Ponies thrive at tough Class A Invite

There were two certainties facing the Havre High tennis teams this past weekend in Cut Bank — the Blue Ponies knew the competition was going to be stiff, and, so was the wind.

And yet Havre persevered over both as the Blue Ponies had a strong showing at the 2017 Class A Invitational, hosted by Cut Bank.

The Havre boys went 3-1 in their four duals, while the HHS girls went 2-2, and though the results were good, it was how the Ponies played that inspired Havre head coach George Ferguson the most.

“The weather, the wind, that was some of the worst we’ve faced in quite a while,” Ferguson said. “And yet our kids not only played extremely well, and won a ton of matches, but their approach, their attitude to the conditions was something I’m extremely proud of. The kids were tough, they were still enthusiastic about being out there on the tennis court, and they gave it all they had. In those conditions, those things aren’t easy to do.”

With the wind already howling on Friday, the Pony boys defeated Northwest A powerhouse Whitefish 6-1 on the strength of singles wins by Dustin Haas and Trey Hanson, as well as doubles victories from Kennedy McKay and Trey Murphy and Tommy Brown and Brady Ophus.

Doubles would wind up being a major strength for Havre over the weekend. Combined, the Ponies lost just once in doubles, with Murphy and McKay and Brown and Ophus going 4-0, and Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb going 3-1.

Friday also saw Havre beat Class B Troy 6-1, while the Ponies knocked off defending B-C state champion Libby 4-3 on Saturday before falling just short against Polson, 4-3. Haas finished his weekend at 3-1 at No. 1 singles.

“Our doubles guys really played good tennis,” Ferguson said. "Libby and Polson were stout in doubles throughout their lineup, so those wins were big for our kids. For those guys, it was some of the first matches this year where they were playing very good, established doubles teams and they all played really well.

“Overall, our boys were strong,” Ferguson added. “We had some younger guys in the lineup, and whether it was them, or our seniors and juniors leading us, we played some outstanding team tennis this weekend.”

Havre has a young girls team this season, with no seniors on the roster, and yet the Ponies made some great progress too. Friday, Havre downed defending state champion Whitefish 4-3 as well as Troy 6-1. Things got a little more challenging Saturday as the Ponies fell to Libby and Polson by scores of 5-2.

“Our girls team, no matter who it is in the lineup, they’re getting better every time they get out on the court,” Ferguson said. “Whitefish and Libby have really good players, and Polson might be the deepest team in the state this season, and still, we played very good tennis against those teams. I constantly tell these girls, it’s about improving right now, it’s about asking ourselves, are we getting better? And the way we played this weekend, the girls answered that with a big, yes.”

Friday’s action saw Alex and Katie Donaldson and Megan Linbloom and Baylee Miller win twice in doubles. Lindbloom and Miller would go on to go 3-1 on the weekend. Kadyn Acor also won in singles for the Ponies Friday, while Teagan Fee scored three big wins for the Ponies over her four matches in singles. But, wins and losses aside, Ferguson said all his girls, including the sophomore doubles tandem of Marcee Murphy and Devyn Solomon and junior Paige Nelson, all of whom played No. 1 this weekend, as well as freshman singles player Cassidy Acor, played some of the best tennis of the season thus far.

“I love what I saw from the girls,” Ferguson said. “They just keep getting better. Every match, I saw something really good from every girl in our lineup. And that’s big for them. Yes, it’s hard to lose sometimes. The kids take losing pretty hard. But, those scores, as long as they keep progressing the way they are, those aren’t going to mean a thing by this time next month. I just really like where our girls team is heading right now. It’s awesome.”

And awesome is how Ferguson would choose to describe how both his teams are shaping up, especially after their second straight week of playing top competition. And, he says, the trend should continue as Havre heads to Lewistown for the Central A Preview Meet this Saturday. The Ponies also host Chinook Tuesday and a junior varsity meet Saturday in Havre.

“We’re a work in progress,” Ferguson said. “And that’s how it’s supposed to be right now. And I thought our kids did a great job of progressing in Cut Bank. They all moved forward. The potential for these kids is sky-high right now, and it’s exciting. So we’ll go back to work this week in practice and strive to be even better when we play this weekend.”

Class A Duals

GIRLS

Havre 4, Whitefish 3

Singles

Hannah Madsen, WF def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-5; Paint Untasuk, WF def. Kadyn Acor, HAV, 8-3; Holly Hileman, WF def. Cassidy Acor, HAV, 8-4; Teagan Fee, HAV won by fft; def. Hileman, WF 8-2 in an exhibition match.

Doubles

Marcee Murphy/Devyn Solomon, HAV won by fft, def. by Madsen/Intasuk, WF, 8-4 in an exhibition match; Alex Donaldson/Katie Donaldson, HAV def. Jesse Grawunder/Aubrey Hanks, WF, 8-4; Baylee Miller/Megan Lindbloom, HAV def, Mackenzie Vick/Hunter Grimes, WF, 8-3.

