Carson Eberly settled in as Fountain Central’s No. 1 singles player as a sophomore, and that set him up for a chance of even more success down the road.
Just a year later, and Eberly’s experience and hard work has already paid off.
The junior posted a 20-win season this fall, won the Wabash River Conference, and helped the Mustangs to a third-straight sectional title – on his way to earning the 2019 Journal Review Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year.
“I improved from my sophomore to junior year by putting in more work in the offseason and summer,” Eberly said. “Also my freshman and sophomore season I would let some matches slip away and not be able to finish, but this year I was able to finish strong in every match, even the losses.”
Fountain Central coach Chris Webb has watched Eberly grow as a tennis player, and mentally mature into one of the best players in the area.
“Having a year of experience at No. 1 singles definitely helped in the area of mental toughness,” Webb said. “Carson also possesses the ability to play the big points well. If he is trailing, he battles to the end of the set, regardless of the outcome. He does a really nice job of forcing his opponent to win points rather than losing points, or giving them away with mistakes. Over the course of 2 or 3 sets, this puts a large amount of pressure on an opponent.”
Eberly had a handful of battles against Covington’s Calvin Springer this fall, all of which he won. But each outing, Springer pushed him a little more, and each time Eberly rose to the occasion including a come from behind win in the WRC singles final.
“Calvin Springer is a great tennis player, and when he plays high risk and within his abilities, he is extremely difficult to beat,” Webb said. “He has many different shots in his arsenal. When Carson stayed aggressive and ‘in control’ of points, he made it difficult for Calvin to win games. Carson’s willingness to get one more ball back was enough to find ways to win, even when Calvin was playing some of his best tennis.”
Eberly pressed forward in each match, no matter the score.
“I just had to keep a positive attitude and take it one point at a time,” he said. “Even if I was down I had to think that there was still a chance to win the match if I gave my best effort.”
Just now entering his junior basketball season, Eberly has earned varsity letters in tennis, basketball, and baseball, and uses each sport to help the others.
“Carson’s two other sports (basketball and baseball) are team sports, which have helped him develop leadership skills,” Webb said about Eberly. “By maintaining a competitive edge through participation in varsity level sports in the off-season, his determination and drive are never allowed to dip. He carries this into the tennis season. I credit much of his success to his drive, but his other coaches, teammates, and sports have a great deal to do with his success, as well.”
He explained that playing team sports like basketball and baseball has enhanced his leadership skills, which has transferred onto the tennis courts.
“Being a multi-sport athlete helps me in tennis because even though tennis is an individual sport, it’s also a team sport and being a multi-sport athlete really helps and shapes me into what a good teammate should do and how they should be,” Eberly said. “Tennis also helps me in other sports because we have had success in the past years and it helps me push to try and achieve success in my other sports too.”
With two years of No. 1 singles experience under his belt already, Eberly is well on his way to becoming one of the most decorated area tennis players, and helping lead the Mustangs to a fourth-straight sectional title.
2019 Journal Review Boys’ Tennis All-Area Team
SINGLES
Austin Motz — Crawfordsville
Carson Eberly — Fountain Central
Adam Cox — Southmont
DOUBLES
Jacob Keeling and Denton Otero — FC
Micah Korhorn and Reese Long — SM