Two Mercer Island tennis coaches recently took home hardware at a national 40-and-over tennis tournament in Atlanta.

Mercer Island Country Club junior tennis director Jesse Walter won the singles bracket at the USTA Atlanta Classic Cars National Men’s 40 Clay Court Championship, which took place May 18-23. Walter defeated the tournament’s top-seeded Eduardo Rincon 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) to earn the gold ball.

In doubles action, Mercer Island varsity boys tennis coach Ryan Pang won the silver ball with teammate Jason Wilks, finishing second in their bracket.

Pang and Wilks defeated the second-seeded duo of Adam Abney and Samuel Schroerlucke 7-5, 6-4 in the semifinals before falling to Scott Lindsey and Brad Sceney in the championship match 6-3, 6-3.

Pang also made it to the quarterfinal round of the singles bracket, where he fell to Rincon 6-1, 6-2.

For Walter, who turned 40 in January and hopes to qualify for the 40-and-over national team, the win served as payoff for months of training and positioned him one step closer to his larger goal.

“Any time you win the gold ball in a USTA tournament, it’s a coveted achievement,” Walter said. “It just goes to show at an older age, you can still compete and achieve.”

Pang, who turned 40 in February, echoed that sentiment.

“It’s a big deal for me,” he said. “In juniors, I’d play nationals and never get very far [in both singles and doubles]. For me, being this age and to do this well in these tournaments is a huge milestone.”

Walter and Pang are quite familiar with each other. Pang said he’s been competing against Walter since he was 11 and taking part in junior tournaments. Both grew up in Washington, with Pang on Mercer Island and Walter in Yakima.

Both coach many of the same youth, with Pang being the high school’s boys coach and Walter being the primary coach for many of Mercer Island’s high school tennis players. Among Walter’s pupils are 2016 state boys doubles finalists Christian Anderson and Chris Elliott and girls doubles finalists Caroline Hamilton and Sammy Sweet.

Both agree that competing in these tournaments helps them with their coaching.

“Going out and competing in the real world and bringing back that experience to students is great,” Walter said. “I can talk to them about situations they’re in, teach them how to manage their emotions and deal with pressure. It’s a great teaching tool.”

“Because I play so much and coach, it gives me a chance to try out all the things I tell the kids,” Pang said. “A lot of people around this area coach but never play, which can make it hard for players to buy in. I would never tell a kid to do something with their games that I wouldn’t do myself.”