Doubles and singles tennis are essentially the same game, except for an obvious difference — a partner.
In singles tennis, there is no one to blame except for oneself. In doubles, if a team loses, it could very well be one player’s fault over the other’s.
Senior Bryan Mueller and sophomore Colby Works are a prime example of how a doubles tennis team can thrive. After going through a modest 16-8 record last season, Mueller and Works are 21-3 going into the Class 4A Regional tournament, which opens Friday in Chanute. The top performers there go on to the state tournament the following week in Winfield.
“Communication on the court’s a big deal,” Works said.
In order to create that chemistry, Mueller and Works trained together in the offseason. During the summer they attended lessons in Manhattan. They also played together as much as they could.
“Whenever there was nice weather in the offseason, we’d just come on out and hit on weekends,” Works said.
Their goal for the offseason was to improve enough so that teams they should have beaten last year, wouldn’t give them trouble this year.
“I think last year, we let a couple teams that weren’t as good as us, beat us,” Mueller said. “That’s probably been a big difference.”
Not only was last season their first season together as a doubles team, it was their first year in tennis. Not only that, head coach Joe Turner, who replaced the retired Lyle Kern, is in his first year of coaching tennis — ever.
Turner helped coach Iola’s cross country team last fall. That’s where he first met Works and Mueller.
“I was able to get a sense of who they were,” Turner said. “So taking on the tennis head coaching job really wasn’t a hard choice. It was really nice to jump in here and help them.”
THE GOAL from the start of the season was to make it to state, Mueller said. The pair have a chance to accomplish that if they do well at regionals.
In order to advance in the tournament, the pair must win their first match. A win guarantees at least two more matches. Two straight wins effectively guarantees a trip to state, although there’s also a chance by advancing through the losers bracket.
“Obviously, focusing on technique and not just playing and thinking about what we’re doing and having strategies going into the matches is a big part of (our success),” Works said.
Last year, the pair won their first match in the Class 4A Regional tournament. However, they went on to lose their next two matches, missing out on the state tournament.
“I’ve really been trying to push them to stay focused,” Turner said. “Just like me, I’m kind of learning the ropes, but if you’re feeling confident it sort of just comes out in your game. That’s what I’m trying to show them. Stay confident, know what you’re going to do, attack, stay with the plan. Obviously, we can see it’s been working out really well.”
