DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR

PAYNE HENRY

COOPER GOMMEL

SCHOOL Rogers High

CLASS Henry is a senior, Gommel is a sophomore.

THE SCOOP This season was the second time to play together. ... Henry and Gommel were each named to the Class 6A all-state team. ... Fell in the Class 6A state semifinals to the eventual state champions Henry Nolan and Steven Weeks of Little Rock Catholic 7-5, 6-3. ... Second straight year Henry and Gommel were eliminated by the Little Rock Catholic duo. ... Henry and Gommel finished second in the 7A-West Conference this season, falling to Springdale Har-Ber in the finals.

DID YOU KNOW? The duo was leading in the second set of the 6A semifinals against Nolan and Weeks when Henry double-faulted three straight times. "We were up to win the set, and it was on my serve, and I wish I could just go back and redo that game," Henry said. "That would have changed the whole momentum of the entire match."

QUOTABLE "We really learned a lot more about each other this season. We just grew better as a team. We're not only friends on the court, we're friends off the court as well," Gommel said.

QUOTABLE "We improved mentally this year. Last year we just would not be there for some matches, and that was crucial. This year we were there mentally the majority of the time. We never gave up, and we just worked on our mentality and got a lot better at that," Henry said.
