Nevada high school tennis: Former Bishop Gorman coach heads to Palo Verde

Gordon Hammond, former Bishop Gorman tennis coach, decided to enter the fray when he heard that Palo Verde was looking for a new coach.

He wasn’t sure if he would be chosen, since he wasn’t a teacher. It turned out the Panthers didn’t care.

Hammond will make his comeback this high school tennis season, which kicks off Thursday with multiple matches. Palo Verde has been the team to beat in Class 5A in recent years and is expected to do so again under the new coach.

The Panthers boys and girls teams are the reigning state champions. The Palo Verde girls have won four consecutive titles, while the boys have won two in a row.

There’s no reason to think Hammond won’t keep the program on track. He’s won 10 state titles with the Bishop Gorman girls team and won two more with the boys. He’s also the director of the Summerlin Tennis Club, which means he’s familiar with some of his new players.

“I love the high school league and all the events that come up in town,” Hammond said. “Over the last 25 years, I’ve seen the Palo Verde kids at the clubs I’ve taught. … This is going to be fun.”

Palo Verde will have to replace a large part of last season’s top talents.

The Panthers return All-Southern Nevada first-team selections Remi Rice and Ruth Robison on the girls side. Rice won the third-place match in the 5A singles individual state tournament. Robison won the doubles individual state title with partner Venus Tang, who has since graduated.

In the boys’ division, Balin Gupta is back at Palo Verde. He finished second in the individual doubles tournament with partner Rohan Gupta, who has since graduated.

“There’s been a great turnout and they’re ready,” Hammond said. “We’ve got a couple more days of tryouts, so we’ll see who shows up. We’re filling out our team and getting started, practicing and getting ready for the season. That’s the best part, a lot of kids are coming to Palo and we’re very fortunate.”

Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran are also expected to compete in both the boys and girls 5A divisions.

In 4A, The Meadows boys and girls fell short to schools from the North for the state title. Because 5A is all Southern, the best schools from Northern Nevada compete in 4A. Reno High claimed the girls title and Galena won the boys title on a tiebreaker.

Boulder City won the girls’ 3A team title last season and finished second behind South Tahoe on the boys’ team.

Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

Players to watch

(Results from last season’s regional and state tournament)

Boys

Beckham Butler, Faith Lutheran: Finished third in the Class 5A individual state doubles championship with partner Nolan Dubay.

Nolan Dubay, Faith Lutheran: Finished third in the Class 5A individual state doubles championship with partner Beckham Butler.

Sam Fouse, Faith Lutheran: Finished second in the Class 5A individual state singles championship.

Ido Goren, The Adelson School: Won the Class 3A singles individual titles at the Southern Region and at the state level.

Balin Gupta, Palo Verde: Was runner-up in the Class 5A individual doubles state championship with partner Rohan Gupta, helping the Panthers win the team state title.

Grant Lee, Coronado: Finished fourth in the Class 5A individual doubles state championship with partner David Raiter, helping the Cougars win the 5A team state title.

David Raiter, Coronado: Finished fourth in the Class 5A individual doubles state championship with partner Grant Lee and helped the Cougars win the 5A team state title.

Ryan Roxarzade, The Adelson School: Finished second in the Class 3A individual singles events in the Southern Region and at state tournaments.

Killian Seip, The Meadows: Won the Class 4A Southern Region individual doubles title with partner Ryan Zahri and was second at the state tournament.

Ryan Zahri, The Meadows: Won the Class 4A Southern Region individual doubles title with partner Killian Seip and finished second at the state tournament.

Girls

Emma Balelo, Bishop Gorman: Won the Class 4A Southern Region and state doubles individual titles with partner Kelliya Keodara.

Erynne Brown, Sierra Vista: Won the Class 4A Southern Region and state doubles individual titles with partner Kelliya Keodara.

Mekenzy Clark, Doral Academy: Finished third in the Class 4A individual singles events in the Southern Region and at state tournaments.

Natalie Cruz, Clark: Finished fourth in the Class 5A individual state doubles championship with partner Giselle Yang.

Yael Izkhakov, The Adelson School: Won the Class 3A singles individual titles at the Southern Region and at the state level.

Miranda Paek, The Meadows: Finished fourth in the Class 4A individual state doubles championship with partner Beverly Wang.

Remi Rice, Palo Verde: Finished third in the Class 5A singles state tournament and helped the Panthers win the team state title.

Ruth Robison, Palo Verde: Won the Class 5A individual state doubles title with partner Venus Tang and helped the Panthers to the team state title.

Giselle Yang, Clark: Finished fourth in the Class 5A individual state doubles championship with partner Natalie Cruz.

Sophia Yang, The Meadows: Won the Class 4A Southern Region and state singles titles.