Carter signs with Montana for tennis
Sasha Carter said one of her favorite pastimes is spending time outdoors.
“I’m a big camper and hiker,” she said. “I love all that stuff.”
She’ll be in one of the best places in the world to do that as she recently signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Montana’s women’s tennis team, a Division I school in the Big Sky Conference.
The campus is highly ranked by Outside Magazine as one of the top locations in the nation for its curriculum and its outdoors scene. The city of Missoula is nicknamed “The Garden City.”
Carter said she chose Montana over the numerous schools that were interested in her because of the coach, Steve Ascher, and the girls on the team, but the location was another big factor as well.
“California was just too urban for me,” she said. “I wanted to go somewhere where there’s a lot of wildlife, so Montana was the perfect fit for me.”
She plans to study biology and go to graduate school for marine or wildlife biology. Carter hopes to become a veterinarian or a wildlife documentary filmmaker.
Though she wanted to play at a Division I school, Carter said she wasn’t that interested in pursuing a pro career.
“I love the sport, but my life involves a lot of other things too,” she said. “I’ll always be playing and I may try some national and professional tournaments, but I’m not going to pursue (a pro career.)”
Ranked as a four-star recruit and the second ranked prospect in the Northwest region by the Tennis Recruiting Network, Carter is a two-time state champion in girls’ singles.
A Bainbridge native, she won a title as a freshman at the Annie Wright High School in Tacoma, a 1A school. Carter then transferred back to Bainbridge, but had to sit out her sophomore year per WIAA rules.
Last year, she became the first girl since Sara Allen in 1978 to win a girls’ singles title at Bainbridge. She also became the first girls’ player in school history to win a Metro, district and state title.
Now that she’s finally signed, Carter said she can relax and enjoy herself more.
“I don’t have to focus on the competition part of it and the traveling,” she said. “I can now focus on the sport and the skill part of it and getting better rather than the ranking (part.) So that’s nice.”
Time for the Solstice Run/Walk
The ninth annual Solstice Run/Walk will be held Dec. 11 in downtown Winslow.
There will be a 5K, one-mile and kids’ dashes, with prizes handed out to the top three finishers for males and females. Random prizes will be given away as well. Hot chocolate will be available.
The cost is $15 for the one-mile/5K run and $5 for the kids’ dash, with $60 going for family entries. All proceeds go to benefit Go Run!, a non-profit program for fifth and sixth grade girls that uses athletics to enhance their lives.
Registration can be done online at www.island-fitness.com.
Select kickers take home title
The Bainbridge Island Jets, a U-14 boys soccer team, won the District IV championship Nov. 21. They take part in the state tournament Dec. 4-5.
The team defeated the Tracyton Eagles 3-1 in overtime.
The team members are Eric Nimb, Will Brown, Markham Scott, Dawson Golden, Jackson Garber, Gareth Grindeland, Lucas Weyand, Hudson Hausemann, Trent Loughnane, Nate Boegl, Tommy Zech, Sam Maracich, Cal Barash-David, Josh Parker, Bryce Miller, Myron Butler and Carter Daniels.
