Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
For over a decade, the Havre High boys tennis team has continuously brought trophies home from the state tournament. And in the last four years, the HHS girls have started to follow that trend. This past weekend in Miles City, both Blue Pony teams did it once again. At the 2007 Class A state tennis tournament in Miles City, the HHS boys managed a solid third-place finish, while the HHS girls, with only junior Katie Mariani in the tournament, also finished in third. “I am really pleased with how we did this weekend,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “The boys team was right in the state title hunt, and even though that didn’t happen, we still had a really successful tournament in my opinion. “And what can you say about Katie,” he added. “Anytime one player earns a trophy, you know that player had a remarkable tournament. And that’s what Katie did at state this year.” Mariani, the two-time Central A champion in singles, lost a heartbreaking three-set match to her biggest rival, Anna Arrasmith of Livingston in the girl’s singles final. But Mariani’s second- place finish was good enough to tie Lewistown for third with 13 points. As expected, Livingston dominated the tournament, scoring 37 points en route to the state championship. Billings Central was second with 25 points. Mariani dominated the first three rounds of the competition. On Thursday, she opened with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Bigfork’s Breanna Hughes, and in the quarterfinals, she knocked off Glendive’s Mariah Linn, 6-2, 6-0. On Friday, Mariani breezed past Libby’s Jackie Mee in the semifinals, but had to wait until Saturday afternoon to face Arrasmith in the final because rain wiped out the rest of Friday’s action. “Katie played remarkable tennis,” Ferguson said. “And in the final against Arrasmith, she played like a champion. It was a great match and it was one of those that was a shame there had to be a loser, because it was a tremendous battle. “You feel terrible for Katie because she works so hard and she got so close,” he added. “And she certainly put herself in a position to be a state champion. And it’s gut-wrenching to see it not happen. But she proved she is one of the best players in Montana and she will be back next year. I just couldn’t be more proud of her.” On the boys side, the Ponies got a second-place finish from their top doubles team of Todd Roe and Billy Wagner. That finish helped HHS to 19 points and a third-place tie with Lewistown. Billings Central captured its first-ever state title in boys tennis after singles players Jordan Hatzell and Alex Powers finished first and third, respectively. The Rams scored 32 points, six more than second-place Whitefish. After breezing into the championship match, Roe and Wagner lost to Matt and Stephen Gruener of Lewistown, 6-3, 6-3. The loss ended HHS’s four-year stranglehold on the state doubles title. “The Grueners went out and earned the championship,” Ferguson said. “They played one of the best matches they have ever played in the final and they deserved to win that match. “But one loss doesn’t take anything away from what Todd and Billy accomplished this season. They had a great year and they were a huge part of our success this season. “This loss also won’t define Billy’s career either,” he added. “Billy played in four state tournaments, won two divisional championships and a state title. One match won’t ever change any of that. And we have Todd, who has turned into a great doubles player, back for another year. So neither one of them have anything to be ashamed of.” The Ponies fought valiantly to keep up with Billings Central and Whitefish. HHS’s No. 2 doubles team of Ryan Kinholt and David Zentmire scored three points for HHS, including a firstround win over the Western A champion from Polson. In singles, sophomore Shane Kemmer and freshman Kyle Miller combined to score three points for HHS in what was a loaded singles draw yet again. “Singles was tough this year,” Ferguson said. “But I am extremely proud of the way Kyle and Shane played. They both lost to a really frustrating opponent from Whitefish and they both had to go through a lot of adversity and controversy this weekend. But they both fought to the bitter end. They never gave up, and along the way, they played some great tennis. Kyle pushed the state champion farther than anyone else did in the tournament, and Shane battled through a lot of stuff all weekend. With both of those guys coming back, the future for our program is very, very bright. “I think one of the things I am most proud of about this year’s boys team is that everybody scored at the state tournament,” he added. “That hasn’t always been the case. But this year, David and Ryan contributed just as much as our top guys and that just goes to show that we had a very balanced team this season. And I am really proud of the year that these guys put together. It was another great one in HHS tennis.”
