While the rest of the men's tennis team heads to Chattanooga for a tournament this weekend, one doubles pair will look to make Tiger history by capturing a national championship.
University of Memphis senior Jordan Smith and junior David Henry are gearing up for what could amount to 10 days of play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Coach Paul Goebel will be traveling with the pair and freshman David O'Hare, who also qualified for the championship match.
"If they take this one match at a time I think they can go a long way," Goebel said.
The dynamic doubles team has already garnered a lot of attention this summer when they jumped about 40 spots from last season's finish to land at No. 47 in this year's summer pre-season rankings.
"In the beginning, they could have one really good game and then lose the next. But they're becoming more consistent and playing well in every match," Goebel said. "They are leading by example."
But the stuff that makes Henry and Smith such a good partnership can't be measured by statistics. They have a great rapport on court that Goebel could only describe in intangibles - they simply have great chemistry, he said.
"They have a nice relationship," Goebel said. "They are friends on and off the court."
The two have known of each other for quite a while, having attended rival high schools. Smith, the Tiger team captain, went to Memphis University School and Henry's an alum of McCallie High in Chattanooga.
"I think the relationship off-court matters more than people might think," Henry said. "You might not recognize it but it is somewhere in your subconscious, and I think that helps."
The two were matched at the beginning of the 2009-2010 season and quickly rose to become the No. 1 pair on the team. At the same time, Henry finished his sophomore season with a 10-10 record at the No. 1-3 singles positions. The pair posted 14 doubles wins in the spring and picked up victories over the No. 1 duo from 58th-ranked Iowa and No. 11 Ole Miss, along with the University of Alabama and Conference USA rival Southern Mississippi.
They fell to 37th-ranked Darren Walsh and Adham el-Effendi of Southern Methodist, but Smith said the shared experience in defeat has made them stronger. Smith's monster serve and doggedness at the net compliment Henry's newly reworked backhand and returns.
They will also play individually in the week's tournament, but as much focus goes to the doubles games, if not more.
"I treat each separately, almost like two entirely different sports," Smith said. "But I'm just as pumped up for a doubles match as a singles, and vice-versa."
The Memphis native took a moment to wax nostalgic before practice at the Racquet Club of Memphis Thursday afternoon.
"It's not everyday you get to compete in a national tournament," he said. "Hopefully we can make history for ourselves, for the Tigers, in this tournament. That would be the best week ever."
