Havre High netters finish strong in Polson

Weather has played a role in almost everything the Havre High boys and girls tennis teams have done this season. So it was no surprise that weather dominated the headlines of the 2013 Class A state tennis tournament.

Eight Blue Pony netters were in Polson and Ronan over the weekend, and wound up competing in a wet, chilly and lengthy Class A state tennis tournament. The tournament got under way Thursday morning and didn’t wrap up until Saturday afternoon. And in between was plenty of rain, colder temperatures, even thunderstorms and snow.

But on the bright side, the Ponies had a strong showing in almost every phase of the tournament. Havre High freshman Jeff Miller battled his way to a sixth-place finish in boys singles. Miller became the fifth Pony singles player in the last 10 years to medal at the state tournament, and the first freshman to do it since four-time state champion Kyle Baltrusch won the state title in 2001.

In the team race, Miller wound up scoring four points for the Blue Ponies, while the Havre girls picked up five points. And while those totals don’t seem particularly high, HHS head coach George Ferguson was more than pleased with how his eight players performed.

“We had only two kids who had ever been to state, two out of six,” Ferguson said. “So very little prior experience to draw on. Then you factor in the competition, the weather, the pressure, the intensity of it all, and the fact that we won as many matches as we did, I was very impressed with our kids, and very proud of all of them.

“I thought all of the kids played well,” he added. “And it’s a very special way to end the season. Watching your kids compete as part of the best players and doubles teams in the state, that means a lot. So I’m super excited with how we ended the year.”

Miller led the way, with a roller coaster ride to a sixth-place finish. After winning the Central A championship last weekend, he coasted past Glendive’s Nathan Sickler in the first round Thursday afternoon. That set up a meeting with Polson star Brady Hislop and the two duked it out in a tight match before Hislop prevailed in three sets.

Miller rebounded to beat players from Billings Central and Libby before losing his consolation semifinal to Livingston’s Aiden Goodman Friday evening. Miller then dropped a tough three-setter to Corvallis’ Alma Powell in the fifth-sixth place match Saturday morning.

“I’m extremely proud of Jeff,” Ferguson said. “The end result was not what he was shooting for, and I know he is a little disappointed in how his first state tournament shook out. He is a competitive kid, a born tennis player and he had high goals and high expectations for himself this weekend, and he was devastated after the loss to Brady on Thursday afternoon.

“But I don’t think that or where he finished diminishes in any way the kind of player he is, or the remarkable freshmen season he’s had,” Ferguson continued. “He showed a lot of heart to come back and win those two tough matches after he lost in the quarterfinals. And to me, that’s the mark of a true champion. Jeff made it very clear this weekend that he is part of an elite group of Class A tennis players, and he will come right back and be a better player next year for having gone through all of these experiences this weekend. I’m tremendously proud of him.”

Havre didn’t get any team points from it’s two senior doubles teams, but Ferguson was no less proud of them. On the boys side, seniors Nick Rhines and J.J. Hovet lost matches to a top Glendive team and a feisty Stevensville squad, while the senior duo of Jennifer Cichosz and Lainey Chagnon lost a first-round heartbreaker to a Whitefish squad which finished in the top four, then fell to a good Billings Central team, which also found the medal stand on Saturday.

“I’m proud of those four, for the journey, as much as I am the way they played this weekend,” Ferguson said. “Both doubles teams were in very difficult draws. Three of those four losses were to teams which wound up placing. And I know they all played well. They all gave their hearts and souls to those matches this weekend.

“But what I’m even more proud them for is what they have all four meant to this program,” Ferguson said. “They have been leaders, they have all set great examples, and not only are they all good tennis players, but they are all four even better student-athletes and people and all four of them mean a lot to me. So I was just so happy for them that their careers ended at the state tournament. I’m so glad they got to experience that before high school tennis ended for them.”

Ferguson also got a glimpse of things to come from the other three girls he took to state. Junior Brandy Lambourne won a three-set thriller in the first round against Columbia Falls’ Emily Getts, and was eliminated just one win shy of reaching the medal stand. The junior tandem of Breck Don and Ellery Bresler also pulled off a big win, over Polson’s standout doubles team, in the first round before being eliminated two matches later.

“That’s exciting,” Ferguson said. “Those three scored big wins in the first round against really tough players. They battled all weekend against really strong competition, and they have a year left, as does the rest of our great junior class from this year.

“Brandy really improved this weekend,” he continued. “She played really good tennis against really strong players. She played a great match against Morgan Opp (three-time Glendive state champion) and she won two really long, intense matches. She really put herself in prime position to have a big senior season. And so did Breck and Ellery. Wow, against Polson, to dominate them the way they did. That was impressive. They really served notice that they are going to be a top doubles team in Class A next year. So it was a really good weekend for all five of the girls we took to state because they all played really good tennis against really good players.”

That really good competition included Billings Central and Polson, which tied for the boys state team title with 34 points each. Corvallis’ streak of three straight team titles ended as the Blue Devils finished third. On the girls side, Corvallis won its first-ever girls state championship, unseating Glendive by a score of 28-25. Billings Central was third.

And at the end of the day, trophies weren’t what was on Ferguson’s mind, instead it was pride in his players, and pride in another great season of Havre High tennis.

“Again, I’m really proud of these kids,” Ferguson said. “They all went to state and showed what Havre High tennis is all about. They all gave me their best, they gave our program everything they had, as did all the kids who were out for the team this year. That’s a good feeling knowing our kids do things the right way and compete the right way. It was a great last two weeks, from divisional, through Jeff’s last match Saturday morning. We didn’t win them all, you never do. But our kids really did great, they grew as players and as people and they gave us their absolute best. That’s what I’ll take away from this season. This was a special group and I enjoyed coaching them, and I’m already looking forward to next spring.”