For 12 months, Dave Robare and John Smits have obsessed over one thing: Getting back to the state championship doubles match of the state meet.

The pair, which took second place last year, went undefeated this season and entered the state meet as the No. 1 seeded doubles team.

They then won their first six matches at state, which got them a return to the state title match. This year, though, Smits and Robare took care of business and did something that no LT individual or doubles team has been able to do since 1915 — win a state championship.

In doing so, they not only capped off a perfect season, but they also helped the Lions to a sixth-place finish in the team standings with 22 points.

On top of wanting to win themselves a state championship, Robare and Smits were determined to win one for Bill Wham. The veteran coach saw the determination in his top team all season long and was pleased at how they set a goal and accomplished it.

“I didn’t have any problem with motivation. They were ready to play and they had one goal – to win state and that’s a good goal to have,” Wham said. “Those guys played some really great tennis and I’m happy for them. One thing I can say about them is they complement each other. They played some good teams, but I was pleased with the way they performed.

“That is something they’ll remember all their lives. We’ve had a lot of chances (in this program) and just haven’t broken through. You have to be balanced and that is a balanced team.”

Smits and Robare lost to Justin Lewis and Jeff Chudacoff from Highland Park last year for the state title, but had no trouble disposing of Justin and Ben Woldenberg this year in the semifinals.

They then got Nick Birger and Brian Zaron from Belleville West and won 6-2, 7-5 in the finals.

While Robare will be back next year for LT, Smits graduates and was elated to be able to go out on top after being one half of the top team in the state this year.

“This is a huge boulder lifted off our shoulder from last year,” Smits said. “I really wanted to do this for Wham. It’s great to be a part of this. We were peaking at the right time.”   

Robare was at a loss for words after their triumph.

“This is one of the few times I’ve been speechless, it was so much fun playing,” Robare said. “We’ve had a ton of fun the last three years playing together and I was happy to get one for Wham. This is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“We came in and played well and did what we needed to do and we got it done.”

Of the Lions’ 22 points, 16 came from Smits and Robare after the pair helped the team to a second place finish at last year’s state tournament.

The Lions’ other doubles team, Andrew Shannon and Nick Tannura, earned two points for the squad. The pair lost in the first round of the main draw 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to Danville’s Nick Rossi and Lewis Towne. They then won twice in the backdraw before falling to Alex Nemz and Mike Hryczcyk in the third round.

In singles, John Moskal fell in the first round, as well, to Lincoln-Way East’s Brian Perry.

He also won two matches in the backdraw before falling in the third round to Dan Vollman of Oak Park-River Forest.

Also, Nick Kenaga won two matches in the backdraw after losing in the first round of the main draw. His tournament ended with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Oswego’s Collin McWethy in the third round of the backdraw.

Smits and Robare only lost five games through their first two matches, then won 6-3, 6-4 over Glenbrook North’s Brad Kaspers and Kevin Salzstein in the third round to reach the Round of 16. In the fourth round, they topped Rockford Guilford’s Scott Shepardson and Austin Roos 6-1, 6-0. In their final match Friday, the pair topped OP-RF’s Aaron Press and Tim Martin 6-1, 6-2 to reach the final four.

Throughout the tournament, Smits and Robare said they were confident and, judging by their scores, they actually got better as the tourney progressed. In the semis, Smits and Robare won 7-5, 6-3.

“The first couple days of the tournament we played like we were possessed,” Robare said. “It was nice to get a little revenge from last year on Highland Park.”

In the final, the pair split the first four games before winning the last four in the first set to win 6-2. In the second set, though, they split the first 10 before winning the final two to win the state title. They had to endure six deuces in the final game before finally claiming the championship.

“We had to battle a little at the end, but we knew we would come out on top,” Smits said. “We were laughing and having a lot of fun out there. I’m really proud of the way we played.”