ODA’s Krug twins, grandsons of Dick Vitale, break through on tennis court

It took a couple rounds at the United States Tennis Association National Selection Tournament in Norcross, Ga., last month for Connor and Jake Krug to figure out what they’d need to do for their biggest tournament victory yet.

The first round was shaky, and even as the victories piled up it was more because of the twins’ individual prowess, rather than their collective execution.

They bickered during the first couple days, unable to sort out who should be going after the balls coming down the middle of the court. Connor, the righty playing on the right side of the court, wanted Jake to get them. Jake, a lefty playing on the left, had grown used to his more assertive brother taking the lead.

“They were two separate people playing on the same court,” said Lance Luciani, who coaches the Krugs out of Palm Aire Country Club. “They started to actually jell as a team.”

Luciani told Connor he had to stop griping at Jake. Both of them were to blame for the miscommunications. He told Jake to just start taking the ball without thinking about Connor. He needed to play his role as well.

So they started to roll, never dropping more than two games during the pro-set matches between the first and final rounds. They fell behind in the championship before reeling off seven straight games to erase a two-game deficit and beat Sebastian Dounchis and Carter Morgan, 8-1. The 14s title was the biggest doubles win yet for the Out-of-Door Academy eighth-graders, who happen to be ESPN announcer Dick Vitale’s grandsons.

Individually, they’ve both been consistently successful. Connor is ranked No. 8 for his age in Florida, according to TennisRecruiting.net, and went to the quarterfinals at the selection tournament. Jake is ranked No. 12 and won his first-round match. As a team, though, the win Nov. 30 at Life Time Athletic and Tennis Peachtree Corners may have been a turning point.

“At the end they really started to look like a team,” Luciani said. “They would’ve killed everybody.”

Connor will play in the Orange Bowl next weekend in Plantation and then the two will play as a doubles team again at the end of the month in Tucson, Ariz. The United States Tennis Association National Winter Championships begin Dec. 27 at Reffkin Tennis Center.

Rebels, Mustangs win at Toys for Tots tourney

Rebels Baseball and Mustangs Elite were both tested in the championship rounds of the sixth annual Suncoast Athletics Toys for Tots baseball tournament before pulling out narrow victories for a pair of Suncoast Travel Ball (STB) championships in Sarasota.

The Rebels, who draw from both Manatee and Sarasota counties, edged Silver Hawks 16U, another Bradenton team to win 12-9 in the 16 and under sophomore open division. The Mustangs’ victory was even narrower, sneaking past Clearwater’s TBSA Patriots, 5-4, in the 11 and under open division.

Two more local teams reached their final rounds before falling. The Rebels also reached the final in 13 and under open before Kangaroo Court Baseball Academy, which features players from across the Tampa Bay area, rolled to an 18-10 win. The Cortez Stone Crabs fell to Sarasota Vipers White in the 12 and under AA division.

The final STB event before the United States Specialty Sports Association Winter World Series next weekend in Clearwater. The first Bay Area Toys for Tots begins Friday and concludes Sunday. The 2016 schedule concludes with the Winter World Series from Dec. 28-31 in Kissimmee.

This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 6:50 PM with the headline "ODA’s Krug twins, grandsons of Dick Vitale, break through on tennis court."