Northampton’s No. 3 doubles team of Max Kochan and Chace Roland were fourth place medalists at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Boys Tennis Championships on April 19 at Freedom High School.

“This is amazing,” said Northampton coach Daniele Bowman. “This is a first in school history to have boys medals. They played together last year, so they have some experience, and then this year, they’re relaxed, and they know what to expect with the teams they were playing.”

Kochan and Roland’s first match of the day was a rematch against Pleasant Valley’s Aaron Rehrig and Jens Hansen.

“Pleasant Valley kids beat us in the regular season, but we came back and beat them for the upset,” said Kochan. “To be frank, that was a pretty off game for us. It was cold. We were sick... We were wiped, so it felt great to come back and finally beat them.”

The K-Kids won by a score of 8-4.

“The kid shifting out to the center and keeping the ball away from the front [was a challenge],” said Roland.

In the semifinal, Kochan and Roland fell to Liberty’s Connor Ohl and Finn Brown, 2-10, and then lost the consolation match to Freedom’s Angel Suarez and Joe Siessmayer, 3-8.

“Liberty had some pretty solid hits. Pretty good players. Great from the back, and good placement,” said Kochan. “That new kid for Freedom (Siessmayer) is a lot different from last time. He had some different strategies.”

The K-Kids said that focusing on the lane, keeping the ball away from the front player, and good communication were the keys to their EPC medals.

“Amazing. The work’s finally paying off,” said Kochan.

Also representing Northampton in the EPC tournament were Dane Missmer at No. 1 singles, Joe Tomaro at No. 3 singles, Connor Retlick and Brett Bastian at No. 2 doubles, and Michael DiSante and Nick DiSante at No. 4 doubles.

“That was a big accomplishment of getting here, and then to have those two medal, I’m so proud of them,” said Coach Bowman.

Kochan and Roland’s record was 11-4 on the season.

“That Pleasant Valley match was tough because of all the rain cancellations, so when we played them, it was a doubleheader, and it was the second match,” Bowman said. “It was windy, we had some rain delays, I think it even snowed that day, so I’m glad that they faced Pleasant Valley to see a true matchup between the two teams, and they pulled it out.”