Tennis, Poland Garrett Gardner

Poland senior Garrett Gardner is no stranger to the state tennis tournament held in Columbus.

Gardner placed fourth in Division II singles this season after making it to state for a third time in four years.

“Getting back to state was a huge goal again,” Gardner said. “Placing at state was incredible.”

Gardner went undefeated through the All-American Conference for the second time in as many years.

“The conference is always tough every year,” Gardner said. “Tennis around here — it’s not the strongest but it’s not the weakest. Every kid is going to give you a good match. It takes a lot of focus to go undefeated.”

While it was tough for Gardner through the conference season, he believes it was a greater challenge to get back to Columbus.

“It was definitely harder getting there this year,” Gardner said. “I thought districts were tough compared to last year.”

But once Gardner got there, he defeated Chris Bak and Pierre Desprat to move into the top four in the tournament.

I think I got a pretty good draw this year,” said Gardner, who drew the eventual third-place finisher his junior year.

On the second day of state competition, Gardner played the eventual champion in Asher Hirsch and a familiar foe in Mason Dragos.

“Making it to the second day was like a wake-up call,” Gardner said. “That’s when the good players come out of the woodshop. It was a great experience. It was much better than last year.”

In four years at Poland, Gardner compiled a 90-9 overall record, mostly in singles matches. As a freshman, he made it to the state tournament with teammate Kenny Duncan.

“Looking back on the four years, it was probably one of the best choices I’ve ever made,” Gardner said of going to Poland. “I had a lot of respect through school and lots of support from my family members.”

Gardner plans to continue his tennis career at Valparaiso University and looks to major in math.

He figures to make an impact on next year’s Crusaders squad.

“I’m looking forward to making the starting lineup — hopefully the four or five spot,” Gardner said. “It’s going be a lot harder to crack it.”