By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Andrew and Austin Davids were one of the top doubles teams in Kansas high school tennis while playing for their father, Kurt, at Topeka West.
Brothers Andrew (left) and Austin (right) Davids, along with their father, Kurt, were on hand Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center for the Topeka West Invitational girls tennis tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And although their competitive playing days are behind them, the Davids brothers are still a fixture on tennis courts around the state and they are still a team, with Andrew Davids the head coach at Olathe South and younger brother Austin serving as his assistant..
On Tuesday the Davids were back in their old stomping gounds at Kossover Tennis Center for a family reunion of sorts, with the Falcons competing in the 11-school Topeka West Invitational, hosted by Kurt Davids and West.
Kurt Davids said he's appreciative of the fact that his two sons are not only getting the opportunity to coach the sport they've spent most of their life in, but arengetting to do it together.
"They've always been such a dynamic pair, teasing each other, playing doubles together in high school and even some in college (at Emporia State) and as adults once in a while playing tennis, they're so close,'' Kurt Davids said. "To see them coaching together, those girls on their team are pretty lucky.''
Kurt said tennis continues to be a major topic in family conversations.
"A lot of times it's more just commiserating, I guess,'' Davids said. "We all have the same issues, 'Kids aren't doing this or they're not doing that,' or telling funny stories. We get a lot of kick out of that.
"It's kind of weird because my dad and my older brother were electrical engineers and they always talked shop and it used to drive me crazy. Now here we are, we're at family gatherings and we're talking shop -- it's just a different kind of shop.''
Andrew and Austin had a stint coaching together a few years ago and when Andrew's Olathe South assistant retired, he immediately thought of Austin to fill that post.
"It's a blast,'' Andrew Davids said. "We're having a great time and the girls enjoy it, too, I think, having a couple of coaches that have fun and can make each other laugh and make the girls laugh a little bit. We have a good time.''
Andrew Davids, who teaches at Olathe South, said it also helps that he and Austin have very similar philosophies when it comes to tennis.
"We were raised by the same coach so we are very much similar-minded,'' Andrew said. "We very much are of like mind when it comes to what we need to tell the girls.''
Austin Davids, who is working as a special education para-professional at a mddle school, said he jumped at the chance to coach with his brother again.
"I saw what Dad did with his boys team winning state (last sprng) and it gave me the itch again,'' Austin said. "It just happened that (Andrew) was losing an assistant and I did everything I needed to do and could possibly do to make it work.
"We've been on the court our entire lives together so any strategy, any philosophy, anything like that we see eye to eye and I think that's why we work so well as a coaching staff.''
Sports has helped strengthen the Davids' family bond between mom Katie, dad Kurt and brothers Andrew (left) and Austin. [Submitted photo]
Austin said it has also been a tremendous helps that the entire Davids family has been involved in athletics. Andrew and Austin's mom, Katie, is a former high school volleyball coach and is currently the athletic director at Landon Middle School.
"It's hard to put into words how much that benefitted us,'' Austin said. "It's not just tennis, it was basketball and Mom with her volleyball coaching back in the day, it showed us that it's more than just hitting a ball back and forth.
"There's strategy to it, there's communication. We always saw it deeper than what the sport is superficially, so I think it gave us a real edge if you will in any sport we competed in.''
Vikes post second-place team finish
Seaman finished second as a team in Tuesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational, led by senior Katie Krumins and sophomore Molly Gorman, who finished second in No. 1 doubles.
Sidney Chinn posted a third-place finish for the Vikings in No. 2 singles while Kate Eckert and Cameron Lux finished third in No. 2 doubles and Emma Sweeney finished fourth in No. 1 singles.
Shawnee Heights' Jette Glasenapp was the runnerup in No. 1 singles, suffering only her second loss of the season in the championship match.
Washburn Rural's Claire Ireland and Gabby Martinez finished third in No. 1 doubles while A. Chetzoy and Katzer finished fourth in No. 2 doubles.
The Centennial League tournament will be played at Kossover on Monday while the United Kansas Conference meet will be played at Kossover on Tuesday.
Blue Valley West won the team title with 54 points, followed by Seaman with 45 points and Salina Central with 40 points.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
At Kossover Tennis Center
Team scores (top three)
Blue Valley West 54, Seaman 45, Salina South 40.
Individual results
Singles
No. 1 -- Championship: Yan, Blue Valley West, def. Glasenapp, Shawnee Heights, 6-0, 6-0. Third: Ruder, Olathe West, def. Sweeney, Seaman, 6-3, 6-3.
No. 2 -- Championship: Pitchlyn, Blue Valley West, def. Cho, Junction City, 6-1, 6-0. Third: Chinn, Seaman def. Templeton, Olathe West, 6-4, 6-4.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Championship: Musti-VijayKumar, Blue Valley West, def. Krumins/Gorman, Seaman, 6-2, 7-5. Third: Ireland/Martinez, Washburn Rural, def. Renfro/Renfro, Salina, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 2 -- Championship: Renfro/Foth, Salina Central, def. Godi/Sabapathy, Blue Valley West, 6-2, 6-2. Consolation: Eckert/Lux, Seaman. def. A. Chetzoy/Katzer, Washburn Rural, 7-6 (10-8), 6-2.
