BOZEMAN — As the spring season wrapped up for high school sports in Montana this past weekend, history was made at the Class AA state tennis tournament.
Bozeman Gallatin junior Mason McCarty three-peated as a state champion in the boys singles, adding another perfect season to an undefeated career thus far for the Raptors.
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"Like a rush of emotions, kind of just happy, for my team too, just happy they were there to witness it and support me," McCarty, who defeated Bozeman's Harrison Rotar 6-0, 6-0, explained of what he felt after clinching his third consecutive state title.
"I was super appreciative of that. Definitely just an amazing feeling, all the work I’ve that I’ve put in helped with that moment and to realize it then, it was just an amazing moment."
And McCarty left everything on the court in the final match.
"Yeah, I turned it up a bit, I played pretty well, definitely was going for my shots," he said. "Stuff was working that might not usually. I was just trying as hard as I could, and once I started feeling it, I was just going for what I could."
McCarty won the third state title in front of a hometown crowd, on a court where he spent much time practicing growing up.
"Definitely special compared to the other ones," McCarty said. "Doing it here, this is where I grew up hitting in the summers, but also my sister only has two, so a third one kind of puts me over her a little bit, definitely a little sibling rivalry. Definitely a lot of emotions and just very happy for it."
His sister is Meg McCarty, who plays tennis at Montana State and had a decorated career for Bozeman High as a two-time state singles champion.
Mason has not lost a match and has only dropped one set so far in his career at Gallatin. It’s sheer dominance that’s been established.
"It’s definitely crazy, I don’t feel like I’ve won three championships or 65 matches, definitely just crazy hearing it," he said. "I just go out and play, and it doesn’t really affect me at all. Definitely some wild statistics to hear out loud."
As for how he’ll build on this season?
"Staying locked in," he said. "I’m going to keep practicing obviously and just never quit. Just reach for the stars, honestly. Just see how far I can go."
