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Poland’s Gardner serves up HL victory for Valpo
By charles grove
The greatest moment of Garrett Gardner’s life happened last week when his Valparaiso Crusaders tennis team defeated Green Bay to win the Horizon League tournament and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
But it wasn’t just that his team won, Gardner, a Poland native and graduate, hit the conference-clinching serve that triggered a celebration he won’t soon forget.
“I tried hitting one of the biggest serves of my life and when I saw the kid mis-hit and miss the return I just let myself go,” Gardner said. “It was the most excited I’ve ever been. And like two seconds later my teammates were tackling me and everyone was just yelling and screaming.
“I’m still letting it sink in it’s so unbelievable. That was one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me.”
The championship capped off a season for the Crusaders in which they went 22-5 and 6-0 in Horizon League play, were undefeated at home and beat nationally ranked Western Michigan. But now the biggest test awaits Gardner and his team as Valpo drew 14th-ranked Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats beat the Crusaders 6-1 a year ago but Gardner is hoping the familiarity of Northwestern will bring on a different result when in counts the most.
“We played well [against Northwestern] but probably not our best,” Gardner said. “When we play matches we write down the strengths and weaknesses of who we played so if we ever go back and play them we know what to look for. And since we already played Northwestern we know what they’re capable of.”
Gardner said that maintaining focus and staying calm while his teammates are playing games simultaneously will be big factors if his team will be able to pull off the upset.
“The atmosphere at these Big Ten facilities is pretty awesome,” Gardner said. “Big Ten teams normally have a big scoreboard at the middle courts that tells you have everyone else is doing so if your teammates are struggling or doing really well that can affect the match for sure. It can distract you for the good or for the bad.”
Gardner initially looked into joining the Air Force Academy out of high school with dreams of becoming a pilot. But after receiving a “good, but not Air Force-good” ACT score, Gardner looked elsewhere for future plans and the quiet, private school in northwest Indiana was everything he wanted.
“Valpo’s academics and tennis are really good and the more I thought about it I wanted to go to a regular college, have a good time with the guys on my team and live the college lifestyle,” Gardner said. “It was the right choice for sure.”
The sophomore marketing major already has plans after graduating that include trying to work for Nike designing tennis shoes and apparel. His resume could include a photo of his closet that has dozens of sneakers he’ll bust out for special occasions. When asked how many pairs he owns the only answer he gives is, “Not enough.”
“I’ve got a pair of Air Jordan Thunders which are the fourth model,” Gardner said. “They’re black and yellow so the colors are like Valpo. Those are my favorites so I try not to get them too dirty. I have a lot of shoes that I bought and I don’t wear a lot but there’s always one occasion for each shoe.”
The Crusaders, who haven’t lost a match since March 5 at William & Mary, will try to pull off the upset of Northwestern at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Evanston, Ill.