Jim Darr and Larry Watson (left) defeated Dave Negron and Mike Urbanski to win their third Dowagiac City Tennis Tournament mens doubles title in the last four years. (Leader Publications photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

For the third time in four years, Larry Watson and Jim Darr are the Dowagiac City Tennis Tournament mens doubles champions.

Watson and Darr defeated Dave Negron and Mike Urbanski in the finals for the second straight year, winning 6-2 and 6-3 at the Dowagiac Middle School Courts Saturday.

Watson and Darr reached the finals with a straight set 6-1 and 6-1 win over Sonny Swartz and Ethan Dussel.

Negron and Urbanski defeated Terry Proctor and Scott Marshall 1-6, 6-4 and 6-2 to advance to the title match. Negron and Urbanski fell to Watson and Darr 6-3 and 7-5 last year.

“We made less mistakes than they did,” Darr said.

“The weather has been really good, but today that wind really did some strange things with the ball,” Watson added. “The wind really picked up in the second set and the ball just died. You couldn’t play that lob ball.”

Womens doubles

Alex (left) and Tammy Watts defeated Sue Watson and Alyssa Robbins to win the Dowagiac City Tennis Tournament womens doubles championship Saturday. (Leader Publications Photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

There was just one match in the womens doubles division Saturday.

Edwardsburg’s Alex Watts successfully defended her championship, although this time she did it with a different partner.

Watts teamed with Edwardsburg’s Haley Jones to capture the championship in 2011 as they defeated Sue Watson and Shelly Urbanski 6-1 and 6-4.

Saturday, Watts played with her mother Tammy and defeated Sue Watson and Brandywine’s Alyssa Robbins 6-2, 4-6 and 6-2.

“We don’t play together a lot, I just hit with her,” Tammy said. “I just go out and work with her, but we don’t actually play together.”

“It was fun,” Alex added. “I don’t get to play with my mother often.”

Alex noted that in the third set the pair stopped getting down on themselves and refocused.

“We got our positive attitude going again and just played. We had fun,” she said.