Central doubles pair to play in state tennis tournament

The first time senior David Berry played a tennis match was the day before tryouts his freshman year at Central.

Senior Patrick Duffy, a member of the baseball team during the spring of his freshman year, also admitted he never played much tennis before taking it up as a sophomore.

"Pretty much like David, the first day of tryouts was when I really played a lot," Duffy said. "I had hit around with some friends before, but hardly at all."

Despite lacking experience when they started, Berry and Duffy have enjoyed successful Central careers, including posting a 20-2 record playing No. 1 doubles this spring.

They worked hard, whether taking part in lessons or during each offseason improving as both singles and doubles players.

They will compete together at the boys tennis state championship today and Saturday after winning the Class 2 District 1 tournament May 9. This will be Berry and Duffy's second consecutive trip to the Class 2 state tournament. They look to improve on their performance from a year ago when they dropped both of their matches.

They compete in the first round today at approximately 9 a.m. at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield against Parkway South's Jonathan Kootman and Ashworth Sampath (12-2).

Patrick Duffy

"I think they're a solid team," Duffy said of Kootman, a sophomore, and Sampath, a freshman. "They got second in their district. But I think we have a good chance.

"I think we can get the top eight. I think we can definitely win one or two matches. And it's possible we can get top four."

Central coach Bud Craven said Berry and Duffy have improved greatly over their careers and have developed into one of the best doubles teams he's ever coached at Central.

"They are one of the 16 best doubles teams in the state right now," Craven said. "I'm hopeful they'll get the top eight. I've never had a team in the top eight. The girls this year got a team in the top eight. So that's what we're looking for. ... They're very good kids. They've worked very hard to get where they are. They love the game."

Starting up

Berry said he went to play tennis with classmate Will LaFoe the day before tryouts. LaFoe was the one that urged him to go out for the team.

"I just went out and hit the day before and then tried out the next day," Berry said. "There were a lot of entering freshmen at that time."

While Berry made the team, he was not one of the top players. He earned the No. 14 singles spot on the team. He said it was a learning time for him, a time when he had to work on almost every aspect of his game. And he continued to practice in the offseason, including attending a few camps, but for the most part he just went to the court with friends and played a lot.

Berry jumped from No. 14 to No. 5 singles as a sophomore. By his junior year, he had taken over the No. 1 singles spot on the Tigers team.

Duffy's progress was similar after joining the team as a sophomore when he played No. 9 singles.

He said he went out for tennis because he had a number of friends on the team, including Berry.

"As soon as practices started, I liked it a lot more than baseball," Duffy said. "Tennis is more up tempo and you're constantly doing something compared to baseball."

Duffy worked during the offseason to improve his ground stroke, forehand and backhand, and even signed up for lessons a few times per week.

Duffy was playing at No. 2 singles by his junior year. He again played at No. 2 behind only Berry this year.

Playing together

Craven put Berry and Duffy together as a doubles team about halfway through their junior season. It didn't take long before Craven learned the two were a good team.

Berry, a left-hander, and Duffy, a right-hander, earned a second-place finish at districts last spring while combining different styles of play.

"Both our forehands are in the middle of the court, so both of us get to hit forehands often," Duffy said. "It's easier to poach. ... I like doubles more. I play better with a teammate. It's kind of coming together and using both our strengths."

Duffy said after he and Berry lost both of their matches at state last year that they practiced together in the offseason. He and Berry competed against other teams in the area or other duos at the SEMO tennis courts. Duffy added that they also entered some tournaments.

"Over the summer, we played a lot," Duffy said. "We switched sides and covering the sides. I cover the ad-side and David covers the deuce side. That helps a lot this year.

"We work really well together. We have good teamwork and we don't get down on each other. He has a really good serve, and my volley and serve are pretty good, so they kind of complement each other. We just keep each other motivated during the match. We're pretty focused in the games."

Futures in tennis

Berry and Duffy, who are good friends off the court too, know that this will be their last real competition together.

Berry plans to attend Division III Westminster College, where he will play tennis next year and hopes to earn a spot in the top five.

Duffy plans to attend Saint Louis University. He said he might try to walk on, but doubts it.

"Last year we got knocked out the first two rounds," Berry said. "It was our first year there and it was a real eye-opener. And it was a real tough draw. We were new to the whole thing.

"Hopefully we'll do a little better this year. We just know a little bit more about different players and that kind of helps. We feel more comfortable."