CHARLESTON – Winning a state championship is always sweet. Doing it alongside your own brother is priceless.
Kalman and Alexander Nagy did exactly that on Saturday in Charleston, winning the Division I boys doubles state tennis titles.
The duo defeated Ali Elkhansa and Alex Michael of George Washington 6-1, 6-2 to claim the doubles championship.
Alexander, just a freshman, also brought home the singles state championship as well. He downed GW’s Michael 6-2, 6-1 in the singles finals.
It’s the first state championship for Kalman, a junior, and his brother, and Kalman says the feeling is unmatched.
“So much extra work has gone into making this season a successful one, and I think that’s what made winning feel so great,” Kalman said. “We’ve been really focusing on our training this past year and seeing that all pay off is incredible.”
As one of the top players in the state since his freshman season, Kalman says he’s grown in multiple phases of his game from his first season to now.
“I’ve grown my game the most tactically,” he said. “I have always been able to hit the ball hard and hit some good shots, but I needed to play more consistently at the same level and manage the game a little more than I had in the past.”
Alexander says being the aggressor was the difference for him in the singles championship against Michael.
“That really helped me take control of the match,” he said. “I also had a ton of people from my family and teammates cheering me on; even the players from Morgantown High were behind me. That helped a ton because for GW, it was sort of a homecourt.”
Prior to the season, Kalman and Alexander hadn’t paired as doubles partners much in the past, and grew as a team quickly throughout the season.
“We never played any tournaments or anything like that together,” Kalman said. “There’s a big difference from the beginning of the season to where we are now. We’ve worked hard together to get better at working together, and this weekend was sort of the pinnacle of that growth, and it feels amazing to share it with him.”
With both the Nagy brothers returning to UHS next season, don’t be surprised to hear Kalman and Alexander’s names plenty in the coming season in the discussion among the state’s best.
