Torres brothers learn tennis together, earn PVHS’ No. 1 doubles spot

The Torres brothers briefly tried to sell a visiting reporter on the idea that they were twins.

They are not. Tristan is a senior at Pahrump Valley High School. Brendan is a junior. But the brothers, who also play baseball, have found another way to operate as a matched set: learning tennis together and working their way into the Trojans’ No. 1 boys doubles position.

Neither had played tennis before this season, according to coach Michael Dela Rosa. What they brought to the courts was familiarity with each other, a willingness to practice and, by their own account, different strengths that fit together.

Brendan likes working up front, where he can use his quickness. Tristan is more comfortable in the back, handling the longer shots. In a text response to follow-up questions, the brothers said they concentrated on developing those strengths.

“Being brothers we have natural chemistry, so we don’t actually have to talk too much on the court,” they wrote. “Both of us understand where we need to be and what we need to be successful.”

Knowing each other, of course, does not mean knowing a new sport. The brothers are learning that part as they go, contributing to a Pahrump team that is trying to turn practice and match experience into more consistent results.

Against Moapa Valley last week, they won two of their three doubles sets in a match that could hardly have been closer. The teams finished the regular sets tied 9-9 before Moapa won the tiebreaker 36-32 to take a 10-9 team victory.

The Torres brothers lost their opening set 0-6, then came back with 6-0 and 6-1 wins. Junior boys captain Jace Eichner and Ethan Johnson each swept their three singles sets.

The narrow loss followed a 15-3 defeat against Virgin Valley. It also gave the brothers another opportunity to contribute after they won two of three doubles sets in Pahrump’s 10-8 victory over Adelson earlier this month.

For Dela Rosa, their progress starts with their approach to learning.

“They are very enthusiastic,” he said. “They want to learn. They want to try to be the best.”

Speaking beside the courts shortly before the Moapa match, with wind blowing around a pop-up canopy and players preparing to compete, Dela Rosa said coaching the brothers together had not presented a particular challenge.

Their attendance had impressed him. Even with baseball conditioning competing for their time, he said, they had come to tennis practice the previous day.

For a coach in his sixth season, finding players and keeping them developing is a recurring assignment. Experienced seniors graduate. New players arrive with different athletic backgrounds and different amounts of tennis knowledge. Other sports also compete for students’ attention.

The Torres brothers are part of that continuing process, and Tristan’s first season comes with the added urgency of being his last year of high school.

“He’s learned a lot now,” Dela Rosa said. “So he’s actually doing great.”

The coach pointed to the brothers’ move into the top doubles position as evidence of their progress. But the broader challenge for the team remains experience, particularly when Pahrump faces opponents who have been playing longer.

Asked before the Moapa match about the biggest obstacle to winning another close contest, Dela Rosa’s answer was direct.

“It’s just lack of experience compared to them,” he said.

Pahrump’s girls recently found their way through a close finish of their own, completing an earlier 9-9 tie against Virgin Valley with a 38-26 tiebreaker victory. That gave the Trojans a 10-9 match win.

For the boys, the Moapa result left them on the other side of that margin. For the Torres brothers, it was another match in a first season that has already taken them from beginners to the top spot in the doubles lineup.

Their explanation of how they work together is straightforward: each knows where he belongs and what he does best.

Their explanation of what happens when something goes wrong is equally straightforward.

“When Tristan messes up he blames me,” Brendan wrote.

“When Brendan messes up he blames me,” Tristan wrote.

Contact sports reporter Bill Evans at wevans@pvtimes.com.