Parkersburg’s Alex Marshall takes a drink of water during a high school tennis practice at City Park. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — Since they were infants and able to communicate between each other even if those on the outside world could not make out a word they were saying, twin brothers Alex and Christian Marshall are continuing to make the connection on the tennis court for their final high school season.

The two seniors are members of a PHS boys tennis program which will compete in the team competition for Class AAA at the West Virginia High School State Tennis Tournament beginning Thursday in Charleston. The Big Reds are seeded No. 3 in the eight-team field and meet No. 6 Hurricane in the opening round.

Should PHS pass its first test, most likely No. 2 University awaits the Big Reds for a semifinal matchup which would take place sometime Thursday afternoon or evening.

The Marshall twins are seeded third in the doubles bracket after winning a regional title. Alex Marshall is the lone PHS representative in the singles division.

“I’m more worried about the team aspect, honestly,” Alex said. “It’s just one day at a time for me. When we get to doubles, I think we will do a good job — Christian and myself definitely can make it to the semifinal and maybe make it to the finals.”

Experience, in terms of grade level, is on the side of PHS. Fellow senior Cale Stutler, who plays No. 2 singles and joins junior Isaac Stephens in No. 2 doubles, feels the close-knit bond between teammates is worth a few extra points on the court.

“I’ve been playing tennis since sixth grade — this season has meant a lot to me because this is definitely my last season of playing tennis. I’m finally realizing boxes are being checked off and I’m finally about to graduate.

“The one thing I like about us is that we are a team. I don’t think other teams are as close as we are. We do everything together. When we won the team championship at regional, it felt amazing. I was playing my singles match at another set of courts — when I heard Isaac yell ‘come on’ then hit that last winner, we all ran to support Isaac because he closed it out for us.”

A fourth senior in the equation, Jack McLean, joined the tennis program for the first time this season. He plays No. 3 doubles with sophomore Thomas Lindenmuth.

As a member of the PHS boys soccer team, McLean is accustomed to team unity. The regional championship provided a sense of what is to come.

“Playing soccer and never winning any hardware was kind of tough, so finally winning something on the tennis court felt amazing,” McLean said. “Being out there and being able to cheer each other definitely helps improve our game. You see teams out there and they are kind of quiet.”

Lindenmuth uses the seniors as mentors, especially since this year marks his debut playing at the state level. The atmosphere won’t compare to what he remembers at the middle school level.

“The seniors welcomed me in and showed me a lot of leadership,” Lindenmuth said. “Playing in middle school definitely helped, but high school is a whole new experience because of better players, better competition.”

PHS also has a player in their corner who comes through in the clutch. During a food stop, Big Red coach Eric Stanley aptly gave his junior the title of Isaac “The Closer” Stephens.

“Isaac always wins his matches,” Alex Marshall said. “We know we can rely on him.”

As for the Marshall twins, they embrace the opportunity of putting their bodies through war over a possible three full days of tennis. Alex may feel more of the brunt since he qualified for all three formats. At regionals, the twins fell into the same quadrant for singles, so it was only possible for no more than one to advance to state.

When Alex first broke down the bracket, he was happy to see how the tournament might play out because one family member would qualify. Christian, who plays No. 3 singles, remembers losing to his brother 8-0 in a challenge match but walked off the court last week in Charleston proud that won four games in an eight-game pro set.

“I didn’t have high expectations — I’ve always lost to my brother, he’s the better tennis player,” Christian said. “But I didn’t go out there with a defeatist mindset because I wanted to take this one. I knew I was playing good and got a few games, which I never do.”

Regardless of this week’s outcome, the twins will remain as close as ever. They plan to room together at Ohio University next fall — Alex majoring in communications and Alex a music major.

Christian admits playing doubles with his brother has not always been a bed of roses. To the naked eye, a spectator may not notice some of the underlying tones playing out on the court.

“People just expect twins to get together and be able to play tennis, but it’s hard especially when you know the person,” Christian said. “We make sure we play together cohesively as a unit.”

According to their father, Lance, his twin sons have had that ability to connect — since the very beginning.

“Yeah, they had the twin talk,” Lance said. “As babies, they would babble back and forth, and laugh and play. We were like, ‘what are they saying?’ We would separate them in the crib, and in the morning they would be back together.”

CLASS AA/A

WILLIAMSTOWN — Wood County Christian sophomore suffered a minor setback as the No. 1 seed at the Class AA/A, Region I singles tournament following a semifinal loss. However, she rebounded with a win in the third-place match over an Oak Glen girl she fell to for her only loss during the regular season.

Piatt returns to the state tournament after placing fourth last year as a freshman.

“I’m excited and ready to keep working,” Piatt said. “I just want to play my best.”

The Class AA/A brackets at the state tournament will be littered with Williamstown representatives throughout the three-day event.

Both the girls and boys teams won regional titles. Twin sisters Addison and Peyton Woodburn, along with the team of Lauren Deem and Emmalee Pritchett are in the doubles bracket for girls. On the boys side, Brady Woodard and partner Isaac Harris will represent the Yellowjackets along with JP Strobl and Xavier Graeber.

In the field of 16 for the singles division, Williamstown owns two slots on the girls side with Addison and Peyton Woodburn and double that number for the boys as Woodard, Harris, Graeber and Brady Anderson.

“There’s two from Charleston Catholic and another kid from Winfield — we are all fairly close,” Woodard said. “Then in doubles, it’s going to be a challenge because the two Charleston Catholic kids play together. And they are really good.

“As far as our team, I like our depth. It’s going to be a hard match no matter what. If we can just win the lower seeds then we have a chance to take home the state title.”

As for the Williamstown girls, defending their state title has been on their since day of practice.

“Your goal is to get to Charleston then work your way to the state title game and hopefully win that,” Peyton Woodburn said. “I think we have a great team and we are able to do that this year.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com