Tang Sisters Prove To Be Double Trouble In Tennis

Sisters Tiffany Tang, left, and Katherine Tang, of Rogers High have been named All-NWA Media
Sisters Tiffany Tang, left, and Katherine Tang, of Rogers High have been named All-NWA Media

— Tennis players across the state probably jumped for joy when it was learned Rogers High junior Tiffany Tang wouldn’t defend her two Class 7A and two overall singles championships this year.

The same can’t be said for doubles teams across the state.

Tang had no equal her freshman and sophomore seasons as she breezed to two singles titles, and she was a heavy favorite to repeat this past season.

Doubles Players Of The Year

Tiffany Tang

Rogers High

CLASS: Junior

POSITION: Doubles

NOTABLE: Has won three Class 7A state championships and three overall titles, two in singles and one in doubles. ... Played singles during the regular season before competing in doubles in the postseason.

Katherine Tang

Rogers High

CLASS: Freshman

POSITION: Doubles

NOTABLE: One of the top freshman tennis players in the state in both singles and doubles. ... Rated a three-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network as well as the state’s top prospect in the class of 2016.

But those plans changed late in the season when Lady Mounties tennis coach Matt Fulton moved Tang to doubles before the 7A/6A-West Conference tournament. Her partner was her little sister, Katherine, a Lady Mounties freshman.

Fulton made the switch to better the team’s chance at a state championship, and the move proved to be the right one.

The Tang sisters didn’t miss a beat as they won the Class 7A doubles championship, allowing Rogers to repeat as Class 7A state champions. The siblings then completed their brief doubles run by winning the overall title.

For their effort, Tiffany and Katherine Tang are All-NWA Media Girls Doubles Team of the Year.

“Tiffany is a rare breed of athlete that has extreme mental focus,” Fulton said. “She is very athletic, and she can hit all the shots. She has power, finesse and accuracy. Katherine, like her sister, plays in competition all across the country, so coming to high school wasn’t too challenging. Katherine has tons of talent, and she is very dedicated.

“I see them being state champions again next year and Katherine in singles someday.”

Tiffany said she enjoyed the move to doubles but added she would have been happy playing singles if that was what was best for the team.

“I’ve always loved playing doubles, and I knew it would be nice playing with my sister,” Tiffany said. “When we got the chance to play together, it was exciting. It was a nice change.”

Katherine said sharing the court with her older sister, beginning with the conference tournament, took some pressure off her.

“There was a lot of pressure playing as a freshman, but we have played a lot of doubles with each other,” Katherine said. “I just wanted to win and have a lot of fun doing that. We did that.”

Katherine played doubles with Haeleigh Long during the regular season, but Fulton thought moving Long to singles and Katherine to doubles would be a better fit for the team. Long advanced to the semifinals in singles, which was key in Rogers winning the state championship.

“They expressed an interest early in the year about playing doubles, but I asked them to be patient as I experimented with some doubles,” Fulton said. “Katherine and Haeleigh had a good record, but Haeleigh is just as good a singles player.

“I didn’t see a disadvantage of putting the Tangs together.”

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