When the Class 2 state tennis championships commence Friday morning, Conner Bunch and Robbie Nicolli will be rooting each other on.
The only way they won't be is if they happen to square off in a match. And since they've been placed on opposite sides of their tournament bracket, they could only meet in the championship round.
Bunch, a Holt junior, and Nicolli, a Francis Howell North sophomore, are the two St. Charles County representatives in the Class 2 singles tournament that starts Friday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
The two singles players have a budding rivalry and already in their abbreviated history have traded blows in conference and district play.
But both managed to qualify for state with quality performances at sectionals and want nothing more than to see each other succeed.
"He's become a good friend of mine," Bunch said of Nicolli. "We go back and fourth. I beat him, he's beaten me. It's a good rivalry."
Nicolli takes a 17-3 record into his Friday match against Carthage's Jordan Ward.
"He's starting fresh tomorrow and if his game is on he should do really well," Howell North tennis coach Kellie Voyles said of Nicolli. "Even if he gets down he has a good mental game that helps him be able to come back. He's played at a lot of different levels but coming down here is a totally different league. It'll be a great experience."
Bunch (14-4) is the first individual state qualifier from Holt in the last 10 years and will square off against Liberty's Jacob Alexander in the first round.
"He's probably the hardest working and most focused tennis player I've coached," Holt coach Jake Adams said. "It's great to see the hard work pay off for him. For some kids it's hard not to let emotions get the best of them but Conner doesn't seem to be fazed by that. Hopefully he can play to the best of his ability and we'll see what happens."
