Tennis: With his biggest nemeses graduated, Trevor Hubbard is ready to rule the county scene

By MIKE CAMUNAS

NEW PORT RICHEY - Strange Thai.

Sounds like a dish that should never show up on any menu. Certainly, Gulf junior Trevor Hubbard wouldn't order it.

But it's not a meal; it's the names of players Hubbard n longer has to contend with. Mitchell's Gregg Strange and Land O'Lakes' Vu-Anh Thai, Pasco County's top seniors last year, have graduated.

Buccaneers coach Brett Wiest regards their absence with a sigh of relief, but it's not enough to downplay his No. 1 player's hard work during the offseason.

"(Strange and Thai) have been the dominant bunch for the past two years in the conference. But (Trevor has) definitely worked very hard," said Wiest, who was the 2005 Pasco County Coach of the Year after his team went 10-2. "He trained at the USF camp, but he's older now.

"But sure, it helps that they are gone. He really battled them. He just didn't have the experience to put him over the edge. But since those two left, they left the conference wide open. They were the only ones, I felt, to really give him a challenge. This should be the year he really dominates."

Wiest added that Hubbard did have brief moments of dominance in 2005, but usually in the first sets against Strange and Thai. Wiest said Hubbard would "start the match strong, then get a little nervous and be unable to finish. "

But Hubbard has no problem with his serves, Wiest said.

"He's been No. 1 here (at Gulf) since he was a freshman," Wiest said. "So I think just having more experience is making him better. He sometimes didn't have the right strokes either because he wasn't at quite that level, but now he's growing into his body. Because he'll smack the ball better than just about anyone you've ever seen."

Hubbard said he can't find a real reason for losing to Strange and Thai besides age difference.

"They just always dominated me, to be honest with you," Hubbard said. "I wasn't experienced enough to play them, really. They were playing in tournaments for 18 and under, and I was playing in 16 and under. Those levels are a big difference."

Hubbard, who trains at Clearwater's Crescent Oaks Country Club and trained at USF men's tennis camp over the summer, said he learned a lot in just a year, especially with Bulls coach Don Barr.

"Actually, I did a lot of throwing up," Hubbard said. "They want me to come back, but I improved a ton over the summer and during the offseason, plus in this past year."

Now with two obstacles out of the way, Hubbard not only is more confident in his game and is 3-0 this season, but he realizes how he will be able rest better with Strange and Thai not preventing him from being the county's top player.

"My last match was pretty easy, but I feel like I still have to up my game," Hubbard said. "But in the end, it is kind of relieving, and yeah, lucky, to know I'm the only one is the county that's in real competition."