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BY JESSIE H. NUNERY
Sports Editor
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Ty Brice knows the status quo won’t take him where he wants to go.
Instead of sleeping in or simply enjoying the summer entering his senior year, Brice takes a trip twice a week.
He gets in the car and rides to Cary, where he plays against competition that is as good as he is, or in many cases, superior.
If Brice is going to be Rocky Mount High’s first Division I boys’ tennis signee next year, he knows playing tennis in the region where he calls home will not suffice.
Brice, who is the Telegram’s All-Area Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year for a second straight season, has excelled against Down East opponents. Handling those outside of the area code is of great importance because of the exposure it can bring.
“A lot of it was getting to play a lot of the guys who are on the same level as me,” Brice said. “Once you get to the Raleigh area, the level increases a lot.”
The mornings in Cary are spent on fundamentals like footwork and serve placement. After a quick lunch, Brice is on the court for another two-plus hours, where he puts his skills up against players, who in many cases, are Division I prospects.
It’s not a trip Brice takes for granted, and after easing through the Big East Conference with a 10-0 record and finishing as a regional singles runner-up, he found out there was another level he needs to be at toward the end of the season.
He watched as teammates George Shannon and Landon Norwood won their doubles match before he took the court and lost his singles match, leaving him without a victory at the state tournament in his career.
“Everyone at a high level hits a good ball,” Brice said. “The biggest thing is knowing where to be, foot patterns, where you hit your serves. My ballstriking is good, it just needs to get to the next level with my IQ.”
Brice and the Gryphons play in a conference where the competition isn’t consistent, so Brice is willing to do whatever is necessary to improve. His father, Albie, is the tennis coach at N.C. Wesleyan, so sometimes Ty will go over and hit balls with the team.
“Being a Division I athlete is definitely attainable for him,” Rocky Mount High coach Barry Nethercutt said. “He’s got the work ethic and the desire to continue to improve his game. He’s willing to learn, and he’s got the skills that are only going to get better. It’s difficult to duplicate in practice the talent that is at the state level. We try to simulate it, but the ball comes at a different pace, and the level of play Down East isn’t even close.”
While Brice has the Division I goal in mind, he isn’t secluded from his teammates who might not have the same thing in mind. In fact, he is the opposite. Brice and Nethercutt said the team was extremely close last season as it earned the Big East title and advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA 3-A state playoffs. There will be five seniors next season, and Brice wants the Gryphons to succeed as much as he wants to on his own.
“I do singles tournaments all the time, so I think it’s cool to have that team energy and go on bus rides in the playoffs,” Brice said. “I look forward to that. What is most rewarding to me is to see guys improve.”
Nethercutt said one of Brice’s strong attributes is his ability to bounce back from a match where he isn’t at his best. A big part of that, Brice said, is because he simply loves the game, and he wants to play at the next level, no matter the classification.
“There will be a little pressure next year — a lot of tennis is pressure,” Brice said. “But I’ll be ready to take it on.”
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