Havre netters gain experience in Conrad

The wind blew, the air was cold yet again, but the Havre High tennis teams had another productive weekend on the hard courts.

The Blue Ponies traveled to Conrad for the Conrad Duals Saturday, and while HHS won plenty of matches, it was again the experience that pleased veteran Havre head coach George Ferguson the most.

“I’m taking a lot more out of Saturday than just the wins and losses,” Ferguson said. “We had more of our varsity lineups in Conrad then we did in Cut Bank, so it was a good day to see where we’re at and where we need to go from here.

“I thought the kids did what we were looking for,” he continued. “Before the day started, we gave them some very specific goals to focus on, and for the most part, they all did that. We’re still working on our form, on gaining match experience and just getting up to speed right now, and I thought Saturday was a really good day for the things we were hoping to accomplish.”

On the boys side, Havre edged a short-handed Lewistown squad 4-3, beat Cut Bank 4-3 and bested Conrad 5-1. Sophomore standout Jeff Miller went unbeaten at No. 1 singles for the Ponies, while fellow sophomore Jerod Boles was unbeaten at the No. 3. But overall, Havre got wins from all over its lineup, including veteran doubles team Ned Malone and Brian Smith, and the young tandem of Jake Sedahl and Jamie Lieberg.

“All of our boys had their moments where they played well,” Ferguson said. “The conditions were again very difficult, but our boys had glimpses of playing at pretty high level for this early in the season. I was really encouraged with how they all played.”

The HHS girls shut out a young Lewistown lineup 7-0, but fell to Cut Bank 4-3 and Conrad 4-3. Brandy Lambourne, Tatiana Ralph and Shannon Herring all won key matches for HHS, as did the Ponies’ top doubles teams of Ellery Bresler and Breck Don and Haley Graham and Morgan Jappe.

“This was the first meet of the year for a bunch of our girls,” Ferguson said. “And overall, I thought they did really well. Again, we wanted them to concentrate on form and footwork and to just make sure they are making progress right now. Our girls team is very experienced, and the wins will come with this team. But right now, they just need to keep working on the fundamentals and getting back to form, and I thought they all did a good job of that Saturday in Conrad.

“So overall, I was pleased,” he continued. “The kids had to battle wind and cold for the second straight week, and those are not easy conditions to play in. But all of our kids accepted the challenges and played their best and did the things we asked them to do. So I’m really happy with how things went and with where we’re at heading into our home meet.”

Members of the Havre junior varsity team also attended a meet in Cut Bank Saturday. Megan Smith, Alara Vogel, Kaylee Nash and Corttney Gobin, as well as Patrick Leeds, Jeff Ralph, James Berry, Dustin Haas and Kyle Kirkpatrick all won matches in both singles and doubles for the Blue Ponies.

All Havre players will be at home Saturday to host the 2014 Havre Invitational. The action starts at 8 a.m. at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Courts.

Conrad Duals

BOYS

Havre 4, Lewistown 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Zach Hould, LEW, 6-0; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Andrew Olson, LEW, 6-2; Jerod Boles, HAV def. Dalton Jensen, LEW, 6-1; Daq Wright, LEW def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 7-5.

Doubles

Brian Smith/Ned Malone, HAV def. Neil/Crouse, LEW, 6-0; McCarthy/Raney, LEW def. Wyatt Lindbloom/Noah Landgraf, HAV, 6-1; Rice/Ayers, LEW won by FFT; Jake Sedahl/Jamie Lieberg, HAV def. Rice/Ayers, LEW, 6-1.

Havre 4, Cut Bank 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Isaac Matt, CB, 7-5; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Zach Burns, CB, 6-0; Jerod Boles, HAV def. Trenton Francom, CB, 6-1; Cody Popelka, CB def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 7-5.

Doubles

Michael Kraft/Robert Jennings, CB def. Ned Malone/Brian Smith, HAV, 7-6 (7-3); Noah Landgraf/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV def. Che Little Dog/Spencer Checz, CB, 7-5; Jake Sedahl/Jamie Lieberg, HAV won by FFT, def. Popelka/Burtness in exhibition, 6-0.

Havre 5, Conrad 1

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Brett Peters, CON, 6-0; Tyler Padilla, CON def. Zach Hellegaard, HAV, 6-4; Jerod Boles, HAV def. Cordell Wittmeier, CON, 6-2; Jake Sedahl, HAV def. Austin Padilla, CON, 6-0.

Doubles

Ned Malone/Brian Smith, HAV won by FFT, lost to Peters/Padilla, CON, in exhitbition, 6-4; Noah Landgraf/Wyatt Lindbloom won by FFT, def. Wittmeir/Padilla, CON, in exhibition, 6-2.

GIRLS

Havre 7, Lewistown 0

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV def. Kodi Myhre, LEW, 6-0; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Taylor Woods, LEW, 6-0; Shannon Herring, LEW def. Abby Gatz, LEW, 6-0; Ashley Hoffland, HAV won by FFT, lost exhibition match to Myhre, 6-1.

Doubles

Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV def. Ziolkowski/Irish, LEW, 6-0; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Elmore/Arndt, LEW, 6-0; Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch won by FFT, lost exhibition match 6-3.

Cut Bank 4, Havre 3

Singles

Paige Larson, CB def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 6-4; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Dakota Dosch, CB, 7-5; Shannon Herring, HAV def. Eryn Ballard, CB, 6-1; Katrina Sandoval, CB def. Ashley Hoffland, HAV, 6-0.

Doubles

Duana Gobert/Alex Kraft, CB def. Ellery Bresler/Breck Don, HAV, 6-2; Haley Graham/Morgan Jappe, HAV def. Kodi Hoffman/Allie Anderson, CB, 7-6 (7-5); Paige Johnson/Paige Johnston, CB def. Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner, HAV, 6-4.

Conrad 4, Havre 3

Singles

Morgan Van Dyke, CON def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 7-6 (7-5); Tatiana Ralph, HAV won by FFT, lost exhibition, Trinity Cox, CON, 6-3; Amy Bailey, CON def. Shannon Herring, HAV, 6-1; Jenna Rodriguez, CON def. Ashhley Hoffland, HAV, 6-0.

Doubles

Alley Wilkinson/Trinity Cox, CON def. Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV, 6-4; Haley Graham/Morgan Jappe, HAV won by FFT, lost exhibition to Van Dyke/Rodriguez, CON, 6-4; Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner, HAV won by FFT.