stress of not playing combined with school took a toll.
Srinivas struggled to cope with the fact that she was sidelined with the injury. Her source of “peace and inner calmness” was suddenly gone.
While her physical therapist helped with the physical pain, her family helped ease the mental rut she found herself in.
“I had a really great support system,” Srinivas said. “My parents and brother were there to help me.“
Missing the entire 2024 season wasn’t ideal, but it became motivation for Srinivas.
She came back fully healthy in 2025 and reminded not only the Mid-Penn, but District 3 who she was.
The four medals she added to her collection is more proof that she is one of the most dominant athletes the Mid-Penn has seen.
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Follow Rymir Vaughn on X —@RymirVaughn