Nellie Hillner and Kristina Raphael are longtime friends, sometime foes and real-time partners for the A&M Consolidated tennis team.

Raphael and Hillner will be Consol's hottest entry going into the Tiger Classic, which will be held Friday and Saturday at sites around College Station and Bryan.

Consol's No. 1 girls doubles team, Hillner and Raphael captured the championship at the Bryan Tournament three weeks ago. It was the first title for the pair, who played with different partners last year and became partners in the fall.

"We've improved a lot since the beginning of the year," Hillner said. "Winning the Bryan tournament was a big confidence-booster."

That confidence should be tested during a 32-team tournament that includes state powers such as Klein, The Woodlands, Southlake Carroll, College Park, San Antonio Churchill and Grapevine. Last fall, Klein reached the Class 5A semifinal round in team tennis, and the Bearkats feature the defending state champions in girls doubles with Micah Hermsdorf and Ariel Morton.

"We have a lot of teams coming in that normally we would not face until regionals," Raphael said. "It's going to be really good competition. I think it will definitely help us get ready for district and regionals. If we do well, then it will help us be seeded well in regionals."

Hillner is a junior and Raphael a sophomore. Both qualified for the regional tournament last spring, when Hillner was paired with senior Amanda Trapani and Raphael played with senior Sarah Colunga. The Consol teams met in the District 12-5A championship match, which went to Hillner and Trapani in three sets but did not harm the friendship between Raphael and Hillner.

"Nellie's a really sweet person," Raphael said. "She's always happy. We never get mad at each other. We work well together."

When both players were in the market for new doubles partners last fall, they jumped at the chance to form a team.

"We've been wanting to play together for a long time," Hillner said. "We're really, really good friends. We've known each other for about six years, ever since I started playing tennis. We kind of have a mental connection. We can read each other real well."

Consol coach Stephen Mercer thought the friendship could make the team stronger. Perhaps more importantly, Mercer liked the combination of the steadiness in Hillner's baseline game and the aggressiveness Raphael displays at the net.

"I knew it would be a good fit, and they've done well," Mercer said. "I think this weekend will be a big test for them with a very strong field."

The Tiger Classic will start at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday. There will be a team champion based on points from competition in boys and girls singles and doubles, along with mixed doubles.

Consol, which edged The Woodlands for the team title at the Bryan tournament last month, will compete in the Maroon Division. The Vikings will play in the White Division.

The tournament will be played at Consol, the Texas A&M intramural courts, Pebble Creek Country Club, Bryan High, Sam Rayburn Middle School, Jane Long Middle School and Aerofit.