Butch and Sundance of the tennis world Cameron Yoder and Cole Reynolds hoping their senior year leads to double the fun

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid?

Rarely is one mentioned without the other, and for Hiland tennis seniors Cameron Yoder and Cole Reynolds, it is just about the same.

The two have been starting at doubles for three years at the varsity level, and in that time they have grown in their confidence, their knowledge of how the other plays, and they have become a feared duo for opponents.

Playing that long together has helped craft their game, and although they would each excel at singles, they enjoy the doubles play which last year saw them make it to Districts.

“We know each others games a lot more,” said Yoder. “We work together more without having to say anything. We know where we need to be and where we are set up at a lot more now than we used to.”

The two have known each other forever, and to area opponents, it probably seems as though the two have been playing together for a decade.

It has made for some huge expectations and goals for the two.

“We got to Districts last year, and we are shooting for State this year,” said Yoder. “It’s a big goal, but that is what we want.”

Both said that they have grown by leaps and bounds from their initial foray into high school tennis. Aside from the obvious athleticism and strength that comes with time, they have learned how to play doubles as a tandem.

Not many doubles teams have the luxury of getting to know one another’s games like these two have, and that time spent together has certainly paid off for the pair, who entered last season’s tournament trail having lost just one match all year during the regular season.

“When I look back at my freshman year, everything was a lot uglier back then,” said Reynolds. “My ground strokes, my serves, my net game…everything. It feels so much more comfortable now out there on the court, and because we know each other so well, we can just go out and play our game.”

The two believe that they have some similarities in their games, but the one big difference is that Reynolds loves the forehand, while Yoder’s backhand is a brutal weapon, one which he likes to circle around at times just so he can hit it.

“Cam’s backhand is amazing,” said Hiland coach Tony Mullet.

“He will actually run around his forehand and hit his backhand, it is that good. I’ve never seen anyone with that kind of a backhand at doubles.”

That allows them to cover plenty of ground, and their consistency in their service game and ground strokes have made them a force in doubles play.

Mullet said the goal this season is to get them more comfortable at the net, one area where Reynolds said he has gotten better.

“I feel more comfortable at the net than Cam does,” said Reynolds. “I think we are probably stronger when I’m in front and Cam is in the back.”

Have the two ever considered the option of playing singles, something that Mullet said both would be more than capable of doing?

“Personally, I think I probably could be OK at singles, but I am not very patient and after a while I think that I might try to start forcing things that weren’t there,” said Reynolds.

“I think I would love playing singles,” added Yoder. “But we’ve been together so long that it was kind of assumed that we were playing doubles again this year, and we wanted to.

“We also knew it was the best for the team, and more than anything we want to have a successful season as a team.”