BOYS SINGLES PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JACOB NORDIN
SCHOOL: Fayetteville
CLASS: Sophomore
NOTABLE: Roared from a low seed to claim the 6A boys state singles championship in stunning fashion over favored Carter Swope 7-5, 6-3. ... Helped Bulldogs claim the team championship. ... Nordin's run started with a win over the 6A-Central's top seed Isaiah Bordador in the quarterfinals. ... Also played in the state overall tournament, where he lost to Joe Patton of Jonesboro in the semifinals.
THAT'S WHAT HE SAID: "I wasn't very confident going to state, but after I beat Bordador I felt pretty good. I think at first I was kind of overwhelmed looking at the draw. But after I beat Isaiah I felt pretty confident. I felt really good about how I played. In conference, I lost to Carter 6-4, 6-4, but I was in the match. I knew I needed to do the little things. Next year I know it will be a little nerve-wracking. I know I'll have a target on me. If they beat me, they'll know that they're up there, so I have to keep it up. For sure there will be a little pressure."
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR
BOYCE REED and SANTIAGO AGUIRRE
SCHOOL: Bentonville
CLASS: Both are freshmen
NOTABLE: Freshmen quickly made their mark in 6A tennis by winning the 6A-West Conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the 6A state tournament. … Finished runner up at 6A state tournament to Stefan Tudoreanu and Alex Wells 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. … Advanced to semifinals of state overall tournament, falling in the semifinals 6-0,6-2. … Both earned all-state honors.
THAT’S WHAT THEY SAID: “It was kind of a weird situation with our team and who wanted to play together,” said Reed. “So the coaches decided since we were freshmen that they would put us together so that we could play all four years of high school together. We got put together in the middle of the season. It was an odd adjustment at first, but once we got used to each other, it worked out great.”
“We won our first match together and I thought this could be a good season for us,” said Aguirre. “The more we played, we just learned how each other played. We played our best in the conference tournament. We could have played better at state. Our opponents played really well, but we could have played better. Next year I think we can play a lot better after playing this year as freshmen.”