Havre tennis heads to Glendive for the Elks Invitational

It’s right back to work for the Havre High tennis teams.

With weather finally cooperating, the Blue Ponies are now in the stretch run of their season, and it continues with the annual Elks Invitational in Glendive.

This will be the second straight week that head coach Jeff Miller’s teams get to see Northeast A rivals and more, as the Blue Ponies dual Glendive, Lewistown and Miles City, as well as Hardin and Billings Central in Glendive.

The Elks Invite is one of the biggest meets of the year for the Ponies, as it brings April to a close and gives Havre a chance to see where it really stacks up against the competition.

A young HHS boys team will find out plenty about itself this weekend, as Havre sees Miles City for the first time. The Cowboys are the defending Northeast A champions, who ended Havre’s 17-year run at divisionals. The Cowboys have a senior-laden team, and will be a very tough opponent for Havre, which is led by junior singles standout Carter Spangler, as well as the new doubles tandems of Conner McKay and Reid Kato and Max Spangler and Jackson Headdress. Senior Gavin Hall is a another veteran leader for the Ponies.

Miles City is also Havre’s top competition on the girls side. The Cowgirls are loaded with firepower, but Havre’s senior-heavy team is coming on strong. Rayna Johnson is having a great year at the top singles spot, while Courtney Burchard and Cat Kaftan are shaping up to be the top doubles team in the Northeast A. And the Havre girls will get a chance to prove that against great competition again this week.

The Ponies are also hitting their stride, as they get to play a ton of matches. Havre dueled Great Falls High and CMR Tuesday, and with six matches scheduled for Glendive, the court time is exactly what the Ponies need as April turns to May.

Havre heads to Glendive for three matches Friday and three more Saturday. The Ponies then travel to the Mayfair Invitational next weekend in Billings.