When it comes to Mercer Island High School (MIHS) sports, senior Gian Manhas has all three seasons covered.
It’s KingCo tennis in the fall, basketball in the winter and then postseason tennis when the springtime hits.
During basketball season, Manhas — a point guard and shooting guard — still keeps tennis close at hand by getting onto the court four days a week. When basketball season ends, tennis is part of his schedule nearly every day.
Big tennis news recently rolled Manhas’ way when the University of Portland men’s Division I tennis program announced that it had signed the two-year MIHS captain to an academic scholarship.
Manhas, who will attend the university’s Pamplin School of Business, is a four-star recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net and Top 10 in the Pacific Northwest region for his age. He placed seventh at the Washington 3A state singles championships as a sophomore in 2023 and then finished third at state in doubles last spring, notes a press release.
“I think it’s the best place for my development and (there’s the) business school. It was a major I wanted close to home, and just felt like they really wanted me. It felt very comfortable, and it felt like a great place for me to be,” said Manhas, adding that Portland’s head coach Aaron Gross reached out to him to check out the school. An added bonus was that Gross knows Manhas’ trainer/coach Jesse Walter, so a connection was made.
Coach Gross said those involved with the Portland tennis program are thrilled to bring the MIHS “under-the-radar player” into their realm.
“He is also a high-level basketball player and has not had the chance to commit to just tennis during high school, but he still has had very good results. We think when Gian focuses full-time work into tennis that he could be a special player. He is also an excellent student and is a great addition to our athletic department and university,” Gross said.
This fall, Manhas helped lead his tennis squad to a KingCo Crest championship with a 10-0 record and KingCo tournament title. The Islanders finished 13-0 overall.
“Gian has worked very hard over a lot of years to reach his goal of playing Division I college tennis. He is a dedicated athlete and outstanding leader. I look forward to seeing him compete, succeed and grow at the next level,” said MIHS boys tennis head coach Ron Akins.
Along with his backhand, Manhas listed his strengths as conditioning and mental toughness when it comes to fighting through adversity during lengthy tennis matches.
For the last four years as a member of the MIHS squad, Manhas has enjoyed playing with his teammates and taking on a leadership role.
“The greatest joy I’ve had was just being able to meet new people and just have fun with them. That’s probably the most important thing,” Manhas said.
Manhas followed in the tennis footsteps of his three older siblings, but didn’t take the game seriously until his freshman year. Through dedication to the sport, he’s enjoyed working with great coaches and becoming a more mature person with each ball he strikes into play.
“My goal was always to play Division I tennis just because I felt like that was my dream. I just stuck with it because I loved it, to be honest,” he said.
The Reporter asked Manhas a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his life:
What’s your favorite restaurant there on the Island?
I really like Mioposto. Me and my family go there a lot. So family dinners. That’s my favorite.
If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?
Rafael Nadal. He just retired. He’s a professional tennis player. He’s so tough. And I try to play like him. So I would love to talk to him, for sure.
What would be the best piece of advice that you could give an incoming freshman on the tennis team there?
I would say if you have a goal, anything’s really possible. If you set your mind to something, you’re willing to sacrifice for it. I was a guy that didn’t play much tennis. And now I’m playing at the highest level of college. I played two sports. So I just work my butt off for four years, playing pretty much every day I can during the summer and spring and two, three hours a day.
What would be a special skill that you’d like to learn?
I would like to become a better cook and chef. I would love to be able to be a really good chef and make all these cool meals and stuff and just be like Gordon Ramsay. That’d be really cool.
What would be your go-to meal to make?
Actually, my signature is I make a chicken teriyaki and rice bowl that is kind of specialized for me, but my family likes it, too.
So where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I don’t think I’m playing really competitive tennis after 10 years. I just want to work in maybe wealth management or just in business or in sales. I would love to just live up here in the PNW and I may coach on the side. I would love to give back what I’ve learned from my coaches; I’ve learned so much from them on and off the court.
