Havre Daily News Staff
For any high school tennis player, nothing could be sweeter than to win the last match of your career. And that perfect ending happened to Havre High senior Katie Mariani on Saturday in Kalispell, as she walked off the court for the last time as Class A state singles champion. Mariani beat arch rival Anna Arrasmith of Livingston 6-4, 7-5 in the girls state championship on Saturday at Flathead Community College to become only the second HHS girl to win a singles state championship. Teri Sherrill captured the only other state championship for HHS in singles back in 2000. Former Blue Pony great Amy McLain also reached the state final back in 2005 and Mariani got there last year before finally claiming the title on Saturday. “Kat ie was phenomenal thi s weekend,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “She went up against three great players in a row and every match was as tough as they get. But she was as determined and focused as I have ever seen any player in my years of coaching and she wasn’t going to be denied a second time. She just wasn’t going to lose. You could see that the whole tournament, and right now, I just couldn’t be more proud of her.” Indeed, Mariani’s road to the state championship was not an easy one. In the quarterfinals on Friday, she dropped the first set 6-0 to Billings Central’s Brittney Hatzell before rebounding to win 6-3, 6-2. The same thing happened to her on Friday evening when she dropped the first set to Libby’s Jackie Mee in the semifinal round. But again, her will and determination brought her back to win 7-5 and 6-1 in the final two sets, setting up yet another showdown wi th Arrasmith. “All three of my opponents were quality players,” Mariani said. “And I started slow against the first two and they were really difficult matches. But my ultimate goal this year was to win a state championship and I knew I had to fight my way back and I did that against two really good players.” On Saturday morning against Arramsith, Mariani didn’t start as slowly, gaining a 5-2 lead in the first set and ultimately closing Arrasmith out 6-4. But like in their previous meetings, 12 in all, Arrasmith wasn’t going to go away, and she went up 5-3 in the second set before Mariani, as determined as ever, came back through patience and a mental toughness that has helped her to one of the greatest careers in HHS tennis history. She wound up prevailing 7-5 and the state championship was finally hers. Arramsith beat Mariani in three sets in the state final a year ago in Miles City, and she beat her again last weekend at the Central A Divisional tournament, while Mariani had won the previous two divisional titles. So the two players were all too familiar with each other going in to their lastever match. “We have played each other so many times,” Mariani said. “We know each others weaknesses and we know how to take advantage of them. It is so close between us that it really comes down to whoever wants it more and who’s more on that day, and Saturday was my day. “I think because of what happened against her last year, I just knew I wanted this one more and I wasn’t going to let it go this time,” she added. “It was a really tough match and she is a quality player, but I just wasn’t going to let this one go.” Said Ferguson: “Katie and Anna have had a rare rivalry in high school tennis. Two players from the same division and the same age, they got to play each other so many times through the years, and they played some very meaningful tennis matches at the highest level. They have both had great careers and it was an amazing rivalry to be a part of. I’m just so happy for Katie that she was able to win the last match they will ever play. She truly earned it and deserved this state championship.” For her career, Mariani placed four times at the divisional tournament and won two Central A titles. She also finished tied for fifth at the state tourney as a sophomore, second as a junior and as a state champion her senior year. As a freshman, she also scored two points at state. She also finished her senior campaign with a sparkling 25-2 record, and she was part of Havre High’s only girl's team state championship in 2006, as well as a runner-up finish in 2005, and thirdplace finishes in 2007 and again this season. “Katie has had a phenomenal career at HHS,” Ferguson said. “She has helped to make girls tennis in Havre into a state power, and she will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest to ever play in Havre. It has been a privilege and an honor to coach her, and because of how hard she works and what a great person she is, no one deserves it more than she does.” Said Mariani: “It’s been a huge honor to play for a program like Havre High and to play in a program that has produced great players like Teri Sherrill and Amy McLain. And this is something I have worked really hard for throughout the years. I knew I could do it, and winning a state championship has been my goal all along. I was crushed last year, but I really don’t think this win would have been as sweet if I hadn’t of gone through that last season. “But what also makes my career so great, not only in tennis, but in all the sports I played at Havre High is the support of my coaches and the community and the school,” she added. “And being with all of my teammates over the years, it has been amazing. It has been a special four years at Havre High and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending.”
