Blue Ponies hold serve at home

Havre High head tennis coach George Ferguson has always pointed to the annual Havre Invitational tennis tournament as the first turning point in the Blue Ponies' season. And if the 2013 Havre Invite was indeed a turning point, than Ferguson has to like where his boys and girls teams are headed.

Havre High junior Breck Don strikes a forehand during Saturday's Havre Invitational tennis tournament at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts. Don and partner Ellery Bresler placed second in doubles, while both the Havre boys and girls teams had a strong showing on their home courts.

The Ponies hosted Lewistown, Cut Bank and Conrad for the Havre Invite Saturday at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts in Havre. And after 82 matches and some very cooperative spring weather, the day was more than a success.

Havre's Zach Hellegaard looks to hit a backhand during Saturday's Havre Invitational tennis tournament at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts. Hellegaard, a junior, placed first in the Boys Singles No. 3's bracket, defeating teammate Jerod Boles in the championship match.

"It was a great day," Ferguson said. "Easily, the best of the season so far, and that's what we wanted. Every kid who stepped on the court for us played better, look better and was more focused than they have been all season. And that's what we were looking for out of this tournament. So I was really pleased and I'm very proud of all of our players for helping to make the tournament a great one."

The Havre Invite was a tournament format with singles brackets for 1-2's and another bracket for 3's mixed with junior varsity players from Havre, as well as full boys and girls doubles brackets. And even with fierce competition all day long, many Blue Ponies stepped to the forefront.

HHS senior jennifer Cichosz volleys during a girls doubles match at Saturday's Havre Invite.

On the girls side, Havre's varsity team really took advantage of playing on its home courts.

Junior Brandy Lambourne won three times to claim the No. 1-2's singles championship. Lambourne bested Lewistown's Jeanna Mane 8-7 in the championship match, including winning a hard-fought tiebreaker in the end.

"Brandy and Jeanna already have a lot of history," Ferguson said. "They played two marathon matches at the divisional tournament last year. Jeanna also beat Brandy in Conrad last week, and Brandy came back and won a great battle this week. That exemplifies what we want in our kids right now, for them to keep improving, and we saw that with how great Brandy played on Saturday. She really fought hard and had a great tournament."

HHS freshman Jeff Miller strokes a backhand during boys singles action Saturday in Havre.

Blue Pony senior Jade McCormick also captured two victories and placed fourth in the very difficult No. 1-2's bracket. Havre also doubled up in doubles with the junior duo of Ellery Bresler and Breck Don placing second and the senior tandem of Lainey Chagnon and Jennifer Cichosz finishing fourth. Morgan Jappe and Tatiana Ralph also came within one match of the consolation final, being knocked out by Chagnon and Cichosz.

Havre's Nick Rhines volleys while teammate J.J. Hovet backs him up during boys doubles action at Saturday's Havre Invitational.

In the No. 3 singles bracket, freshman Madison Huebsch won twice to finish second, while junior Shannon Herring won three straight times to finish third. Both player's did a great job, including Huebsch who, with teammate Rainey Stoner, were the only junior varsity players in the bracket.

Havre's Brandy Lambourne smashes a serve during Saturday's Havre Invite.

"All of our girls did a great job," Ferguson said. "I really saw a lot of progress from them. I thought Jade played her best tennis so far, and in the doubles bracket, with how good Cut Bank and Lewistown are, it was like a divisional tournament bracket. It really was that competitive. So for all three of our doubles teams to do that well, that was really exciting.

"And our freshmen girls are really coming along," he added. "Madison played like a varsity competitor on Saturday, and all the girls really showed a lot of improvement, just from Tuesday's dual against Chinook, to Saturday. So I couldn't be more pleased with how our girls team did."

The Blue Pony boys didn't fare too bad either.

Junior Zach Hellegaard breezed to the No. 3 singles title, defeating freshman Jerod Boles in the championship match. Meanwhile, seniors J.J. Hovet and Nick Rhines reached the doubles championship match before losing, while freshman Jeff Miller shook off a narrow loss to Cut Bank's Isaac Matt to finish third in the

Havre senior Jade McCormick reaches for a backhand during the 2013 Havre Invite Saturday morning.

No. 1-2's singles bracket. Miller had to take out teammate Ned Malone along the way, and in that match, both players played at a high level. The duo of Noah Landgraf and Brian Smith also won twice for the Ponies in doubles.

"I saw some good things from our boys team," Ferguson said. "I thought we were a lot more determined Saturday. I saw some kids really battle and that is encouraging. Zach Hellegaard missed some days at the beginning of the season, yet he's playing really well. Newcomers like Jerod Boles and Wyatt Lindbloom are making huge strides, and I thought for the second straight week, J.J. and Nick really led us. They had an outstanding tournament and their only two losses in their last seven matches have been to an outstanding team from Conrad.

"I thought Jeff Miller and Ned Malone also played a lot better this week," he continued. "So I was encouraged from what I saw out of our boys. I think we have a lot of work yet to do. I think our girls team is farther ahead. But I was very pleased with how our boys played and how they approached this tournament."

HHS senior Jacob Hoiden hits a backhand during Saturday's Havre Invitational.

Of course, Ferguson was also excited because the day went off with great weather. Warm temperatures and little to no wind made a huge difference, and it gave the Ponies three straight weeks of competition, something that hasn't happened to Havre tennis in several years.

"The weather gave us a big break," Ferguson said. "We had great conditions for this early in the year, and that led to some great and competitive tennis. I was very impressed with the way the kids from every team played, not just ours. And I really believe this tournament is going to make us that much better in the long run.

"And I'm really proud of all of our kids," he added. "They didn't just do a great job on the court, they really showcased what Havre tennis is all about and they represented our school the way we knew they would. For the only time we get to play at home all season, our kids made it a great tournament and a great day."

Pony sophomore Tatiana Ralph hits a forehand during the Havre Invitational Saturday morning.

Havre now returns to the road for the always-tough Class A Duals in Cut Bank Friday and Saturday. The Ponies are also on the road April 20 in Lewistown.