Apr 5, 2015 5 min read

Chris Gladden attempted to block the score from his mind. A three-game difference in the WPIAL Class AAA boys tennis quarterfinals would take a remarkable comeback.

In a matter of minutes, Gladden found himself trailing 5-2 to Peter Hazlett of Mt. Lebanon last April. A talk with his head coach, Jim Kochanski, after the fifth game offered a blue print.

The trick was to execute against a player who was one of the best in the WPIAL. Luckily for Gladden, the match was a pro set, which is played to 10 games, giving him a chance to extend his stay at the district’s top singles tournament.

One volley turned into a winner and before he knew it, the match was tied, 5-5. The Canon-McMillan student went on to defeat Hazlett, 11-10, including 7-4 in the tie-breaker, to advance to the semifinals.

Though Gladden was defeated by Central Catholic senior Adam Blasinsky in the next round and was narrowly defeated in the consolation match to finish fourth, beating Hazlett was the latest in a long line of achievements for the promising tennis player and opened the eyes of coaches around the WPIAL.

“Once I was down 5-2, I thought to myself that I might not win, but I may as well go for it,” Gladden, now a junior at C-M, said. “It really started happening and it wasn’t even like I kept hitting winner after winner. I hit a couple and he started making mistakes. I realized I tied it like that. It was crazy.”

The past 12 months have been a whirlwind for Gladden. He is a four-star recruit according to The Tennis Recruiting Network, the top junior prospect in Pennsylvania and gained national recognition with his play at United States Tennis Association amateur tournaments across the country.

It was no surprise that Gladden was the top seed in the Section 5-AAA Singles Tournament last week. He did not drop a game on his way to a second consecutive section title – the first time a Canon-McMillan tennis player repeated as section champion.

The performance earned him the second seed in the WPIAL Boys Singles Tennis Championship, which begin tomorrow with the first round, quarterfinals and semifinals at North Allegheny High School. The finals and consolation matches are set for Wednesday at Norwin High School.

Gladden began playing tennis at eight, but it was not always his favorite sport. Gladden played soccer for two years at Canon-McMillan and had his freshman tennis season cut short after sustaining a concussion on the pitch.

He decided to hang up his cleats this year and prepare for a possible Division I tennis career.

The Naval Academy has offered him a scholarship, while Penn State, Elon, Lehigh, Santa Clara and William & Mary have expressed interest.

From the moment Kochanski saw Gladden play as a seventh grader four years ago, he knew Canon-McMillan had an outstanding player on the way.

The Big Macs’ coach invited Gladden to the high school to see what the buzz was all about.

“I knew then that he was going to be a very good player because when we started hitting the ball around, he just didn’t miss,” Kochanski said. “I opened a can of balls, I grabbed one ball and we hit that particular ball 40-50 shots without missing. When you have a seventh grader doing that, you know you have a special player.”

Two years later, Gladden won all three of his section matches as a freshman before the concussion. His record against section opponents is now 19-0 and he is 41-17 in USTA tournaments, including nine victories over four-star recruits.

Gladden’s quickness and anticipation on the court can be attributed to soccer, and his mental approach wears down opponents. Gladden’s ability to analyze an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses during a match can make the difference between victory and defeat.

“I’m a really aggressive player. I make the other person make the mistakes, but now I am starting to hit more winners and I’m going for my shots,” Gladden said. “My serve has improved because when you get older, your serve has to be the best. I’m trying to be more aggressive and perfect my serve.”

Against Hazlett, Gladden stayed patient, found a weakness and attacked. The moment prepared him for his second trip to the WPIAL championships, where he could face a daunting task. Latrobe senior Chad Kissell, a five-star recruit headed to Valparaiso University, is the top seed and the runner-up last year to Blasinsky.

Gladden faced Kissell at a tournament in Clarks Summit and lost 6-4, 6-3.

He’s ready for a possible rematch.

“I’m kind of nervous. My ultimate goal is to play Chad Kissell in the finals, but you never know what will happen,” Gladden said. “I can’t take anything for granted. Last year really helped me because I didn’t know what to expect. I took it as a regular tournament, but now I know what the competition is like.”