Tranbergs upset sends her to state

The Chester High School girls athletes are used to making sporting events interesting for their fans, and Saturday at the North B/C Divisional Tennis Tournament in Havre was no different.

The Chester girls combined for 30 points, edging out host Fort Benton by two points.

"It was really, really close. We were behind the whole tournament," Chester coach Dustin Gordon said. "We had some kids get some really big wins and some other kids get some wins in other spots for us. For a sport that sometimes doesn't have a lot of drama with it, they kind of had everybody on pins and needles for Chester, at least."

The win marked the seventh straight divisional title for the Coyotes.

"These girls didn't want to be the ones to see that stop either," Gordon said.

The biggest win of the day for Chester came in the semifinals when Emily Tranberg defeated top-ranked Janae Singer from Fort Benton. Singer was previously undefeated against divisional opponents for the season.

"She had a huge win," Gordon said. "In order for us to even have a shot at (the title), she had to do that. She is playing great tennis for us right now."

Tranberg, ranked fourth going into the tournament, finished second after losing to Fort Benton's Abby Kelly in the championship round.

In doubles action, the Chester team of Mari Tempel and Kayla Matkin placed second and will be making a third straight trip to the state tournament.

Joining the team of Tempel and Matkin will be doubles players Kasey Diemert and Renata Munfrada, who placed fourth.

Tess Ritter rounded out the Chester placers, finishing in sixth in the singles bracket.

Other local placers include Big Sandy's Carley Squires, who was third in the singles bracket, and Chinook's Kelsey Whitney, who placed sixth. For the doubles teams, Amanda Pokorny and Darice Grass from Big Sandy placed second and will travel to Missoula next weekend for the state tournament.

The following are the results:

Team scores:

Chester 30

Fort Benton 28

Big Sandy 16

Chinook 7

Singles bracket:

Individual placers:

Abby Kelly, Fort Benton

Emily Tranberg, Chester

Carley Squires, Big Sandy

Janae Singer, Fort Benton

Kelsey Whitney, Chinook

Tess Ritter, Chester

First round:

Singer, Fort Benton, won by forfeit over Egge, Big Sandy

Krause, Fort Benton, def. Tollefson, Chinook, 6-4, 6-1

Tranberg, Chester, def. Field, Big Sandy, 6-1, 6-1

Ritter, Chester, def. Baker, Chinook, 6-1, 6-1

Squires, Big Sandy, def. Thackeray, Chinook, 6-2, 6-1

Whitney, Chinook, def. Hofer, Chester, 6-1, 6-2

Fisher, Chester, def. Allen, Fort Benton, 6-2, 6-3

Kelly, Fort Benton, won by forfeit over Silvan, Big Sandy

Loser out:

Tollefson, Chinook, won by forfeit over Egge, Big Sandy

Baker, Chinook, def. Field, Big Sandy, 6-0, 6-1

Thackeray, Chinook, def. Hofer, Chester, 6-0, 6-3

Allen, Fort Benton, won by forfeit over Silvan, Big Sandy

Quarterfinals:

Singer, Fort Benton, def. Krause, Fort Benton, 6-1, 6-1

Tranberg, Chester, def. Ritter, Chester, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3

Squires, Big Sandy, def. Whitney, Chinook, 6-3, 6-0

Kelly, Fort Benton, def. Fisher, Chester, 6-2, 6-0

Semifinals:

Tranberg, Chester, def. Singer, Fort Benton, 6-4, 6-3

Kelly, Fort Benton, def. Squires, Big Sandy, 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Loser out:

Ritter, Chester, def. Tollefson, Chinook, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

Krause, Fort Benton, def. Baker, Chinook, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4

Fisher, Chester, def. Thackeray, Chinook, 6-0, 6-0

Whitney, Chinook, def. Allen, Fort Benton, no score available

Squires, Big Sandy, won by forfeit over Ritter, Chester

Singer, Fort Benton, def. Whitney, Chinook, 6-4, 6-1

Fifth and sixth place:

Whitney, Chinook, won by forfeit over Ritter, Chester

Third and fourth place:

Squires, Big Sandy, def. Singer, Fort Benton, 6-3, 6-3

Kelly, Fort Benton, def. Tranberg, Chinook, 6-3, 6-1

Doubles bracket:

Individual placers:

Kayla Matkin/Mari Tempel, Chester

Amanda Pokorny/Darice Grass, Big Sandy

Stacie Wellman, Heather Wendt, Fort Benton

Kasey Diemert/Renata Munfrada, Chester

First round:

Matkin/Tempel, Chester, def. Sargent/Overcast, Chinook, 6-0, 6-0

McKenzie/Bronec, Fort Benton, def. Hellman/Hanson, Chinook 6-4, 6-2

Wellman/Wendt, Fort Benton, def. Moes/Sheehy, Big Sandy, 6-0, 6-2

Pokorny/Grass, Big Sandy, def. Diemert/Munfrada, Chester, 6-3, 6-0

Loser out:

Sargent/Overcast, Chinook, def. Hellman/Hanson, Chinook, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4

Diemert/Munfrada, Chester, def. Moes/Sheehy, Big Sandy, def. 6-3, 6-4

Semifinals:

Matkin/Tempel, Chester, def. McKenzie/Bronec, Fort Benton, 6-3, 6-4

Pokorny/Grass, Big Sandy, def. Wellman/Wendt, Fort Benton, 7-5, 6-1

Loser out

Wellman/Wendt, Fort Benton, def. Sargent/Overcast, Chinook, 6-2, 7-5

Diemert/Munfrada, Chester, def. McKenzie/Bronec, Fort Benton, 7-6 (7), 6-3

Third and fourth place:

Wellman/Wendt, Fort Benton, def. Diemert/Munfrada, Chester, 6-2, 6-1

First and second place:

Matkin/Tempel, Chester, def. Pokorny/Grass, Big Sandy, 7-5, 7-6 (4)