HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
One of the youngest tennis teams in Georgia may also be its best.
The Greater Atlanta Christian boys, who start three freshmen and a sophomore among their five competitive lines, have already beaten four national powers and have the inside track on winning their third consecutive state championship.
“GAC is the best team in the state — by far,” said Westminster coach Ralph Geeza, whose team has won four consecutive championships. “They’re probably top five in the country.”
Good thing they’ve a van to take them to tournaments because there aren’t players with a driver’s license to get everyone transported.
“We’re a pretty young team,” GAC coach Brett Harte said. “We graduated one senior who wasn’t in the starting lineup, and we’ve got three additional freshmen who are all really, really good players. We’re good from top to bottom on our team, and the good thing is, for the next three or four years we’ll have a good strong team as well.”
GAC showed its potential on an early-season trip to Miami, where the Spartans were 2-1 against a trio of top-15 teams. They followed that by beating two national powers from the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area — No. 1 McCallie and No. 3 Baylor.
“So we started our season playing five teams in the top 15 and came out 4-1,” Harte said. “The McCallie matches were strong because we started playing them five or six years ago, and each year we were able to compete with them, but this is the first time we were actually able to beat them.”
Playing No. 1 for GAC is Harrison Kemp, a junior who played the top spot last year, too. In the match against Baylor, Kemp won a three-set battle. He fell behind and overcame three match points before ultimately prevailing 11-9 in a third-set tiebreaker.
“That was a big match for Harrison and a good match for thee team,” Harte said. “He’s just tough mentally. That’s his strength. He never gives up. He never feels like he’s out of a match, and he’ll keep fighting to the end.”
The three freshmen on the team are Jason Egbedion, Santiago Bisogno and Brady Gessner, who join sophomore Frederick Dougah at the heart of the youth movement. Seniors Atlas Covey and Jack Gessner bring the experience and poise.
Egbedion plays No. 2 singles and has challenged Kemp for the top spot. Kemp has a UTR rating of 10.7 in singles and Egbedion’s rating is 10.66.
“Harrison is a very good player, but Jason is right there with him,” Harte said. “Jason is calm and quiet. He’s god really good ground strokes and he’s got a lot of upside to him.”
Senior Atlas Covey plays No. 3 singles and will play at Mary Washington College. The other senior, Jack Gessner, is a 6-foot-5 lefthander with a wicked serve who plays No. 1 doubles. Gessner will play for Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
Many high-level junior tennis players choose not to play for their high schools, opting instead to focus on individual rankings gained through a series of tournaments. But the GAC players have stuck around and compete for their team.
“They get to put on their GAC shirts and their classmates, who may not know how good they are, get to come out and watch them play,” Harte said. “Some of the matches feel like a college atmosphere. Everybody’s cheering each shot, and it’s a fun environment for them to play in.
“I think that’s what the high school experience should be. You get some high-end players who do the full online route, and I think they miss out on the high school experience.”
The GHSA tennis playoffs begin April 24 and conclude with the state championships May 10 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
