Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Chris Gladden
School: Canon-McMillan
Year: Senior
Sport: Tennis
Gladden’s week: The Canon-McMillan senior won the WPIAL Class AAA tennis title by defeating Sidd Rajupet of Fox Chapel, 6-1, 6-2, last Tuesday at Shady Side Academy. The victory came after he finished second last season and he fell in the semifinals as a sophomore.
“It’s really awesome,” Gladden, who was the top seed, said. “You don’t feel what you’ve accomplished until you have people coming up to you in school congratulating you and your relatives congratulate you. It’s a huge accomplishment. Now I’m just excited to go to states and hopefully win that.”
The Marist recruit lost to Latrobe’s Chad Kissell in the finals last spring and fell in the PIAA semifinals before defeating Rajupet in the third-place match to leave the Hershey Racquet Club with a bronze medal.
Starting early: Gladden’s parents were always fans of the sport, but he didn’t start playing tennis until a family vacation when he was eight years old. He decided to take a lesson and the rest is history.
His parents signed him up for a few tournaments and the success kept coming. Now, he is the top-ranked player in the state according to tennisrecruiting.net, 12th in the Middle Atlantic region and 82nd in the country.
“Chris’s game is really solid,” Canon-McMillan head coach Jim Kochanski said. “He played real well all around in the finals. He played good offense, good defense and it was pretty much flawless tennis. It was really, really great to see. He’s a shining example of a student-athlete. He’s worked hard for many years.”
That work requires a 60-minute drive to Lakevue Athletic Club in Valencia, where he takes private lessons. Gladden trains with Carlynton’s Luke Phillips, who won the Class AA title last week.
That extra practice, plus his time playing in national tournaments against top competition, helped Gladden achieve the milestone.
“Those tournaments are the real deal,” Gladden said. “They’re nerve-racking because the top coaches are all there. They show you where you really stand nationally.”
Marist is it: Gladden’s development as a player drew interest from college programs from across the country, but he decided to continue his career at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
It was a decision that alleviated plenty of pressure from Gladden, who considered not attending Canon-McMillan for his junior season to instead train at the Saviano High Performance Tennis academy in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. But he felt staying with the Big Macs would still lead to a Division I scholarship offer and the chance to compete for championships.
He was right.
Now, Galdden can focus on winning the state championship, but it won’t come without a challenge. The PIAA tennis championships are not held until May 27-28 in Hershey. Until then, he’ll try to lead C-M to the team playoffs and a team section title.
“I practice there every single day and that’s where I’ll get my better competitive hitting at, rather than going to the high school track,” Gladden said. “That will definitely prepare me for states.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski