Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News
cpeterson@havredailynews.com
Picking up right where they left off a season ago, the Havre High tennis teams appeared to be in mid-season form as they dominated the field at the Cut Bank Invitational on Saturday in Cut Bank.
Both HHS teams won all three of their duals Saturday to kick off the 2006 season.
“I was really pleased and even a bit surprised,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “I thought that everybody was as sharp as they could possibly be for the first meet of the season.
“A lot of our kids were way ahead of where they have been in years past at this point,” he added. “And even our young kids played very well considering we had four players who had never played a minute of high school tennis before.”
The Ponies kicked off the tournament in impressive fashion, as the HHS boys rolled to a 7-0 victory over the Lewistown Eagles. Billy Wagner, Scott Miller, Todd Roe and Shane Kemmer all scored wins in singles matches for the Ponies. In doubles, the teams of Chase Castloo and John Christian, Ryan Kinholt and David Zentmire, and Jordan Croft and Mason Sheppard all recorded victories for the Ponies.
The Castloo/Christian match was especially meaningful as the duo knocked off Class A favorite Stephan and Matt Gruener, 8-6.
On the girls side, Havre was able to easily defeat Lewistown 6-1 behind wins from Katie Mariani, Hope Hedges and Hailey McLain in singles, and victories in doubles by the teams of Keelie Solomon and Steph Flatau and Kristi Hollingshed and Alexa Lipp.
The Ponies continued their dominance against Conrad, as the boy's team cruised to an easy 7-0 victory led by singles victories from Castloo, Miller, Sheppard and Kemmer.
The girls also defeated Conrad with ease, earning a 6-1 victory. Mariani, McLain and Hedges led the way for the Ponies with their three singles wins. In doubles action, the teams of Flatau and Solomon, Karissa Olson and Lipp both won matches for the Ponies, as did the team of Christen Kittelson and Hollingshed. The lone loss in the dual for the Ponies came when Jaime Reis of Conrad defeated Jocelyn Chagnon of Havre, 8-3.
In the final dual of the day, the Ponies squared off against the host team Cut Bank.
The boys earned another easy victory, as they knocked off the defending Class B-C state champions 6-1. Havre was led by singles victories from Wagner, Roe, Kemmer and Miller. In doubles action, the Ponies continued their dominance, Castloo and Christian and David Zentmire and Jordan Croft both notched easy victories.
“I thought our boys team was extremely sharp on Saturday. Chase and John played very well together and all of our singles players played very good tennis,” Ferguson said. “I was just really happy with our focus, because we are a new team this year and we needed to get some confidence and momentum out of this tournament, and I feel we accomplished that.”
The girls also picked up another easy victory, as the Ponies rolled to a 6-1 win over the Wolves. Mariani, McLain and Hedges all cruised to victory in singles competition. In doubles, the teams of Chagnon and Kittelson, Flatau and Solomon, and Olson and Lipp all earned victories for Havre.
“It was a very good day for our girls team,” Ferguson said. “We have a lot of veteran girls on this team, and I think they got what they needed out of this tournament. I was really pleased with how everybody played. And the most important thing is that we got our feet wet, and now we can go back to work and build from here.”
The Ponies will be back on the road on Saturday when they travel to Conrad for the Conrad Invitational.
Cut Bank Invitational
Boys
Havre 7, Lewistown 0
Singles
Billy Wagner, Hav def. Brandon Hemsath, Lew, 8-5; Scott Miller, Hav def. Shane Parker, Lew 8-5; Todd Roe def. Justin Hartford, Lew 8-1, Shane Kemmer, Hav def. Levi Driskell, Lew 8-2.
Doubles
Chase Castloo/John Christian, Hav def. Stephan Gruener/Matt Gruener, Lew 8-6; Ryan Kinholt/David Zentmire, Hav def. Cameron McCleery/JJ West, Lew 8-1; Jordan Croft/Mason Sheppard, Hav def. Dale Walker, Troy Leven, Lew 8-5.
Havre 7, Conrad 0
Singles
Chase Castloo, Hav def. Jordan Cobb, Con 8-4; Scott Miller, Hav def. Dustin Vandenbos, Con 8-3; Mason Sheppard, Hav def. Cheney Gianerlli, Con 8-0; Shane Kemmer, Hav def. Alex Linn, Con 8-0.
Doubles
Billy Wagner/John Christian, Hav def. Andy Springer/Kidron Cobb, Con 8-3; Ryan Kinholt/Todd Roe, Hav def. Kwan Park, Landon Lee, Con 8-0; Jordan Croft/David Zentmire, Hav def. Kevin Oquist/Garet Lee, Con 8-0.
Havre 6, Cut Bank 1
Singles
Billy Wagner, Hav def. Brett Cline, CB 8-2; Scott Miller, Hav def. Josh Paulson, CB, 8-3; Todd Roe, Hav def. Jeremy Whelchel, CB 8-3; Shane Kemmer, Hav def. Brian Lindberg, CB 8-0.
Doubles
Chase Castloo/John Christian, Hav def. Steven Paulson/Jeff Larson, CB 8-5; Matt Whelchel/Cody Pyette, CB def. Ryan Kinholt/Mason Sheppard, Hav 8-0; David Zentmire/Jordan Croft, Hav def. Andy Halverson/Cory Mazurkiewicz, CB 8-3.
Girls
Havre 6, Lewistown 1
Singles
Katie Mariani, Hav def. Ashley Boettger, Lew 8-3; Merrick Carpenter, Lew def. Karissa Olson, Hav 8-5; Hailey McLain, Hav def. Allisyn Bent, Lew 8-2; Hope Hedges, Hav def. Jessica Martin 8-1.
Doubles
Steph Flatau/Keelie Solomon, Hav def. Kylie Jimmerson/Diamond Braine, Lew, 8-0; Kristi Hollingshead/Alexa Lipp, Hav def. Chelsey Meyer/Shani Marciniak, Lew 8-2; Jocelyn Chagnon/Christen Kittelson, Hav won by default.
Havre 6, Conrad 1
Singles
Katie Mariani, Hav def. Amber Keil, Con 8-3; Hailey McLain, Hav def. Michelle Schram, Con, 8-4; Hope Hedges, hav def. Amanda Judisch, Con 8-5; Jamie Reis, Con def. Jocelyn Chagnon, Hav 8-3.
Doubles
Steph Flatau/Keelie Solomon, Hav def. Anna Pearson/Jerrica Harris, Con, 8-1; Karissa Olson/Alexa Lipp, Hav def. Katie Schlepp/Zoe Yeager, Con 8-2; Kristi Hollingshead/Christen Kittelson, Hav def. Britnee Wittmire/Kesha Blockeel, 8-6.
Havre 6, Cut Bank 1
Singles
Katie Mariani, Hav def. Katie Winkowitsch, CB 8-1; Hailey McLain, Hav def. Danni Johnson, CB 8-3; Marla Rice def. Kristi Hollingshead, Inj. Def.; Hope Hedges, Hav def. Callie Cooper, CB, 8-0.
Doubles
Steph Flatau/Keelie Solomon, Hav def. Melani Rice/Leah Gregg, CB, 8-1; Karissa Olson/Alexa Lipp, Hav def. Alyx Biegler/Kelsey Cooper, CB 8-5; Jocelyn Chagnon/Christen Kittelson, Hav def. Laura Gregg/Melissa Helvik, CB 8-6.
