Ranked as one of the top male tennis players in Massachusetts for his age group, senior Lochlan Seth has not only dominated the high school tennis courts but also established himself as a pivotal leader on the North boys’ tennis team. This fall, Seth is taking his talents to Colgate University, where he will continue his education and compete at the Division I level, the highest collegiate level for athletics.
“Lochlan is just one of the best high school players I’ve ever seen, if not the best,” said Philip Goldberg, the boys’ tennis head coach.
According to Seth, he has been playing tennis his entire life, starting tournament play at seven years old. Seth added that his commitment to playing collegiate tennis began towards the end of middle school when he decided to focus solely on tennis.
“The decision to stick with tennis and drop track and squash was definitely the moment where it became serious,” said Seth. “That is where the push to play in college came from.”
Once this commitment was made, according to Seth, he had to start taking tennis more seriously, going to more tournaments, and practicing on his own time.
Throughout Seth’s high school career, he was named a Bay State All-Star in both his freshman and sophomore years, and he currently ranks as one of the top 100 male high school tennis players in the country. According to Seth, he put high school tennis on hold during his junior year to focus on outside tournament play, but he returned to the team for his senior year. Throughout his three years playing for North, he has lost approximately three matches total, a testament to his unbelievable resilience and unmatched skill, according to Goldberg.
Though his huge serve is his greatest weapon, according to Seth, he initially had to spend a lot of practice time “cleaning up” other components of his game. He added that he worked on his offense and forehand, which made him even harder to compete against. “I used to have some huge weaknesses in my game that better players could use to their advantage,” said Seth. “So once I practiced and got rid of those it just made me a more complete player.”
According to Seth, almost all tournaments he attended involved long-distance travel once he reached higher-level tournament play. Close to every week, he would be traveling to far-away states like Florida, Georgia, and California. “It just gets to the point where it’s hard to keep up with school when you’re not only flying on planes but you also have to spend so much time on the court and then after that, you’re expected to finish your homework, ” said Seth.” He was able to balance athletics and academics with the support of his encouraging teachers, who stayed flexible as long as he consistently communicated with them, Seth added.
One of his favorite moments while playing tennis at North was a nighttime match against Wellesley during his sophomore year where energy was evident all over the courts, said Seth. “There were more than 200 people who showed up,” said Seth. “It just made the environment so electric and truly the best feeling while playing.”
Seth’s experience is extremely valuable to the team, according to Goldberg. “Outside of the team when we aren’t in season I coach a lot of the kids on the team,” said Seth. “I’ve had the opportunity to have such great coaches in the past where now I can just pass down what they have taught me.”
According to senior John Washek, a captain along with senior William Fine, Seth is also an incredible person.“He’s a hard worker, and he spends a lot of his time helping the other players work on their games as well,” said Washek. “He’s just truly such a great teammate.”
Seth will start his new journey at Colgate this fall and is thrilled to see what is next. “I’m super excited to meet a bunch of new people and I think this will just make me into a better player, ” said Seth.
According to Goldberg, Seth’s peak performance on the court is still ahead of him. “I’m excited to see what comes next for him,” said Goldberg.
