For Lehighton’s top-seeded Cokrlija brothers, clearing their first hurdle in the District 11 Class 2A doubles championships meant overcoming some early nerves.

Bayto and Bekim Cokrlija managed to settle in and win a pair of matches Wednesday to advance to the semifinals today.

In their opening match, they defeated unseeded Moravian Academy’s Eric Sanchez and Ben Greenberg, 6-3, 6-4. The Cokrlijas then rolled past eighth-seeded Bethlehem Catholic’s Liam Maloney and Tyler Lennert, 6-0, 6-3.

It was a trial by fire for the brothers, who had played at No. 1 and No. 2 singles all season for the Tribe, but rarely played doubles together outside of practice.

Bayto, a senior who reached the singles semis last week, offered a frank assessment of their play on the big stage.

“This season, we never played doubles, and having little or no experience definitely showed today,” Bayto said. “The game plan was to win.

“We had picked how we were going to play the day before and executed it fine.”

Bayto said the plan worked to near perfection.

“My brother and I put in the work during the season,” he said. “It made us feel better because we were comfortable with our serves, backhands and forehands. All we needed was to overcome our nerves, and we were going to play great.

“Our game plan today was to take advantage of the player we thought was the weaker one. We would hit all our shots toward that person, and it worked in our favor. It helped us get some easy volleys and win more points.”

Bekim, a junior, echoed those thoughts.

“The strongest part was definitely our net game,” Bekim said. “Having easy volleys came from Bayto having amazing serves.”

Still, the elder Cokrlija was modest in his evaluation.

“We had a very rough start because of our first-game nerves and jitters,” Bayto said. “I think we did all right. But we were able to overcome that at the end of our first match and into our second match.

“I would rate our performance a six out of 10. I believe we could have played way better than we did, but that’s all right because not everyone can play their best all the time.”

Bekim agreed with his brother’s assessment.

“In the first match, we were still nervous,” he said. “We didn’t play as we wanted, which caused us to have a match closer than we wanted. After winning the first match, our confidence increased and led to an easy win in the second round.”

It was a satisfying day for the brothers, who were eliminated on the first day of doubles play last season.

“Last year, my brother and I were really nervous because we just really wanted to do well and make our friends and family proud,” Bekim said. “It definitely made me nervous and caused my performance level to drop drastically.”

Lehighton head coach Cody Schuler was encouraged by how the duo worked through their early struggles.

“In the first match, they started a little rocky and got frustrated with each other,” Schuler said. “They are a solid doubles team, but they were making little mistakes. The wind played a big factor.

“During the second match, Bayto and Bekim found their groove. They really showed what they could do. They started working together better, and that is what a good doubles team will do.”

UP NEXT ... The Cokrlijas are set to face fifth-seeded Blue Mountain’s Evan Burcik and Dylan Knittle in the semifinals today at 12 p.m. at Lehigh University. With a win, they will advance to the finals later today.

“Going into tomorrow, we’re going to relax more and play smarter,” Bayto said.

Bekim added, “We’re looking forward to the next rounds and playing our best.”

Schuler expressed confidence in their ability to contend for a title.

“I am excited,” Schuler said. “They still have a lot to show, and I think they will do great things. They will be in the zone right away, and definitely have what it takes to go all the way.”