Havre tennis teams wrap up the regular season

The Havre High boys and girls tennis teams had work left to do before this week's Central A Divisional tournament. And the Blue Ponies completed that work Saturday at the Lewistown Invitational.

Havre faced off against Central A rivals Livingston, Lewistown and Anaconda, as well as took on Butte Central Saturday in dual action, and with mixed results according to HHS head coach George Ferguson.

"There was a lot of importance on the Lewistown Invite and the kids knew that going in," Ferguson said. "We needed to be at our best for many different reasons, and in some cases we just weren't. We didn't get off to the kind of start we would of liked Saturday morning. And that was disappointing to see. I thought the tennis got better as the day went on, and I was really pleased with the way some of our kids played throughout the entire day. But the slow start was concerning and these kids will not be able to get away with that come this Thursday because divisionals is or do or die. So hopefully, that was one of the key things we took away from this past Saturday.

The Havre girls went 3-1 in their four duals. The Ponies beat Lewistown and Anaconda 4-3, swept a short-handed Butte Central squad, but opened the day with a 5-2 loss to Livingston. Havre was swept in the singles against the Rangers, while Breck Don and Ellery Bresler and Haley Graham and Morgan Jappe picked up Havre's lone wins in doubles.

Don and Bresler were unbeaten at the No. 2 doubles spot, while Brandy Lambourne won a key singles match against Lewistown. Lainey Chagnon and Jennifer Cichosz battled all day at No. 1, and picked up a big win over the top team from Anaconda. And overall, every player in Havre's girls lineup won one more matches Saturday, including Shannon Herring, who won twice, and Tatiana Ralph and freshman Rainey Stoner.

"Our girls team actually played pretty well as a whole," Ferguson said. "We can play better and they know it, but for most of the day, they did an outstanding job. The girls are veteran kids and they know what's at stake this time of year. We lost some close matches and we won some big matches, so I was pretty pleased with our girls. They are very ready for this week."

Havre's boys struggled somewhat.

The Ponies edged Livingston 4-3 on the strength of a key win by Jerod Boles and Wyatt Lindbloom at No. 3 doubles. However, Havre dropped a 4-3 decision to Lewistown, as well as a 5-2 loss to Butte Central. The Ponies also edged Anaconda 4-3.

Boles and Lindbloom won two big matches for the Ponies, while Jeff Miller and Zach Hellegaard each went 3-1 in singles. Ned Malone and Jacob Holden scored key points in duals against Livingston and Anaconda, while Brian Smith and Noah Landgraf earned a huge win over Butte Central's top doubles duo. Nick Rhines and J.J. Hovet went a difficult 1-3 at No. 1 doubles, including losing a pair of tough matches against Lewistown and Anaconda.

"I'm not sure what it was, but our boys team just couldn't get in the groove," Ferguson said. "That was really disappointing because we played pretty well last week in Helena, and we've really been practicing well for the last month. But for some reason, some of them just couldn't get going in the right direction. It wasn't all bad. Some kids really stepped up. Jerod and Wyatt did a great job, I thought Zach Hellegaard really played strong, and in at least one match, everybody had their good moments. But at the same time, these guys need to have more of a sense of urgency. This is divisional time and if you don't play at your best, and you aren't up to 100 percent, things will go wrong very quickly. There's a very small margin for error this time of the year.

"So hopefully," he continued. "Saturday was a wake-up call for our boys. I believe we have a very strong team. I believe we can do some great things at divisionals. But in order to do that, we're going to have to play a lot better, and be a lot more focused than we were Saturday in Lewistown."

And it is indeed divisional time. The Ponies will now head back to Lewistown on Thursday for the Central A Divisional, where they HHS boys and the Livingston girls are the defending champions.

"This is it," Ferguson said. "There are no more matches to be played, and only three practices left. Then it's do or die. It's an exciting time of year for us. And hopefully, Saturday was a great learning experience for all of our kids and they'll be primed and ready to go this week."

LEWISTOWN INVITATIONAL

BOYS

Havre 4, Livingston 3

Singles

Aiden Goodman, LIV def. Jeff Miller, HAV, 8-7 (8-6); John Potenberg, LIV def. Ned Malone, HAV, 8-2; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Austin Leher, LIV, 8-6; Jacob Holden, HAV def. Wolfgang Greiger, LIV, 8-2.

