Wendy’s notes pair of aces in Lakeside doubles team
HOT SPRINGS — Spencer Kauffman and Jack Henry Hill were born 21 days apart. The duo have been doubles partners in tennis since they were just 8 years old. Now, they’re 15 and recently received the Wendy’s Boys Tennis Player of the Year honor. “Player” might seem like a misnomer, but the boys said they believe their close bond as doubles partners on the court and friends off the court gives them the ability to function like one player.
“It helps with communication,” Kauffman said.
“Yeah, we complement each other,” Hill said. “If I know I’m not going to be able to get to a ball, he’ll be able to get to it. It’s pretty much like covering each other’s weaknesses and knowing our strengths — knowing how to play off each other.”
Kauffman and Hill have won the Class 5A state championship two years in a row and took home their first overall championship this year for Lakeside High School in Hot Springs.
The Wendy’s Player of the Year Awards are annually given to 23 athletes, chosen by coaches voting. The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Arkansas Activities Association office in North Little Rock on June 1, during the Wendy’s Day of Champions luncheon. Coaches and school administers can make nominations throughout the school year for the awards. Shawny Green coaches the tennis team at Lakeside High School and believes Kauffman and Hill stand out as players worthy of such an honor.
“We have not had a boys doubles team win the overalls,” Green said. “Last year, they won the state title as ninth-graders. They beat Pulaski Academy at the state tournament. Then in the overall tournament, it was Pulaski Academy the same doubles team, and they beat [Kauffman and Hill] in the finals of the overalls. So, I think they were pretty determined to win that thing this year. They set out to do it and did it.”
The boys said they knew their competition and were confident they could win. They had experience against the team they were facing.
“We played them the year before in the overalls,” Hill said. “We won that match. We played them in the semis last year; then we lost in
— the finals. We just knew we needed to play our best tennis, and we’d win. Our opponents are in USTA (United States Tennis Association) tennis as well. We had a pretty good game plan going in. We’ve beaten them like twice before.”
Kauffman said his favorite professional tennis player is Roger Federer, while Hill said his is Rafael Nadal. Federer and Nadal are both known for their class on and off the court, a characteristic reflected in the way Kauffman and Hill have tried to behave toward their opponents and teammates.
“Those two boys are really great kids,” Green said. “They deserve every bit of it — just fun-loving guys.”
For all of their success, the tennis tandem looked back on last year’s runner-up finish in the overalls with regret.
“We should have won overalls last year. We played the people we played in the state finals. We came into the match thinking we would win,” Hill said.
“[It was] lack of focus, maybe lack of motivation, since we’d already won state,” Kauffman said.
“And we were playing one of our friends,” Hill said. “It’s easy to get unfocused.”
Their coach said the boys are selfless in their wins, as well as their losses. They realize that being recognized as a doubles team is special because this award generally goes to singles players.
“We’re just really grateful for our coaches,” Hill said, “not only our coaches at school, but Pablo Esner. He’s our coach at the country club — and the rest of our team. We wouldn’t be here without them.”