Pony girls play well at State A tennis

GREAT FALLS — For an inexperienced Havre High girls tennis team, the 2011 Class A state tournament couldn't have gone much better.

The Blue Ponies took just three girls into last Thursday and Friday's state tournament in Great Falls, and while they may have combined to score just two points, Blue Pony head coach George Ferguson saw plenty of upside.

Havre High senior Christina Mack hits a backhand during a State A girls singles match last Thursday in Great Falls. Mack closed out her career at HHS with two wins at the state tournament.

"First and foremost, I think Christina Mack played the best tennis of her career," Ferguson said as Mack won two matches in a loaded girls singles draw. "And that's fitting because it was the last high school tennis matches of her life. And Jade McCormick and Jennifer Cichosz started this year uncertain of they would even get this far, and this weekend they really grew up as a doubles team, and proved they will be a force to reckoned with in the next two years.

"So for me, as a coach, I can't be anything but excited for the things our three girls accomplished in Great Falls. It was a strong end to our season and I'm very pleased."

For being the No. 4 seed out of last week's Central A, Mack, who went to state a year ago and didn't win a match, shined in Great Falls. She was pitted against defending state champion and 2011 runner-up Morgan Opp of Glendive in the first round. And after losing 6-1, 6-0 to Opp on Thursday morning, Mack went on one of the best runs of her career.

In the high winds at the CMR courts on Thursday afternoon, Mack dispatched Polson's Sara Robinson, 6-4, 7-5, then in the wind and cold on Thursday night, she took out Glendive's Jordan Johnson 7-5, 6-4. On Friday morning, Mack was back in the cold and wind and fought valiantly in a three-set loss to Dillon's Amanda Reed, who wound up finishing fifth in one of the most hotly-contested girls singles draws in years.

Mack closed out her career with two wins, and she went as far or farther than her other three Central A counterparts who finished ahead of her at the divisional meet. And Ferguson saw it as a fitting end to what has been a great four years for the HHS senior.

"Christina, being a true competitor, was very disappointed that she didn't find a way to beat the girl from Dillon," Ferguson said. "That girl just plays a style different from what Christina sees very often, but I was so proud of her for battling through it, for adjusting her game and pushing that girl to the very end.

"And at the end of the tournament, it was an amazing run for (Mack)," he added. "I'm so honored that I got to watch her play some of her best and most competitive tennis of her career in her last state tournament and I just couldn't be more proud of her. Christina has been the heart of our team for a long time. She followed one of the best players in school history in Katie Mariani, and she played alongside a great three-year run in girls doubles. But Christina is the one who has really held our program together, she's the one who bridge the gap from the past to the future, and without her hard work and dedication to tennis, our girls program would not be in the shape it is today. So I'm just really proud of her and she will be greatly missed."

While Mack was saying goodbye to her brilliant tennis career, Cichosz and McCormick were just getting started. On Thursday morning, the duo lost their opening round match to the Northwest A champions from Columbia Falls, then, in the afternoon barely lost out in three sets to a team from Miles City. And while the sophomore tandem didn't find the win column this weekend, Ferguson said they found the gateway to their future.

"I told Jenn and Jade that they played better doubles in two losses than any of the matches they won to make it to state," Ferguson said. "They just really stepped up and took their game to the next level, and because they are only sophomores, they now know that they are capable of doing some amazing things the next two years.

"But they also did some amazing things this season," he added. "A year ago, they were beginners and now we're talking about how well they played at the highest level of competition in our sport. So that shows how hard they've worked and how far they come and I'm really happy for them that they've achieved this already. And if they continue to work hard, and continue that dedication, the sky is the limit for them."

Livingston captured the state girls championship with 29 points and a state doubles title from Macy and Alex Ricketts. Hamilton's Mary Conwell won the singles title while the Broncs finished third and defending champion Glendive was second.

"I take away nothing but positives from this tournament and this girls season," Ferguson said. "We are saying goodbye to some great seniors, including Christina, but we also had a great youth movement on our girls team this season, and if we can add some more freshman to the mix next year, as well as continue to develop the players we have coming back, Havre girls tennis will still be a power for years to come. But this has been a great season and one I'll always remember."