HHS tennis goes indoors

The Havre High boys and girls tennis teams were set to compete at the Conrad Invitational this past Saturday.

Mother Nature, however, had other ideas. A nasty day Saturday cancelled the Conrad tournament, and eventually snowed out three critical duals the Ponies were slated to play. Fortunately, Havre still got competition in thanks to Cut bank once again hosting duals inside their gymnasium.

"We were really looking forward to going to Conrad," Havre head coach George Ferguson said. "Those duals would have meant a lot to our progression. But thank goodness for coach (Jim) Gregg in Cut Bank. He quickly put some matches together for us, and all of our kids got to play twice. That's so big for our young team, because with this unstable weather, you just never know when you're going to get outside again."

Just Havre and Cut Bank played inside on Saturday, and the Ponies found good matches all around.

On the boys side, HHS got four combined singles wins from juniors Justin Jensen and Brayden Grimson, while freshman Ned Malone also won once. In doubles, seniors Zach Cichosz and Keenan Dolezal won one match, but played well in both outings, while the tandem of Nick Rhines and William Wagner also scored a win for the Ponies.

On the girls side, senior standout Christina Mack won two hard-fought singles matches, while senior Danielle Faechner and sophomore Lainey Chagnon also picked up wins. HHS young doubles teams weren't victorious Saturday, but Ferguson said they all played well.

"It was a really good day, because everybody improved over the course of the last week," he said. "I was thrilled with how our kids competed, with their effort and how they applied what they've learned so far. We're stressing hard to them that this is a process and it takes time. Instant gratification is not something that's common in tennis, it comes through hard work, dedication and repetition. And I think as these first three weeks of shown, our kids are doing very well in that process.

"I'm really encouraged with what we've done so far," he added. "And now we're going to continue to build on that, we're going to keep moving forward. We have our tournament this weekend, and we're really looking forward to not only playing at home, but outdoors for the first time."

The Blue Pony boys and girls will host the 2011 Havre Invitational on Saturday at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Courts in Havre. The Pony girls will also be in action today when they host the Chinook Sugarbeeters in a varsity and junior varsity dual at 4 p.m. in Havre.

Matches at Cut Bank's Willie DeGroot Gymnasium

Havre High Boys vs Cut Bank

Singles

Justin Jensen, HAV def. Nathan Voeller, CB, 6-3; Brayden Grimson, HAV def. Jeremy Moss, CB, 6-1; Ned Malone, HAV def. Isaac Matt, CB, 6-4; Brandon Greco, CB def. Jacob Holden, HAV, 6-3; Justin Jensen, HAV def. Dylan Johnston, CB, 6-3; Brayden Grimson, HAV def. Nathan Voeller, CB, 6-3; Jordan Hoof, CB def. Ned Malone, HAV, 6-1; Austin Schilling, CB def. Jacob Holden, HAV, 6-1.

Doubles

Chaz Cooper/Nate Kavanagh, CB def. Keenan Dolezal/Zach Cichosz, HAV, 6-3; Dylan Johnston/Jordan Hoof, CB def. Trey Brown/Simon McCann, HAV, 6-2; A.J. Sheble/Austin Schilling, CB def. William Wagner/Nick Rhines, HAV, 6-1; Keenan Dolezal/Zach Cichosz, HAV def. Brandon Greco/Jeremy Moss, CB, 6-4; Nate Kavanagh/Chaz Cooper, CB def. Trey Brown/Simon McCann, HAV, 6-2; William Wagner/Nick Rhines, HAV def. A.J. Sheble/Isaac Matt, CB, 6-4.

Havre High Girls vs Cut Bank

Singles

Christina Mack, HAV def. Taylor Harvie, CB, 6-4; Danielle Faechner, HAV def. Emily Anderson, CB, 7-6 (5); Kayla Kraft, CB def. Teresa Buekle, CB, 6-0; Paige Larson, CB def. Lainey Chagnon, HAV, 6-3; Christina Mack, HAV def. Brianna Bauer, CB, 6-3; Jill Altenburg, CB def. Danielle Faechner, HAV, 6-1; Paige Larson, CB def. Teresa Buerkle, HAV, 6-3; Lainey Chagnon, HAV def. Kayla Kraft, CB, 7-5.

Doubles

Brianna Bauer/Jillian Altenburg, CB def. Jennifer Cichosz/Jade McCormick, HAV, 6-3; Mariah McCormick/Linzie Schwindt, CB def. Monique Wilson/Kirsten Keller, HAV, 6-1; Paige Larson/Kayla Kraft, CB def. Breck Don/Ellery Bressler, HAV, 6-1; Taylor Harvie/Emily Anderson, CB def. Haley Graham/Shannon Herring, HAV, 6-2; Mariah McCormick/Linzie Schwindt, CB def. Jennifer Cichosz/Jade McCormick, HAV, 6-2; Jillian Altenburg/Brianna Bauer, CB def. Monique Wilson/Kirsten Keller, HAV, 6-2; Mariah McCormick/Linzie Schwindt, CB def. Brack Don/Ellery Bressler, HAV, 7-5; Paige Larson/Emily Anderson, CB def. Haley Graham/Shannon Herring, HAV, 6-1.