Carothers Leads Mounties to Regional Final

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The day did not start great for the best boys tennis player in Berkshire County on Sunday.

 

Tate Carothers was visibly upset with himself at the outset of his first singles match in a Western Massachusetts Class C semi-final against Lenox.

 

But Carothers righted the ship and, as he has in 14 other dual matches this season, earned his point for the Mounties, who went on to a 5-0 win over the Millionaires and a berth in the regional final.

 

All five wins came in straight sets, but the matches were competitive. Sawyer Levin at No. 2 singles pushed Mount Greylock’s Oscar Heeringa in the first set before falling, 6-4, 6-2. Edmund Pritchard at third singles fought off eight match points before succumbing to Max Wied, 6-4, 6-1.

 

Carothers, after settling in against Aydan Shove, prevailed, 6-2, 6-1.

 

“Yeah, slow start for sure,” Carothers said of his match. “I think the heat kind of threw me off. It’s definitely the hottest it’s been, at least match wise, but I got used to it.

 

“I played in heat like this before, coming from Oklahoma, Florida and Southern California.”

 

Carothers criss-crossed the country on his way to the Williams College courts this spring.

 

After playing first singles as a seventh-grader at Mount Greylock, the now-sophomore enrolled in a Texas tennis academy as an eighth-grader. He then landed at a different academy in Oklahoma for about a year and a half before trying programs in Bradenton, Fla., and Palm Springs, Calif.

 

Eventually, Carothers decided that the world of sports academies was not for him.

 

“It’s a lot of tennis, six hours a day on the court, not living with my family, staying with a host family,” he said after Sunday’s match. “I just think this is a more balanced life for me. And I think I can achieve my goals in tennis – being at home and with my friends, also training hard and competing.”

 

Carothers said the adjustment back in the classroom was a smooth one.

 

“At Greylock, the faculty’s all amazing,” he said. “All my teachers are great. They really care about the students. They’re always there to help me. It’s been really good.”

 

And after a couple of years competing against highly-competitive, year-round, committed tennis players, Carothers does not mind if he has a target on his back when he hits the high school courts in Western Massachusetts.

 

“I like the pressure,” he said. “I always like people watching me. I play my best when there’s a big crowd and there’s a lot of noise. I like having a target on my back rather than not.”

 

Mount Greylock (14-1) will meet the winner of Monday’s match between Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter and Lee on a date and at a location to be announced.

 

Photos from this match to come.

 

Singles

No. 1 Tate Carothers, MG, def. Aydan Shove, 6-2, 6-1.

No. 2 Oscar Heeringa, MG, def. Sawyer Levin, 6-4, 6-2.

No. 3 Max Wied, MG, def. Edmund Pritchard, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles

No. 1 Walter Love/Nico McWeeny, MG, def. Devon Smits/Aiden Tran, 6-0, 6-1.

No. 2 Keaton Repetto/AJ Richardson, MG, def. Farid Vizcardo/Race Keator, 6-1, 6-3.