BENTONVILLE — The original plan called for Michael Morse and Jordan Sheppard to be Bentonville’s top boys doubles team, but injuries during the season caused coach Nick Nersesian to try some other combinations.

The experiments didn’t last long.

Morse and Sheppard were soon reunited and picked up where they left off, eventually winning the 7A/6A-West Conference and Class 7A state titles this fall. The Tigers’ duo also earned the distinction of being named the All-NWA Media Boys Doubles Team of the Year for 2012.

“Early in the season, (Bentonville assistant) coach (Jill) Eng sat down and looked at multiple doubles partners and people we should put together,” Nersesian said. “So we had a plan up front of what we wanted to do, and we tested it out in practices and early matches.

“We were looking at them and seeing how well they play together and how they jelled together. We saw these guys had that ability.”

Sheppard’s experience made the senior a logical choice for that doubles team. He was part of a doubles team that won the Class 7A state title last year in an all-Bentonville final and earned all-state honors.

He knew he could have been the person that just took charge of the team if necessary since Morse was a junior and less experienced. That was never the case.

“It just never worked that way,” Sheppard said. “We never had one player that was the leader. It was pretty mutual.

“With the level of play and the way we played together, you really couldn’t tell who was the leader and who was the weaker player. It really worked well altogether.”

Morse had no doubt that he was the ideal doubles partner for Sheppard, even before the season started. He believed that all it would take was for them to play a few matches together to get their styles of play to mesh and complement each other.

Morse had the finesse game, relying on his speed and ball placement. That allowed him to roam the baseline, while Sheppard could display his range and power while playing at the net.

“I thought the two of us could be among the top three teams in the state,” Morse said. “We ended up being the best.

“It was a good combination of my speed and variation of shots with his power and court coverage. Jordan has the bigger game and is more aggressive. With me at the baseline, I could get to almost any ball, and once we took any advantage at all, Jordan would put the ball away at the net.”

What impressed Nersesian the most about Morse and Sheppard wasn’t how well they played together, but what they were doing when the ball wasn’t in play.

“They looked at each other,” Nersesian said. “They were talking. The biggest thing was communication.

“We could see they were communicating with each other. Coach Eng and I looked at each other and basically said nothing. We knew this was the right way to go.”

Boys Tennis All-State

7A BOYS - SINGLES

Dylan Deluca Bentonville

Justin Pollard Bentonville

Reed Churchill Fayetteville

Edward Zhao LR Central

7A BOYS - DOUBLES

Michael Morse-Jordan Sheppard Bentonville

Hunter Hargrove-Hunter Pool Bentonville

Will Ginger-Luke Lundstrum Fayetteville

Sameer Kamath-Craig Smardo Fayetteville

6A BOYS - SINGLES

Grady McCain Greenwood

Austen McDaniel Jonesboro

Spencer Turner Lake Hamilton

Christian Mathis Mountain Home

6A BOYS - DOUBLES

Alex Moody-Thomas Moore Greenwood

Angelo Caparas-Rodger Hurt Jonesboro

Lee Kelley-Davis McKee Jonesboro

Jared Dietz-Conner McClellan Searcy

5A BOYS - SINGLES

Drew Nichols Nettleton

Jake Jacoby Pulaski Academy

Julio Olaya Pulaski Academy

Cole Guy White Hall

5A BOYS - DOUBLES

Nic Anderson-Nick Bell Lakeside, Hot Springs

George Messersmith-Matt Talbert Lakeside, Hot Springs

Grayson Greer-Michael Habibi Pulaski Academy

Brett McClain-Dev Nair Pulaski Academy

4A BOYS - SINGLES

Sam Albright Arkansas Baptist

Eric Bentley Central Arkansas Christian

Beau Lacerte Subiaco Academy

Matt Phillips Valley View

4A BOYS - DOUBLES

JC Hudson-Peyton Hudson Dumas

Jack Moser-Patrick Leavey Subiaco Academy

Easton Adams-Tryson Lindley Valley View

Alec Ray-Victor Redkol Valley View

3A BOYS - SINGLES

Lesly Francois Drew Central

Conner Noland Episcopal Collegiate

Chase Anderson Jessieville

Beau Wicker Piggott

3A BOYS - DOUBLES

Scotty Nichols-Kihwan Yoo Episcopal Collegiate

Locke Adair-Ronnie Smith Harding Academy

Kyle Mitchell-David Sumner Harrisburg

Trevor Grubb-Will Jett Piggott

2A BOYS - SINGLES

Drew Dodge Conway Christian

Spence Reaves Cedar Ridge

Luke Anderson Mulberry

Caleb Sweany Parkers Chapel

2A BOYS - DOUBLES

Kirk Havens-Taylor Langston Parkers Chapel

Andy Newman-Matt Newman Ridgefield Christian

Logan Meurer-Kollin Stone Riverside

Ben Hargrove-Dylan Jones West Side, Greers Ferry