Eli Meyer and Jack VonDielingen say they plan on playing their best match of the season when they face Abe Tebbe and Jack Mckenzie of Greensburg in the individual doubles tournament today at Bloomington South High School.

Meyer and VonDielingen, both juniors, take a record of 17-4 into the match that will start at 6:30 p.m.

Owls coach Brandon Davis said, “They need to do what they’ve been doing all season and focus, be aggressive, and be smart about shot placement, and know when to go for a winner and when not to.

“They can do it, it’s just a matter of patience mixed with some aggressiveness.”

VonDielingen said, “We know what we’re going to do. We’ve already got a plan.”

VonDielingen is right-handed and likes to play on the right side to take advantage of his forehand, while Meyer is left-handed and likes playing on the left side of the court.

Meyer said it takes both players playing together to be successful.

“In doubles, especially, you can’t just have one guy not on the same page,” Meyer said. “You always have to be on the same page to win. I personally like to play baseline more and Jack likes to play up more. The best thing about doubles is being able to build up each other. When you do something good you have someone else to congratulate and get hyped with.

“You can always rely on somebody else. I think doubles is more challenging because there are a lot more aspects to doubles.”

VonDielingen said he is happy to have advanced to the next round.

“It’s a great feeling, but it’s a tough loss (3-2 to Austin) as a team. We’re going to try and get it done (at Bloomington),” he said. “I love the energy everybody brings. I love playing with Eli. Everybody gets excited. There are a lot of overheads.”

Meyer also said it was nice to advance.

“It’s bittersweet because we were hoping the team could move on,” he said. “I’ve never played in the regional but I’ve always gone over there with the team. That’s always been one of the better experiences.”

The only senior on the Seymour team this season was Andrew Levine. Seymour won sectionals Levine’s freshman and sophomore seasons.

Levine won his match at two singles against Austin in the sectional final, but only winners at one singles and one doubles can advance without the entire team.

VonDielingen said he takes pride in his serve.

“The strongest part of my game is probably my serve on my good days,” he said. “When my serve is on, we’re doing pretty well. Other than that, I’m pretty good at the net, too.”

This is VonDielingen’s second year playing at Seymour. He played his freshman season at Trinity Lutheran.

Both players said communication is a must.

“Communication is very important,” VonDielingen said. “You’ve got to know who is covering what. If the ball is going down the line, you’ve got to be there. If the ball comes behind you while you’re at the net, you’ve got to know who is going to get to it.”

Meyer said they need to get off to a good start.

“First set is everything,” he said. “It’s just like winning the first game of the finals. The best thing you can do is win the first point and win the first set. Win everything.”

VonDielingen said, “I love the competition. They (Austin’s doubles team) were excited, we were excited. It was a tough match.”

Meyer said, “It will be tough competition (at regionals), and we’ll find out how good we really are.”