POULSBO — North Kitsap seniors Nick Butler and Josh Benson won the District Doubles Tournament Oct. 31 at the Kitsap Tennis and Athletic Center in Bremerton.

They will compete in the state tournament at the end of May.

“We went undefeated as a team. We had many talented kids this year and it was great to watch them improve,” Benson said.

Butler added, “Other schools have 12 to 15 kids come out [for tennis], but this year our school had 35,” Butler said.

Butler and Benson started their playing tennis in their freshmen year. Although Butler said his older brother got him into it, Benson said it was because of Butler he joined the sport.

“I wasn’t going to play,” he said, “but then I went with Nick to tennis camp. After that, the coach called me and I joined.”

Best friends since fifth grade, Benson said, “I thought Nicky was cool. I always wanted to be his friend.”

Butler said, “We have a lot of the same friends and interests, and now our parents are good friends so we’ll always be close.”

Their friendship has helped them on and off the court, they say.

“We keep each other calm,” Butler said.

“And when one is down, the other is up,” Benson said. He added, “There’s a lot of tough teams, but when were both on, we have a lot of potential.”

This is the second state competition the dynamic doubles duo has competed in, but they say competing wasn’t always so easy.

“Serving took me a while to get,” Butler said.

For Benson, the challenge was backhand. “Those are so awkward at first,” he said.

Both agreed that allocating time for practice between other sports and school is challenging.

“I had to give up soccer two years ago,” Butler said.

Benson pursues basketball in tennis’ off-season, but said “devoting the time is hard.”

Last year, they placed seventh at state. In spring, “We hope to be at least in the top five,” Butler said.

Although they’re confident of success at state, Butler said, “We haven’t seen any of the other teams play, so we really don’t know what to expect. The only way to get past that is to keep playing teams that are better.”

Benson has a different take: “I wear the same shorts for every match. They’re comfortable and I’ll keep wearing them.”

Butler said of competing at state: “It’s a weird feeling. There’s a lot of hype at state. You never really get used to it.”

Benson is confident. “We just have to be in the zone, and become mentally focused.”

When asked what the district champions eat for breakfast before a match, they replied, “The breakfast of champions — McDonalds.”

Benson added, “Just make sure you eat something. Protein is always good.”

As Butler and Benson look to the end of their senior year, they have fond memories.

“The bus rides were always a good way for the team to connect,” Butler said. “The coaches were funny. They could really relate to us. This helped the beginners.”

They plan to study business management and engineering, but say they anticipate playing tennis in college for fun.

Both said, “It’s a big part of our lives. It will always be a part of us.”