Havre 6, Troy 1

Singles

Allie Brown, T def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-7 (6); Kadyn Acor, HAV def. Kaylee Stecher, T, 8-6; Cassidy Acor, HAV def. Molly Walters, T, 8-3; Teagan Fee, HAV won by fft, def. by Walters, T, 8-7 (3) in an exhibition match.

Doubles

Marcee Murphy/Devyn Solomon, HAV won by fft; def. by Brown/Stecher, T, 8-7 (6) in an exhibition match; Alex Donaldson/Katie Donaldson, HAV won by fft., def. Gobert/Bird, CB, 8-5 in an exhibition match; Baylee Miller/Megan Lindbloom, HAV won by fft, def. Barry/Seifert, CB, 8-2 in an exhibition match.

Libby 5, Havre 2

Singles

Mehki Sykes, LIB def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-1; Isabelle Martineau, LIB def. Kadyn Acor, 8-3; Dora Antunes, LIB def. Cassidy Acor, HAV, 8-5; Teagan Fee, HAV def. Madison Snyder, LIB, 8-5.

Doubles

Jessika Jones/Marissa Wood, LIB def. Marcee Murphy/Devyn Solomon, HAV, 8-6; Lauryn Lauer/Morgan Snyder, LIB def. Alex Donaldson/Katie Donaldson, HAV, 8-3; Baylee Miller/Megan Lindbloom, HAV won by fft, def. by Snyder/Antunes, LIB, 8-3.

Polson 5, Havre 2

Singles

Cassie Carlyle, POL def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-1; Olivia Hewston, POL def. Kadyn Acor, HAV, 8-0; Sophia Speckert, POL def. Cassidy Acor, POL, 8-7 (2); Teagan Fee, HAV def. Josie Peterson, POL, 8-6.

Doubles

Elizabeth Violet/Shea McGinnis, POL def. Marcee Murphy/Devyn Solomon, HAV, 8-4; Kyler Lundeen/Olivia Perez, POL def. Alex Donaldson/Katie Donaldson, HAV, 8-2; Baylee Miller/Megan Lindbloom, HAV, def. Mikayla Croft/Alia Tavenner, POL, 8-6.

BOYS

Havre 6, Whitefish 1

Singles

Dustin Haas, HAV def. Eric Huldhusen, WF, 8-2; Trey Hanson, HAV def. Ethan Potthoff, WF, 8-2; Zach Brandt, WF def. Vander Swensen, HAV, 8-7 (5); Tyrel Kjersm, HAV def. Noah Fauth, WF, 8-5.

Doubles

Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV won by fft, def. by Brendan Buls/Ethan Pothoff, WF 8-4 in an exhibition match; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay, HAV def. Travis Catina/Mark Anderson, WF, 8-0; Brady Ophus/Tommy Brown, HAV def. Kiyah Ingraham/Colter Upton, WF, 8-3.

Havre 6, Troy 1

Singles

Trey Hanson, HAV def. AJ Fauer, T, 8-4; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Cody Osterberg, T, 8-1; Alex Freund, T, def. Vander Swensen, HAV, 8-6; Tyrel Kjersm, HAV def. Liam Hennsley, T, 8-5.

Doubles

Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay, HAV def. Noah Caballero/Dylan Cummings, T, 8-0; Tommy Brown/Brady Ophus, HAV def. Jaymin Stever/Cy Winslow, T, 8-1; Jake Huston/Reece Bulkley, HAV won by fft, def. Fauer/Osterberg, 8-6 in an exhibition match.

Havre 4, Libby 3

Singles

Dustin Haas, HAV def. Jhmaal Sykes, LIB, 8-3; Colin Maloney, LIB def. Trey Hanson, HAV, 8-1; Virgil Sadawasser, LIB def. Vander Swensen, HAV, 8-1; Ravson Arnold, LIB, def. Jack Johnsrud, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV def. Erik Lauer/Brayden Thom, LIB, 8-2; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay, HAV def. Ryan Nagle/Gio Cano, LIB, 8-2; Brady Ophus/Tommy Brown, HAV def. Devin Payne/Zach Carter, LIB, 8-2.

Polson 4, Havre 3

Singles

Colin Kenney, POL def. Dustin Haas, HAV, 8-4; Johnny Moore, POL def. Trey Hanson, HAV, 8-7 (3); Sam Schultz, POL def. Vander Swensen, HAV, 8-1; Carson McDaniel, POL def. Jack Johnsrud, HAV, 8-2.

Doubles

Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV, def. Cadis Chowning/Kaiden Foreman-Webster, POL, 8-4; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay, HAV def. Jaron Morgan/Matt Sitter, POL, 8-6; Tommy Brown/Brady Ophus, HAV def. Kendal Foreman/Webster, POL, 8-7 (3).