LIMA – The doubles team of Andrea Arango-Brown and Kaylee Davis have dominated the Lima Area Tennis Association women’s doubles title after winning the crown the past three years and came into the finals Sunday poised for a fourth.
So it should come as no surprise that it took the pair of Mackenzie Wills and Milicia Pavlovic about two and a half hours and three grueling sets, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. to oust the reigning champions from their throne at the University of Northwestern Ohio.
Tension-filled break points, sizzling down-the-line winners and high level tennis were all on display in this match that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats and entertained.
Pavlovic, who played tennis at St. Cloud St., said it was the duo’s energy and “have fun” attitude that helped carry them to the title.
“It is all about the energy in doubles,” Pavlovic said. “It is all about how you carry your energy. If you get down you have your partner to lift you up. If you go out there and don’t have energy, it doesn’t matter how good of a player you are, it is not going to go well for you so we just said let’s keep the energy high and take the net away from them. We just had fun.”
For Wills, who was runner-up in the singles tournament, she had the opportunity to take home a first place trophy this year.
“It didn’t come easy and they definitely gave us a battle,” Wills said. “It feels good to pull out the win but it could have gone either way.”
Both said communication and keeping it fun was the key to their winning chemistry.
“We just clicked together and we worked together very well on the court,” Pavlovic said. “We communicated well and kept it fun.”
Both Arango-Brown and Davis were nothing but complimentary of their opponents.
“We faced very good competition,” Arango-Brown said. “They played awesome.”
Davis added when ever Palvlovic had a short ball she would fire it straight at the net person and that can be both hard to handle and a little intimidating.
“Her (Pavlovic) forehand was really tough,” Davis said. “I think that was the breaker in the match. She is a very aggressive player.”
Following two exciting first sets that saw Davis and Brown snare the first set by earning a crucial break point with the set tied at 4-4. After gaining the advantage, Davis and Arango-Brown fought off several break points of their own in the next game until finally fending off the determined pair of Wills and Pavlovic to collect the first set victory.
While most teams facing teams might be shaken by the sudden change in momentum, Pavlovic and Wills came out swinging in the second set and opened up a 4-1 advantage. However, with some whistling winners by Arango-Brown and some strong play at the net from Davis, the two sliced the lead to one, 5-4, after taking the three out of four games.
Seizing the shift in momentum, Arango-Brown and Davis captured the next two games to go up, 6-5, and put themselves one game away from a fourth title with the serve.
But Pavlovic and Wills stood tall and in a game that saw Arango-Brown and Davis hold off three break points, before finally falling to the persistent pair to knot the set at 6-6 and forcing a tiebreaker.
This time it was Pavlovic and Wills that owned the momentum and opened up a 5-1 lead in the extra session where the first to seven points determines the winner. But Arango-Brown and Davis reeled off four straight points to make a late charge but it was not enough as Pavlovic and Wills held strong and scored the necessary two points to force a third set.
Showing no signs of letting up after their tiebreacker comeback came up short, Davis and Arango-Brown began the pivotal final set by opening up a 3-1 lead and once again they appeared to have regained the momentum.
But as was the case throughout this match, Pavlovic and Wills, re-energized and refocused, tied it at 3-3 and then after breaking serve, owned a 4-3 advantage.
But Davis and Arango-Brown returned the favor and broke serve to knot it at 4-4. However, Pavlovic and Wills came roaring back with a break of their own and then capped off the exciting match by scoring a win in the next game to win the doubles title.
“We won because we were more aggressive at the net,” Pavlovic said. “We were trying to finish points fast. We were just more aggressive and the serves.”
While not as exciting the woman’s match, the pair of Jeff Arthur and Chris England took home top honors in the men’s doubles competition by defeating Mark Bauman and Ray Kraft, 6-0, 7-6 (7-1).
Arthur and England came on strong and took advantage of Bauman and Kraft’s slow start to blank them in the first set.
Arthur and England’s momentum carried over into the second set by winning the first three games and then owning a 4-1 lead. But the pair of Kraft and Bauman finally found their game and tied the set 5-5 to make things interesting.
Neither team could nail down the victory in the final two sets as both teams held strong to force a tiebreaker. It appeared the rhythm Kraft and Bauman had gained to force the tiebreaker disappeared and the solid playing of Arthur and England return as the two dominated the 7-1 to secure the doubles title.
“It feels good to come out at our ages and win,” Arthur said. “Some of the big hitters were out this year so that gave us a chance.”
England said the reason for the team’s title was their games matched well.
“He (Arthur) is aggressive at the net which is good and I keep the ball in play and try to keep it deep instead of up and I know he is up there to put it away,” England said.
The LATA tournament takes a break this week but returns July 28 with mixed doubles action and the new junior tournament.
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