GREENVILLE, Ill. -- Head men's tennis coach Brett Brannon remembers the day well. It was Sept. 1, 2014.
"I sat in a meeting room with my team very excited about the two years in front of us," said Brannon. "We knew we had a lot of experienced and proven talent, and great seasons in front of us. But as I began to address my team, I remember the suddenly awful feeling in my stomach as I truly realized that we only had one underclassman sitting in the room."
Fast forward just two short years, and Coach Brannon no longer has to worry. The Panthers have gone from one of the most experienced teams in the country, to one of the youngest teams in the country. With the addition of five new freshmen to the roster this year, the Panthers now have just two upperclassmen.
It will be a tall task to continue the success of the 2016 graduating class. They posted the most successful four year run in Coach Brannon's 16 year tenure as head coach. Along with many individual accolades, they compiled an overall team record of 55 wins and 29 losses. It was capped off by last year's undefeated regular season conference run.
Despite the challenges of replacing such talent and leadership, optimism remains as the Panthers enter 2016-2017.
The Panthers return three very important players from their varsity lineup last season. Leading the group of returners is NCCAA All American junior Nate Wieland. Wieland has been the anchor through the transition to a much younger team. He will be looking to improve on his solid 10-8 mark last year as the #1 singles player.
Senior transfer Blake Gocey and Sophomore Justin Tilford also return to lead the youth movement. They posted very impressive singles records of 12-6 and 13-3 respectively in their first seasons at GC.
The five new faces will be counted on heavily as the Panthers look to continue their success into the future. At least three will be regular contributors in the varsity lineup. New members include Austin Burkhart, Dustin Vincent, Jeremiah Brannon, Micah Harlan, and Brock Renshaw.
Coach Brannon stated "We are very excited about our new group! It is an extremely athletic and very coachable group of young men. We have a strong history here of developing players just like these. The only thing they lack right now is experience, and they will be getting a lot of that very soon."
These are exciting times for GC tennis. With a talented and young roster, the future is bright as they will only graduate one player in 2017 and 2018.
The players are still very much enjoying the six court Scott E. Burgess tennis complex that was completely renovated in 2016. And of course, the 23rdannual trip to Hilton Head Island, SC for spring break is scheduled for March.
Senior Blake Gocey stated, "God has truly blessed this team! Last year was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life. We can't wait to get started with these young guys, to see how far we can take this!"
