Havre High netters look forward to Helena

There’s no doubting it now, the clock is ticking for the Havre High boys and girls tennis teams. And the proof that the postseason is right around the corner is, the Ponies are headed to the toughest meet of the regular season.

Friday and Saturday, the Blue Ponies will be in Helena for the prestigious Helena Invitational. The tournament features every Class AA schools as well as HHS and Livingston. It’s divided into singles brackets for the top three players from each team and the same for doubles, which gives players of equal levels a chance to go head-to-head. And yet, some say, it’s more difficult than a state tournament is at the end of the season.

And that’s exactly why HHS head coach George Ferguson likes the Helena tourney so much.

“You can’t get better competition than the Helena tournament,” Ferguson said. “It’s the best of the best in tennis in our state, and pretty much every match you play, it’s just really competitive. And not only do we need that, but it comes at a perfect time for us. We’re two weeks away from divisionals, so the timing couldn’t be better. I always tell our kids, if you can play well in Helena, you can play well anywhere.”

And Havre always seems to play well in Helena. The Ponies have had a lot of success at the tournament, despite the rigorous competition, and Havre takes lineups that could do the same this weekend.

On the boys side, senior Jeff Miller and the doubles duo of Jerod Boles and Jake Sedahl will have the toughest roads, playing in the No. 1’s bracket, but, both are capable of going deep into the tournament according to Ferguson, who noted, “his No. 1’s are just as good as Class AA No. 1’s.” Dustin Haas, having a strong season, will man the No. 2 singles spot, while freshman Tommy Brown will be at No. 3. Trey Hanson and Nate Korb will be at No. 2 doubles and Trey Murphy and Kennedy McKay will be at the No. 3 spot.

On the girls side, Meggan Smith plays No. 1 singles for the Ponies, and Ferguson made mention of how much the senior has improved this season. Paige Nelson plays No. 2 singles for the Ponies, while senior Ashley Hofland is at No. 3. Doubles is where Havre is really strong this season with Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch at No. 1 and Alara Vogel and Reggie Bernard at No. 2. Both teams have had big seasons for the Ponies, and Ferguson said either one would be a strong No. 1, even at the AA level. Improving sophomores Alex Donaldson and Megan Lindbloom round out the Pony doubles lineup.

And though success and winning is certainly a goal in Helena, the bigger picture is Ferguson wants his teams to enjoy the level of competition and leave Helena Saturday feeling as confident about their games as they have been all season.

“Helena is a tournament where even in losses, you can play really well, and that’s our goal this weekend, to play our very best tennis of the year,” Ferguson said. “We should really be starting to peak right now, and if we can play really good tennis, collectively this weekend, we will be right where we want to be, no matter how many matches we win in the tournament.”

The Helena Invite starts at 9 a.m. Friday and runs through Saturday afternoon at four different locations around the capital city. The Ponies will wrap up the regular season next Saturday in Lewistown.