Doubles

Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV def. Isaac Richards/Daniel Newhouse, LIV, 8-4; Callum Gannon/Nohl Vance, LIV def. Noah Landgraf/Brian Smith, HAV, 8-3; Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV def. Karl Molina/David Noble, LIV, 8-2.

Lewistown 4, Havre 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Andrew Bruno, LEW, 8-4; Preston Kynett, LEW def. Ned Malone, HAV, 8-4; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Carl Wright, LEW, 8-3; Parker Phillips, LEW def. Jacob Holden, HAV, 8-1.

Doubles

Andy Butcher/Austin Songer, LEW def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-6; Noah Landgraf/Brian Smith, HAV def. Zach Hould/Bryson Behl, LEW, 8-3; Hooper Armour/Bryce Petersen, LEW def. Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV, 8-1.

Havre 5, Anaconda 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Eli Van Meel, ANA, 8-3; Ned Malone, HAV def. Carson Bayton, ANA, 8-2; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Collin Stetzner, ANA, 8-1; Jacob Holden, HAV def. Drake Kopp, ANA, 8-1.

Doubles

Denis Stensburg/Jackson Wagner, ANA def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-6; Jeff Dierenfeldt/Aaron Van Meel, ANA def. Brian Smith/Noah Landgraf, HAV, 8-6; Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV def. Gabe Blodnik/Ben Schaffer, ANA, 8-4.

Butte Central 5, Havre 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Kale Guldseth, BC. 8-5; Northey Tretheway, BC def. Ned Malone, HAV, 8-6; Derek Ralph, BC def. Zach Hellegaard, HAV, 8-3; Jack Gallgher, BC def. Jacob Holden, HAV, 8-3.

Doubles

Tyler Trudnowski/Patrick Kenny, BC def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-5; Noah Landgraf/Brian Smith, HAV def. Frank Joyce/Jim Joyce, BC, 8-4; Kaden Peeples/Kolton Lamieux, BC def. Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV, 8-2.

GIRLS

Livingston 5, Havre 2

Singles

Macy Ricketts, LIV def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 8-0; Emilee Coleman, LIV def. Shannon Herring, HAV, 8-2; Sonia McClain, LIV def. Tatiana Ralph, HAV, 8-4; Tegan Lane, LIV def. Rainey Stoner, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Courtney Dobrowski/Callie Ellingson, LIV def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-6; Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV def. Lindsay Lane/Brittney Phillips, LIV, 8-4; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Shelly Oulette/Olivia Hintz, LIV, 8-3.

Havre 4, Lewistown 3

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV def. Jeanna Mane, LEW, 8-7 (8-6); Hannah Thomas, LEW def. Shannon Herring, HAV, 8-3; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Beth Olson, LEW, 8-3; Kaycee Gobble, LEW def. Rainey Stoner, HAV, 8-5.

Doubles

Jennifer Monger/Andrea Nielsen, LEW def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-3; Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV def. Kaitlyn Kinderszki/Marlee Thomas, LEW, 8-2; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Josy Allen/Ciara Backer, LEW, 8-7 (7-5).

Havre 4, Anaconda 3

Singles

Ashley Johnson, ANA def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 8-7 (7-5); Shannon Herring, HAV def. Janet Moore, ANA, 8-6; Destiny Strutzel, ANA def. Tatiana Ralph, HAV, 8-5; Rainey Stoner, HAV def. Rose Tracy, ANA, 8-1.

Doubles

Jennifer Cichosz/Lainey Chagnon, HAV def. Hailey Van Meel/Dallas Salle, ANA, 8-3; Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV def. Brittney Cutler/Amelia Wood, ANA, 8-0; Molly Grisvald/Liz Riddle, ANA def. Haley Graham/Morgan Jappe, HAV, 8-7 (7-4).

Havre 7, Butte Central 0

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV won by FFT; Shannon Herring, HAV def. Yi Chun Lee, BC, 8-0; Tatiana Ralph, HAV won by FFT; Rainey Stoner won by FFT.

Doubles

Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV won by FFT; Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV def. Nicki Rosencrans/Sarah Dews, BC, 8-2; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Ali Guldseth/Kelsie Quinn, BC, 8-0.