By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Havre Blue Pony boys' and girls' tennis teams swept Lewistown, Conrad, and Cut Bank in dual matches at the Cut Bank Invitational on Saturday.
The boys defeated Lewistown 7-0, Conrad 6-1, and Cut Bank 6-1.
The girls defeated Lewistown 4-3, Conrad 4-3, and Cut Bank 7-0.
On the boys' side, senior Kellen Malone won 8-0 over his Lewistown opponent and 8-0 against Cut Bank.
He combined with Nick Heninger in doubles against Conrad and won, 8-0.
Malone did not lose a game during the entire day in singles or doubles.
Heninger won 8-2 over his Lewistown opponent and won 8-1 over his Cut Bank opponent. He lost only three games the entire day.
"These two looked outstanding for the early season," head coach Sam Dierman said. "They made very few mistakes and looked pretty dominating."
The doubles team of Levi LaPrath and Tyler Croft went 3-0 on the weekend. They won 8-6 against Lewistown, 8-1 against Conrad and 8-5 against Cut Bank.
"They will get better with time," Dierman said. "We haven't worked on doubles very much yet, so I thought they did very well."
Sophomore Mike Frey, Seth Maristuen, and Terrence Wells looked fine at moments, Dierman said.
Frey and Wells combined in doubles and defeated their Lewistown opponent, 8-6.
Frey won 8-5 in singles against Conrad. Wells won 8-2 against Conrad, but Maristuen faltered, falling, 8-6.
However, he redeemed himself by defeating his Cut Bank opponent 8-0.
"At times, they all looked really good," Dierman said. "But all three were pretty inconsistent. As the year goes on, they will get better and better."
All first-year players won all of their matches for the boys.
"This year's beginning tennis players are pretty strong and Cody McLain, Andrew McClain, Jeremy Heninger, and Tyler Vincent show that with continued experience, they will become strong players for Havre High School."
No. 1 singles' player Teri Sherrill also dominated at Cut Bank, winning two singles matches and one doubles match.
Sherrill defeated her Lewistown opponent 8-1 and her Cut Bank opponent 8-2.
She combined with Lauren Malone and won an 8-5 match against Conrad.
"Teri is usually a slow starter at the beginning of the year," Dierman said. "This wasn't the case on Saturday as she was dominant. Her offseason training is going to pay off for her."
Crystal Heggen also won two singles' matches and one doubles match.
She defeated her Lewistown opposition 8-2, and Conrad, 8-6.
She combined with Breyon Briese and won in doubles against Cut Bank, 8-3.
"Crystal has been by best practice player so far, and it showed this weekend," Dierman said. "She did a really nice job."
Returning singles' players Malone and Nichole Borst also played well at times, Dierman said.
Malone won 8-0 over Lewistown and Cut Bank opponents. Borst won 8-2 over Lewistown, but fell 8-6 against Conrad. She won 8-3 over Cut Bank.
"These two are going to surprise some people," he added.
Briese and Jana McPherson were the only two varsity doubles' players to make the trip.
"They struggled their fist match, but I knew they would," Dierman said. "They both are strong servers and with the wind, I knew it would affect them more than anyone. Both were playing excellent by the end of the day."
Because of ACT tests and other commitments, some freshman filled the holes on varsity.
"It was very exciting to watch the younger girls who made the trip," Dierman said. "All four (Laura Hedstrom, Samantha Shrauger, Jennifer Gorder, and Ryan Hamilton) won at least one match and some of them won two. As I said with the boys, our young tennis players are very good and they will only get better."
Shrauger and Hedstrom combined in doubles and split wins, losing first to Lewistown, 8-3, but soundly defeating Cut Bank, 8-1.
The team will compete at the Conrad Invitational on Saturday.
Boys
Havre def. Lewistown, 7-0
Singles Kellen Malone won, 8-0; Nick Heninger won, 8-2; Seth Maristuen won, 8-2; Cody McLain won, 8-1.
Doubles Mike Frey/Terrence Wells won, 8-6; Tyler Croft/Levi LaPrath won, 8-6; Jeremy Heninger/Tyler Vincent won, 8-6.
Havre def. Conrad, 6-1
Singles Maristuen lost, 8-6; Frey won, 8-5; Wells won, 8-2; Vincent won, 8-0.
Doubles N. Heninger/Malone won, 8-0; Croft/LaPrath won, 8-1; Andrew McLain/C. McLain won, 8-2.
Havre def. Cut Bank, 6-1
Singles Malone won, 8-0; N. Heninger won, 8-1; Maristuen won, 8-0; A. McLain won, 8-4.
Doubles Frey/Wells lost, 8-7 (4-7); Croft/LaPrath won, 8-5; J. Heninger/Vincent won, 8-4.
Girls
Havre def. Lewistown, 4-3
Singles Teri Sherrill won, 8-1; Crystal Heggen won, 8-2; Lauren Malone won, 8-0; Nichole Borst won, 8-2.
Doubles Breyon Briese/Jana McPherson lost, 8-3; Laura Hedstrom/Samantha Shrauger lost, 8-3; Jennifer Gorder/Ryan Hamilton lost, 8-4.
Havre def. Conrad, 4-3
Singles Heggen won, 8-6; Borst lost, 8-6; Hedstrom lost, 8-4; Shrauger lost, 8-6.
Doubles Malone/Sherrill won, 8-5; Briese/McPherson won, 8-4; Gorder/Hamilton won, 8-6.
Havre def. Cut Bank, 7-0
Singles Sherrill won, 8-2; Borst won, 8-3; Hamilton won, 8-2; Gorder won, 8-2.
Doubles Briese/Heggen won, 8-3; Malone/McPherson won, 8-3; Hedstrom/Shrauger won, 8-1.
