Veteran doubles team wins Capsher Texas Grand Slam
Teamwork paid off. It just took a little time.
Harrison Adams and Nicholas Naumann broke serve in the match's ninth game and became the first champions crowned at the Capsher Texas Grand Slam Wednesday, winning the Boys 18 doubles title at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
Adams and Naumann, who are regular doubles partners, never lost serve. They closed out the second set of a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Karim Arem and Michael Riechmann when Arem's second serve hit the net and went long.
"We have that chemistry on court and know how each other plays," said Naumann, a doubles state finalist when he was at The Woodlands' College Park in 2010. "We pretty much know if we told one another to hit a ball somewhere, we'll hit it there, and have confidence that we can make it. Then, we just poach on it and finish the point.
"We just like to stay aggressive."
Arem got points catching Adams encroaching on the center of the net, but not often enough to stop him doing it again.
"They did burn us a couple of times, but you've got to get burned once to leave it out on the court," said Adams, with a laugh.
Adams' backhand volley got the lead to love-40 in the only service beak of his opening set, but the one he and Naumann needed to win it.
"The backhand volley is my favorite shot," Adams said. "Usually Nick hits a pretty good serve and I turn so it sets up my backhand volley, so it's nice."
The winners got a scare in the sixth game, falling behind 0-30 but Naumann had an ace on his serve and Adams poached for one point. The game went to deuce before they put it away.
It was another Adams volley that clinched the first break of serve in the second set, giving him and Naumann a 2-1 lead.
Adams had three aces in the match and Naumann two. From the opening game when Adams darted in front of a shot to hit a winner, the duo seemed to play in synch with one another.
Both players are currently home schooled but Adams was a Class 5A mixed doubles champion for New Braunfels. He lives at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch.
"It's the biggest Texas tournament to win," Naumann said. "We will be in National Clay Courts together in Florida at Delray."
Four other doubles champions were crowned Wednesday. No. 3 Joseph Gray of Dallas and Irving's Emanuel Llamas won Boys 14 Doubles with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over second-seeded Grayson Broadus from Carrollton and Houston's Jean Thirouin.
Top-seeded Peggy Porter of Dallas and Makenzie Craft from Frisco defeated Crawford's Kenna Kilgo and McKinney's MacKenna Maddox in the Girls 18 final.
Melanie Marlin and Marisa Quevedo won Girls 14 doubles over Princess Gbadamosi and Elana Muller, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
In the Girls 14 championship match, second-seeded Hannah Chang and Sydney Riley won, 6-1, 7-5 against top-seeded Elizabeth Porter and Abigail Chiu.
NOTES -- Bryan's Jacy Smith defeated Arlington's Isabelle Bergman in Girls 12 singles, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) on Wedesday morning. She stayed in contention by downing Kemah Buck of New Braunfels, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6), rallying to win in the super-tiebreaker third set. Smith will meet fifth-seeded Ellie Douglas in the consolation quarterfinals at 8 a.m. Thursday with the winner there needing a second victory Thursday to reach Friday's consolation final.
A&M Consolidated's Frankie Colunga has his run in the consolation bracket end in the consolation quarterfinal qualifying match. Colunga fell to ninth-seeded Parker McGuiness of McKinney Boyd, 6-1, 6-2. Colunga won his first match Wednesday, defeating Will Adkisson, 7-5, 6-2 in Boys 16 play. McGuiness moved into a consolation quarterfinal match Thursday morning against John Mee.