Mixed blessing: Hawks' Li joins forces with Kim for more adornment at tennis states

Jun. 23—In the end, he got what he wanted. Not exactly what he had imagined, and not exactly in the way he imagined getting it. But it all worked out in the end.

Urbana's Kevin Li, one of the most decorated high school boys singles players to ever play tennis in Frederick County, won his first state title last Saturday playing mixed doubles with freshman teammate Claire Kim.

The duo's 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory over Huntingtown's Brody and Bella White in the Class 3A championship match at the Wilde Lake Tennis Center in Columbia capped an eventful two weeks for Li and helped propel Urbana to its first state team title. The Hawks finished with 58 points, and C. Milton Wright of Harford County was second with 51.

"It was a remarkable weekend. I am not going to lie," Li said.

A two-time county champion in boys singles, Li faced the same decision that many other seniors faced in this unusual spring sports season due to the pandemic. The choice was to pursue your athletic goals to their fullest or celebrate your high school graduation with friends at the beach during Senior Week. There was some wiggle room in between.

After not being able to spend much time with friends over the last 16 months, Li chose to go to Ocean City and celebrate his graduation with them. By doing so, he gave up the chance to defend his title in the county tennis tournament that was occurring that same week, mainly because he didn't feel he would be adequately prepared to do so, even if he came back from the beach early.

Li did come back from the beach early. But it was to compete in the regional tournament in mixed doubles with Kim, a promising young player who played No. 2 singles over the course of the season for Urbana's girls team.

The decision was made with the blessing of Urbana tennis coach Jon Walton, who broke his long-standing rule of not allowing players to compete out of position in the postseason in pursuit of individual goals.

"I am a pretty firm believer in everything happens for a reason," Walton said. "For all of this to happen, Kevin got his state title. [Sophomores] Raul [Harish] and Javin [Ahuja] got the chance to play in a state doubles final. [County champion] Charles [Lowery] got some great experience in singles, playing some big matches. It's been a strange year. But I think everything worked out pretty well for everyone involved."

Pairing Li with Kim was seen as a way to help the freshman develop some skills and confidence in big-match settings. But Kim also helped Li, too.

"She taught me how to be patient," Li said.

At first, Kim was a little apprehensive about the pairing.

"Kevin is a senior, playing in his final season. I didn't want to mess things up for him," she said.

But the duo meshed well together on the court, with Kim's steady, consistent style blending well with Li's more aggressive approach.

They did not drop a set on their way to the championship, and were only pushed to a tiebreaker by the Huntingtown pair in the final match.

"Honestly, I am very happy with the way the last month turned out, not just for me, but for the entire team," Li said. "It's the first time the team has won a state championship. That's pretty significant. I was just glad I was able to help in any way that I could. We really wanted to win a state title this season, and this was our year."

Follow Greg Swatek on Twitter: @greg_swatek