After playing together in high school brothers Jonathan and Josh Sheehy look for more success playing as doubles partners now at ACU.
The brothers, who won state together during their high school years and went 1-1 in their last tournament hosted by the University of Tulsa, look forward to using the family aspect to their advantage.
“With your brother it’s a lot different because you’ve known them your entire life,” said Josh, a sophomore finance major from Arlington. “You know everything that makes them happy or mad, and sometimes that can come into play on the tennis court.”
Jonathan said that originally, playing as doubles partners hadn’t really worked out. But over the summer, the duo tried again and found success.
“Just from this past summer, I can tell our relationship has grown more than ever both on and off the court,” said Jonathan, a freshman finance major. “We know each other’s games inside and out so if one of us is having trouble, we can help the other out.”
Josh, who was named Southland Conference freshman of the year last season, agreed that their reattempt was successful.
“The biggest factor in our success I think has been the increased communication, Josh said. “We’ve learned to talk to each other more on the court instead of getting mad about the little things and letting it make us play worse.”
Known by the team as “Taco,” Josh also said that he feels he’s had a significant impact on Jonathan in his tennis career.
“Being older, I get to play in many tournaments before he does and it sets a standard that he sets out to beat when he gets a chance,” Josh said.
Halfway through his first semester in college, Jonathan said that his brother has influenced him both on and off the court.
“We would play tennis together almost every single day until college and he helped me not just as a better tennis player, but as a person as well,” Jonathan said. “He’s made me keep running, since I hate doing fitness. He’s made sure I keep up with all of my schoolwork, and don’t get behind on that. He always told me to show up to practice on time and not be late, because I learned the hard way on that one last week.”
On the other hand, Josh said that he recognizes Jonathan’s influence in his tennis career as well.
“He has definitely influenced me for sure,” Josh said. “It’s great to have someone like him push me in practice every day and keep me from slacking off. Since we know each other so well, we can coach each other when needed on the court.”
In addition, the team recognizes their chemistry and looks forward to watching the duo grow together throughout the fall and spring seasons.
“Since they have grown up playing together, they have great chemistry together and they’re always on the same page so that should be great for their play together,” said Paul Domanski a junior teammate from New Braunfels. “For Jonathan, it’s great to have an older role model to look out for you and help you learn the ropes. For Josh it’s great to have a sibling on the team and another high level player to push him get better.”
Sophomore Cole Lawson has also noticed the connection between them on the court.
“There’s always an extra something special when siblings are unified on the court, and I really think their chemistry will bring a lot to the team.”
Jonathan and Josh will play together at the ITA Regional Tournament hosted by TCU next weekend.
