STATE CHAMPS — Bishop High School Seniors Caleb Holmes, left, and Joshua Smith show off their medals and plaque after conquering the boys doubles tennis competition at the University Interscholastic League 2A state tournament held at the University of Texas in Austin Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, the pair defeated Woodville (6-3 and 6-2) in their first match and then beat Reagan County (6-4 and 6-4) in their second match. Smith and Holmes clinched the title by defeating Malakoff (6-3, 4-6 and 6-3) in the state championship Tuesday morning. Bishop High School Seniors Joshua Smith and Caleb Holmes are the kings of boys doubles tennis after the duo won the ultimate title at the University Interscholastic League 2A state tournament which was held at the University of Texas in Austin this past Monday and Tuesday.

The boys defeated three consecutive opponents en route to seizing the state champion title. On Monday, Holmes and Smith defeated Woodville (6-3 and 6-2) in their first match and then beat Reagan County (6-4 and 6-4). Smith and Holmes sealed the deal by defeating Malakoff (6-3, 4-6 and 6-3) Tuesday morning.

“It was really surreal,” Smith said afterwards. “It was an amazing feeling. After the match we were pretty much speechless with excitement and it felt great.”

Smith’s previous appearance to the big dance in 2009, where he finished third in boys singles, aided him in handling the pressure this time around.

“Going in this time I wasn’t as nervous,” Smith said. “I kind of knew what to expect this time as far as playing with the pressure. There was still a ton of pressure this time and I was nervous at every point.”

Holmes was also able to remain cool, calm and collected while dealing with the stomach butterflies.

“I was pretty much nervous the whole time and did not know what to expect,” Holmes said. “My partner kept me calm the whole time.”

The magnitude of their accomplishment had not fully sunk in with the two boys during the drive home back to Bishop Tuesday afternoon.

“It hasn’t really hit us that much right now, it’s crazy,” Holmes said. “I think our second match was probably our toughest. That and also our final match where we had to struggle to win.”

Head Coach Claudia Esquivel said the large contingency of hometown fans that made the trip to Austin was a humongous help. “It (tournament) was intense, exciting and there were just a lot of emotions,” Esquivel said. “We had a lot of support from plenty of people from Bishop who were there which was wonderful.”

In Austin, Bishop’s duo was up against opponents of equal caliber.

“It was tough, you’re competing against the best of the best in the state,” Esquivel said. “Everyone was pretty evenly matched throughout the tournament.”

Bishop’s duo, back in April, swept up both the Region IV and the District 32-2A crowns.

Smith - who plans on playing tennis at Schreiner University in Kerrville next year - said the pressure was placed on the pair early on at the regional tournament held in San Marcos.

“We were a bit nervous going into region where we were seeded first which was added stress placed on our shoulders,” Smith said. “But other than that we were just ready to play and give our all out there on the court.”

Bishop’s duo swung their mighty rackets and stood alone when all of the region dust had settled.

“After our first match, definitely our toughest, we felt alright and eventually won region,” Holmes said. “At district we kind of felt confident we had it secured but at region we did not know what to expect because we were the top seed and had to prove we deserved to be number one.”

The 2010 state champs, Esquivel said, are equally grounded both on and off the court.

“As far as on the court, they do not have that cocky

“As far as on the court, they do not have that cocky attitude,” Esquivel said. “Of course they go in with plenty KISD of confidence but they are very respectful of the other teams. They are just a great pair of boys.”

Esquivel added that the boys’ success this season is a direct result of their tenacious work ethic.

“They put a lot of time into this sport and are very selfdisciplined,” Esquivel said. “They will come up here early in the morning on their own to practice, they’ll be out there in the heat of the day at 3 p.m. practicing and then they also go to the university courts and practice over there so they work very hard and are so self-disciplined.”