Siblings split up: Knacks, Vitses go head-to-head

DIXON – A game of Family Feud broke out at the 25th annual KSB Tennis Classic on Tuesday afternoon.

On one side of the court stood Connor Knack and Annie Vits, both 12 and the duo to beat in the 12-and-under mixed doubles division. Their opponents in the last round: younger siblings K.C. Knack, 10, and Erin Vits, 9.

“It was very interesting because she was like, ‘I’m going to kick your butt,’ “ Annie said of some playful pre-match trash talk. “We wanted to try to kick their butt, basically. It worked out.”

Connor and Annie proved to be too much for their siblings. They won the first seven games, many of which featured long rallies, before the younger duo won the last one.

“I thought we did good against seventh-graders,” Erin said.

“He was better than I thought,” K.C. said of his older brother.

“I knew I was going to win,” Connor said.

The children’s parents, Kevin and Kathleen Knack and Darrin and Inez Vits, all of Dixon, were front-row spectators for the match.

They applauded the hard-fought points, offered encouragement when needed and, above all, had fun.

“Who do you root for, because then you get the dirty look when you root for the wrong one,” Kathleen said, drawing laughs. “You’re probably better off just being quiet.”

“I was glad to see the younger one could keep up with the older one, and they’ve both seemed to learn a lot on the tennis court this summer,” Inez said.

All four youngsters were performing under the watchful eye of Emma Hubbs. Her day started about 7:15 a.m. with youth lessons, and she was still going strong 11 hours later watching those same kids compete in a tournament.

“These are the ones that we don’t for sure what they’re listening to or what they’re gaining,” Hubbs said. “Every time you see someone out here hit a better shot or hit a good shot, your heart just goes out because you think, ‘Oh, they’ve listened. They’ve done something right. They’re having fun. They’re having a blast.’

“This is why I’m down at this end. The older kids are playing up there, but I’m down watching this end because this is where the fun is. The parents are going crazy down there, along with me.”