While teammates at Ole Miss University, Connor Vogel and Robbye Poole took time to hit together during practices.
Sunday, that practice paid off, as the pair won the mixed doubles division of the Tennessee Valley Open Championships at the Manker Patten Tennis Club.
Vogel and Poole defeated Joel Kielbowicz and T.J. Welford 6-4, 6-4. Vogel also teamed with Catherine Newman to take the women's open doubles title.
"We know each other so well," he said. "I know how to fire her up, and she knows that when I'm tough on her, it's not personal."
Vogel, who will be a senior at Ole Miss this year, joked that Poole "was nice enough to let me hit with him.
"It's a big difference being able to have a partner that you know," she said. "Obviously, you don't get the chance to play mixed doubles in college, but we always worked out together, so it was nice to have a teammate as my partner."
Former Vanderbilt standout Catherine Newman defeated former GPS standout and current University of Florida junior Claire Bartlett 6-1, 7-6 for the women's singles title, while Brian Baker defeated Marcus Sarstrand 6-2, 6-3 for the men's crown.
"It was a tough draw this year," Poole, the 2008 champion, said. "You've got a guy that was once ranked as high as No. 90 in the world in Baker; there's no telling how good he would be if he hadn't had all those injuries."
Benjamin Rogers and J.P. Smith claimed the men's doubles crown, defeating Davey Sandgren and Nathaniel Schnugg 6-4, 7-5. Coincidentally, Smith and Sandgren were doubles partners at the University of Tennessee, claiming second in the NCAA national championships.