FAYETTEVILLE — Craig Smardo and Sameer Kamath lost just two matches during the high school tennis season before the state tournament.
The Fayetteville pair was determined to avoid a third defeat, and the result was a state doubles championship that at first might have appeared quite unlikely.
PROFILE
CRAIG SMARDO AND
SAMMER KAMATH
SCHOOL: Fayetteville
CLASS: Smardo, Senior;
Kamath, Junior
NOTABLE: Won 7A state
doubles title with 6-4,
3-6, 6-3 win over Michael
Morse and Ryan Hargrove
of Bentonville, after losing
two previous matches to
Morse and Hargrove earlier
in season. .. Advanced to
semifi nals at overall tennis
state tournament. .. Named
all-state.
After two losses to the Bentonville doubles team of Michael Morse and Ryan Harg rove, Smardo and Kamath appeared headed toward a disappointing runner-up finish at the 7A state tournament at best. But with each passing match against Bentonville’s top-seeded doubles team came improvement, leading up to the state finals doubles showdown for the title.
“The first time we played Bentonville, we didn’t play well, and Bentonville played great,” Fayetteville coach Darin Phelan said. “It was that moment there where we we had to decide where we go from there. So the guys really decided what they wanted to accomplish, and they refocused. There was some work that needed to be done, and the guys did that work.
“We came back against Bentonville in the conference (tournament) and still got beat again, but we played a little better. Then, in the state match, they got it done.”
Smardo, a senior, and Kamath, a junior, finally flipped the script on their Bentonville opponents in the 7A doubles finals. In a match that went three sets, it was fi nally Smardo and Kamath’s time to shine with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against Morse and Hargrove.
For their eftorts in winning the 7A state doubles title and advancing the overall tennis tournament, Smardo and Kamath have been named the NWA Media Boys Doubles Players of the Year.
“In the final match was when we knew (we could beat Bentonville),” Smardo said. “We really didn’t know before that. We knew it could be close, but then in that third set we knew we had a chance.”
Doubles tennis takes strong chemistry on and oft the court, something Smardo and Kamath admit didn’t just happen overnight. But as the two Bulldogs worked more and more together, their games become more as one.
“It takes time getting used to it,” Kamath said. “Because if you’re playing with someone you don’t have that chemistry with, then it’s not fun.”
Smardo and Kamath advanced to the semifinals at the overall tournament before losing to the team from Valley View. But despite missing out on the 7A title/overall championship double-dip, finishing the season as state champs is prize enough.
“It’s my senior year and all the work you put into it, all the time and hours you put into it so it meant a lot,” Smardo said. “Being the last match at state, it was really special.”