North Bay Haven had an outstanding start to this past tennis season, kicking off the year by winning 20 of its first 21 individual matches and advancing to the district competition, the farthest any Bay County competitor reached.
Here’s a look at the all-county selection for player and coach of the year, as well as teams selected by the coaches.
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A leader on the court, Gant focused on helping the development of teammates while excelling as the No.1 singles player in the county.
“There are pretty good players in the county, so it is nice to be recognized and even compared to them as the best is a pretty cool thing,” Gant said. “It is nice to be the leader of something successful, leading the younger kids and the entire program at North Bay Haven.”
Gant achieved a 7-5 singles record on his path to winning the county championship, culminating in a 5-2 victory over Arnold in the final. The junior also boasted a 9-3 doubles record.
Arnold tennis has shown steady improvement over the past couple of seasons under Bachman. The Marlins saw success late this season, winning six of the last eight matches to finish 7-7 and come in as runner-up in the county championships.
Pherson Gant (Jr.), North Bay Haven; Tyler Garcia (Sr.), Mosley; Nicolas Silva (Jr.), North Bay Haven; Timber Gant (8th), North Bay Haven; Conner Seeberger (Jr.), Bay; Aiden Nowak (Soph.), Bay; Drew Childress (Fr.), Arnold; Omar Khan, (Fr.), North Bay Haven.
Connor Everhart (Fr.), North Bay Haven; Bill Van Tassel (Fr.), North Bay Haven; Brandon Todd (Soph.), Arnold; John Tayor (Soph.), Arnold; Iker Poole (7th), North Bay Haven
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
