Pittsfield Boys,Mount Greylock Girls Pick Up Wins

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Pittsfield boys tennis team Tuesday remained unbeaten in Berkshire County with 3-1 win over Mount Greylock.
 
And according to Generals coach Shane Sullivan, that perfect county record says a lot more about the quality of his team than the quality of the competition.
 
“A lot of these young Berkshire County teams are really getting better,” Sullivan said. “So we really have had to stay hungry.
 
“I’ve just got a lot of experience on my team at this point. You know, we’ve got juniors,and a lot of the other teams have freshmen and sophomores who are all good players. … But compared to last year , we had a lot more close matches this year.”
 
And the fact that Pittsfield has won all but one -- a non-league match at Northampton -- is a testament to those experienced Generals.
 
“It definitely is a credit to the kids,” he said. “You know, they’re working hard, staying focused. They just have that mentality to never take a day off and always go out and push hard for the win.”
 
Mount Greylock’s girls also are on a roll this season, and they continued an 11-2 campaign with a 5-0 win over PHS on Tuesday.
 
Mia Van Deurszen and Hannah Gilooly took 6-0, 6-0 wins at first and second singles, respectively. The Mounties won by forfeit at third singles and got doubles wins from the pairings of Josie Dalsin/Izzy Leonard and Olivia Winters/Piper Schulman.
 
In the boys match, the Generals took the two singles matches with Adam Quinto and Brian Lovinio winning in straight sets at first and second singles, respectively.
 
Gary Zheng and Conor Mooney won, 6-3, 6-1 at second doubles.
 
The Mount Greylock first doubles team of Ryan Narey and Finn Carothers came from behind to win 0-6, 6-3, 10-8.
 
In addition to the improved competition that Pittsfield’s boys see on match days, the Generals have some fierce competition when no one is watching, Sullivan said.
 
“They definitely push each other a lot,” he said. “Some of our best matches are definitely challenge matches that are really good.”
 
Unfortunately, the rough weather this spring has not allowed for a whole lot of practice time, and while Pittsfield has gotten indoors a few times, Sullivan tries to keep his squad in the elements as much as possible.
 
“This year, I haven’t [gone indoors] as much because we end up playing in conditions like this: 20 mph winds, and it’s about 55 degrees,” Sullivan said. “So it’s like, if you practice inside, are you really getting yourself prepared?
 
“So we’ve practiced in any weather. Any day it’s not raining, we’re out there.”
 
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