Havre High boys earn four dual wins at Great Falls Invitational; HHS girls getting stronger
Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
The Havre High boys tennis team has been pretty good in duals so far this season. And this weekend in Great Falls, the Blue Ponies were perfect, as HHS was the only team at the Great Falls Invitational tennis tournament to go 4-0 in dual action. The Ponies came into the weekend a perfect 8-0 on the season, and despite facing three Class AA powerhouses, Havre High escaped the Electric City with its perfect record intact. “We played well,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “And our kids should take pride in the fact that we were the only team to go undefeated this weekend. It goes to show you that our depth is a strength right now, and that’s a nice feeling to have this late in the season.” Ferguson also liked the fact that his players won a lot of close matches this weekend, as the Ponies played at least one three-setter in each dual. “We have lost some close ones this season,” Ferguson said. “And now things are starting to wind down. And when you see your kids start to win the close ones, you know things are going in the right direction.” HHS opened the tournament on Friday morning with a 6-1 win over Butte High. In singles, Kyle Miller, Mason Sheppard and Dan Pizzini rolled to wins, and HHS swept the doubles portion of the dual. Then, on Friday evening, the Ponies squeaked out a 4-3 win over Billings Senior. Senior Tim McLean picked up a crucial win at No. 4 singles, which allowed HHS to earn the victory. “Senior was missing some of their varsity guys, so their lineup was a little different,” Ferguson said. “But they still have a lot of good players, so that was a really nice win for us, because that’s the team we look forward to playing the most. They are very good.” On Saturday, the Ponies again went up against a team that changed its lineup. Having scouted HHS the day before, Billings Skyview moved its top two singles players to doubles in order to counter Havre’s top duo of Billy Wagner and Todd Roe. And while Skyview picked up a win at the No. 1 doubles spot, the Ponies rolled through the Falcons, winning 6-1. In the dual, Shane Kemmer earned a hard-fought win at No. 1 singles, as did Miller at the No. 2 spot. The Ponies then finished the tournament with a 5-2 win over Cut Bank. In that dual, Kemmer again pulled out a tremendous win at No. 1 singles, this time defeating Brett Cline in three sets. “It was a good weekend for us,” Ferguson said. “Ryan Kinholt and David Zentmire and Tim Mclean and Brad Hanson both went a perfect 4-0 and that’s what you like to see. That means we have a lot of depth right now.” On the girls side, the Ponies started the weekend off with a close 4-3 loss to Butte. Haley McLain led HHS with a win at No. 1 singles, and Hope Hedges and Christen Kittelson also picked up wins. But the Ponies got swept in doubles. The loss to Butte would be one of three times Havre lost duals by the score of 4-3 over the weekend. “I thought our girls team played really good,” Ferguson said. “When you go up against teams like this, and you play better than you did a month ago when we were playing teams that weren’t this talented, you know your improving, and that’s what’s important right now. Just getting better.” The Ponies’ lone victory on the weekend came on Friday night when they walloped Billings Senior, 5-2. McLain, Kittelson and Melissa Kittelson earned singles wins, and Haley Donovan and Courtney Kinholt, and Morgan McCann and Jolee Landgraf won in doubles for HHS. On Saturday, the Ponies lost to Billings Skyview 4-3 and Cut Bank 4-3. “I think all of our girls played really good at times over the weekend,” Ferguson said. “Haley McLain and Christen Kittelson looked really sharp as did Hope Hedges. As expected, our veterans are starting to play well. “And our young doubles teams gained a lot of experience,” he added. “Based on what I saw in Great Falls, the rest of the season looks good for our girls team.” The Ponies are back on the road this weekend when they head to Billings for the Class A Mayfair Invitational.
