When Bishop Chatard's then-sophomore tennis players Kristen Metzger and Courtney O'Brien played No. 1 doubles for the first time last season, the pair already had an advantage over most of their opponents.

They knew each other pretty well.

For starters, the girls live in Indianapolis and are next-door neighbors. And, they're cousins, so they've known each other their whole lives.

"Even though last year was our first year of doubles for the varsity, we've been playing tennis together since we were 8 or 9 years old," O'Brien said. "I already knew her strengths and her weaknesses, and she knew mine. I think that was a big advantage."

That advantage helped the pair finish 13-9 last year. They also won the City title and were honorable mention all-state. Their success didn't surprise Chatard coach Dan McNally.

"What you've got to have within a No. 1 doubles team is a tough mind-set," McNally said. "Not only do those two have it in a pure athletic sense, but they're also cousins. They've already fought about everything they can fight about in their lives. They'd gotten well past that stage when they took to the court together."

Metzger welcomed the opportunity to play doubles with her cousin.

"I think we definitely have an advantage because we already knew how to play off each other's strengths and weaknesses," she said. "I think we both wanted it. Our family loves it because they all love coming to watch us play."

Though the pair clicked right away, McNally saw a steady increase in the quality of their play.

"There's something to be said for learning the ins and outs of the doubles game," he said. "As they got to know each other's game better, they really did improve. But they've still got a way to go as far as using signals goes. Every single top doubles team uses signals, and so far (Metzger and O'Brien) have been successful enough without that."

Both girls have similar goals this year.

"I hope we can win City again," Metzger said. "We're just going to try our best, and Courtney and I have been trying to be better role models this season, too."

Ditto for O'Brien.

"Obviously we'd love to win City again," she said, "and we were honorable mention all-state last year, so one of our biggest goals is to make all-state. We also want to win the big matches that we lost last year."

McNally said that playing in a sectional that includes powerhouse North Central and strong teams such as Heritage Christian and Cathedral, as well as a postseason path that could pit the pair against squads such as Carmel or Park Tudor, will give Metzger and O'Brien all the challenges they want.

"Beating teams like North Central, Carmel and Park Tudor, that's going to be tough," McNally said. "But I really think Courtney and Kristen can beat everybody else."