From the left, Maple Grove’s Fletcher and Trey DeMink are all smiles after they claimed the doubles title at the Section VI Tennis Championship at Orchard Park High School on Friday. The victory advances the seniors to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship at Flushing Meadows in New York next week. Submitted photo

ORCHARD PARK — Trey and Fletcher DeMink were admittedly nervous at the start of their semifinal doubles match at the Section VI Tennis Championships on Friday at Orchard Park High School.

Facing OP’s Will Roberts and Griffin Watson — a duo that defeated the Maple Grove seniors a year ago — the DeMinks were down 5-1 in the first set.

And then everything changed.

“We just had a little talk about how hard we’ve worked and how much this meant,” Trey said. “Then we won six games straight, and that gave us a lot of momentum to win that match.”

The DeMinks went on to defeat their Erie County rivals 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to advance to the title match against another familiar pair, Isaac Moses and Cavan Boutillette. The Olean tandem had defeated the DeMinks in the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association title match earlier this month, but this time the Bemus Point residents prevailed 7-5, 6-4 to claim the sectional crown.

“We went out with confidence, and we did it,” Fletcher said.

The victory advances the twins — the sons of Phin and Sara — to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships at Flushing Meadows in New York. The first and second rounds are May 31.

“It’s always been our dream,” Trey said. “We love to go to those (professional) tournaments as a family. Just to be able to play on the courts that our favorite professional players play, I’m just so excited for it.”

The teenagers, who rank one-two in their graduating class, have had plenty of help in their tennis journey, beginning with Tom Anderson, who worked with the DeMinks when they first came to the Lakewood YMCA as 5-year-olds.

“Tom has always been my biggest mentor,” Trey said.

Anderson noted Friday night that he believes that the DeMinks are the first boys doubles team from the CCAA to win the sectionals and be the No. 1 seed.

“They’re a good doubles team,” Anderson said. “Trey is really aggressive and hits it hard, and Fletcher is more consistent, so they go together well. I used to tell the kids that if you beat someone that’s equal to you or better than you, it’s a big deal.”

The other doubles teams to advance to the state tournament are Moses and Boutillette of Olean (No. 2); Parth Vijay and Shaan Cheruvu of Williamsville East (No. 3); and Roberts and Watson of Orchard Park (No. 4).

Results from the rest of the CCAA sectional qualifiers were unavailable at press time.