2023 The Times Tennis Players of the Year: Ottawa’s Adam and Noah Gross

It’s always nice to know a teammate has your back when times get tough and to share success with them.

Having that teammate be your brother makes it even more special.

That was the case for Ottawa’s No. 1 boys doubles team of senior Adam Gross and sophomore Noah Gross this past spring.

The Pirates’ siblings put together a season that saw them finish undefeated in the Interstate 8 Conference regular season play, third at the league’s tournament, capture a Class 1A sectional title on their home courts and advance to the state meet.

All of those accomplishments also led to them being named 2023 The Times Tennis Players of the Year.

“As their dad and their coach, I couldn’t be prouder of what they accomplished together.”

—  Ottawa boys tennis coach Matt Gross

“That was my first time going to state and that was a goal of mine even before I started playing in high school,” said Adam Gross, who was also playing his first season in doubles. “Our matches [at state] didn’t work out (0-2) like we would have hoped, but it was a great experience for both Noah and me. There were so many good players there and just awesome to be a part of the whole thing.

“To receive this honor, and especially being able to share it with Noah is pretty cool. I feel like we had a pretty good season, sure there were some matches I feel like we could have done and played better, but to be able to team up with Noah my senior season was super cool.”

The pair finished the season with an overall 21-16 record and helped the Ottawa team finish the season as undefeated I-8 regular-season champs and runner-up at the conference meet.

“I was getting tired of being around Adam almost every minute or every day for the past three months,” Noah Gross said with a laugh. “But it was a really fun three months that I would do again for sure. We would talk about how we played, what we did well and what we could have done better on the way home from matches, but that’s about the extent of tennis talk.

“I think most of the time we each already knew the goods and bads of how we played so there wasn’t really much to discuss. Neither of us were critical of the other’s play at all this season. We are both competitive and there were times when I’m sure we weren’t happy with something the other one did on the court. But I also think the fact that we had confidence in each other’s ability and the knowledge that we’d overcome whatever situation we were in helped us both stay focused.”

A huge highlight in the brother’s season came in the championship match of the sectional at the Henderson-Guenther Tennis Facility.

Down 3-0 in the third set to Metamora’s Hudson Shaw and Dane Hutchison, the siblings stormed back for a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory to claim the title.

“I feel like the final game of the third set up 6-5 in the sectional championship was where their combined talents really showed,” Ottawa coach and their father Matt Gross said. “Adam was serving for the match; Noah was at the net, and I could see they were both focused and confident.”

Adam Gross recorded a pair of aces and Noah Gross’ two winning returns closed out the match.

“Adam is such an overall consistent player who has a tremendous serve, and I feel I’m pretty good at the net,” Noah Gross said. “We have different strengths both physically and mentally, but I feel like those skills complemented each other. I feel that made the difference down the stretch in sectional title match.”

Adam Gross will be heading to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and says he’s expecting to play club tennis there. He said while the sectional win was awesome, the I-8 third-place match ranks up there for him as a special time.

“We had lost to Rochelle in the semifinals but came back to beat (Andrew Bollis/Danny Santoy of) La Salle-Peru in a back-and-forth match. It was a nice bounce-back win against a rival team ... it doesn’t get much better.”

Coach Gross said playing the part of coach and dad wasn’t as hard as one would think, mostly because of the confidence he had in his sons to figure things out in the heat of the battle.

“I was asked a number of times this season, ‘What was it like to coach two sons playing doubles together?’” he said. “Honestly, I learned I had to let them do the talking. I wanted to be corrective, but as the season went along, I realized they are both very smart players, and they know what to do. At times I would let them know what I was seeing and an adjustment that they could make, but for the most part I let them handle their business themselves.”

“As their dad and their coach, I couldn’t be prouder of what they accomplished together.”