Century’s Alex Kempf knew all hope for the Bishop Kelly girls doubles team had died right then at the start, right there in the 4A state championship game.

It was as if Kempf’s doubles partner, Sydney McRoberts, halted the Knights’ biggest punch with her palm and twisted their arm behind their back before they received mercy after two sets.

“I think I was laughing afterwards because I was like, ‘Are you guys crazy? You’re going to go after Syd?’” Kempf said. “Do not piss Syd off because now you’re going to die.”

A backhand shot flew right at McRoberts’ neck in a battle for the first point. The Knights could’ve earned more than that. A message would have been sent. Instead, McRoberts, at the net, caught the ball right before it reached her throat and tossed it right back to her opponents. It was like she was asking if that’s all they had.

“I don’t even remember having a fast enough reflex to catch it right before it hit my throat,” McRoberts said. “But that one hit, it just sparked a fire in me and got me so mad and I just wanted to win.”

Century coach Sean Kane said the BK girls were frazzled thereafter. Natalie Little and Ailish Harrison became two of many victims of the dominant play by the Diamondback duo who won the matchup 6-2, 6-0 to attain their second straight state title.

“They’re just focused. They’re not messing around. They’re not there to see their friends from Blackfoot. They’re there to win matches.” Kane said. “Alex and Syd are there to take names.”

The names they tabbed for each other are the rock and the beast. Kempf, the beast, strikes fear in opponents from the get-go with a furious countenance and an aggressive style. McRoberts, the rock, is the one who brings a focus and is ultra-supportive of her partner and rest of the Diamondbacks.

Put that together and a nearly unstoppable force comes to fruition. They outscored their opponents in the first three state tournament rounds 24-1 and enjoyed every part of being the monstrous doubles team.

While boasting a deserved confidence, the successful combo was always there to take each other down a few notches when they required humbling. And when one of them was upset, the other was there to uplift — on the court and off it.

Chemistry between them is solid because of a 10-year friendship and six years of experience playing together on the tennis court. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they are much of the same with several dimensions.

The seniors are both multi-sport athletes. Kempf played for the Century volleyball team, while McRoberts played varsity soccer. The future plans for Kempf features one year of prep school before attending the United States Coast Guard Academy with a desire to be a helicopter pilot. McRoberts, who also has a way with the guitar strings, plans to enroll at the University of Utah to get a doctorate in physical therapy.

The pair had enough confidence to have a silliness when they were getting their photos taken by the Idaho State Journal, which named them the girls tennis players of the year. They turned their rackets into pseudo guitars and were seen looking to make the other chuckle.

“You can look at us in any weird way. You can hate on us. You can think we’re weird,” McRoberts said. “You can think whatever you want about us. But it’s not going to hurt Alex and I. And it’s definitely not going to hurt the bond we have because we don’t really care.”

The enjoyment they get from being with each other is what matters most.

They culled a lot of it from the last two years of doubles tennis because of their success.

It was earned because of effort as well as a versatility on the court. Kane rattled off serves, volleys, returns, and the basics as things they do well. So pretty much everything.

Each player honed in on one aspect of the other that they were grateful for. Kempf pointed to a mentality that allowed McRoberts to bounce back after Kempf made mistakes when it was deuce.

“Every single time I mess up on deuce, Syd brings it back for us,” Kempf said. “I can’t think of a time she didn’t. It’s nice to be able trust her like that and really have, like I said, that rock.”

McRoberts focused on Kempf’s thunderous volleys because they mask her deficiency, which is her lack of height that entices opponents to lob over her when she is at the net.

“I just drop to net level because I know Alex is right behind me to get my back and whale that thing,” McRoberts said. “She doesn’t even let it bounce. Other people on the other side of the net are definitely scared of Alex.”

Kempf sounded prideful when she described how McRoberts put the fear in their title game opponents. But as much as they loved being domineering in matches, they enjoyed celebrating together after their finales of the last two seasons so much more.

“We’ve done a lot of stuff together on and off the court,” McRoberts said. “When you have a love and a passion for a sport like tennis and you’re able to share that glory and share that court with your best friend, it makes it 1,000 times better than it already is.”