Pony tennis teams step it up in Cut Bank

The Havre High boys and girls tennis teams have played the first three weeks of the season in surprisingly warm and sunny conditions. But traveling to the toughest tournament of their season so far, the Blue Ponies didn't get the ideal tennis weather they were hoping for.

Never-the-less, HHS battled through some brutal weather to play five duals at the Cut Bank A Invitational Friday and Saturday. The Havre boys went 3-2 with wins over Hardin, Libby and Cut Bank, while the Blue Pony girls went 4-1, defeating Hardin, Libby, Cut Bank and rival Lewistown.

The weather produced snow, wind, rain and cold temperatures, while the Ponies were also short-handed due to injuries and the District Music Festival in Shelby. But HHS head coach George Ferguson said his teams played great and got exactly what they needed out of the two-day event.

"The kids did awesome," Ferguson said. "We played in every weather condition you could imagine and our focus and effort was great throughout. I was really proud of all the kids for handling the cold, the delays and everything they had to play through. They all did a great job with that.

"And I thought we played well too," he added. "We went up another level in competition this weekend and all of our kids went up too. They all played well, both in wins and losses, and that's exactly what we were hoping for out of this weekend. All the kids just did a great job."

The Pony boys opened the tourney with a 6-1 loss to Polson, a team expected to compete for a Class A state title next month. The doubles duo of Brian Smith and Noah Landgraf picked up Havre's lone victory, but the Ponies also lost a couple of heartbreakers, including freshman Jeff Miller, who lost to Polson's Brady Hislop in a tiebreaker. The match was a showdown of two of the top singles players in Class A.

The Ponies went on to beat Libby 4-3 and Hardin 6-1 on Friday, while they fell to Lewistown 4-3 and beat Cut Bank 7-0 on Saturday. Miller finished the weekend 4-1 at No. 1 singles, while Jacob Holden also went 4-1 in singles. Zach Hellegaard went 2-0 for the Ponies, while Smith and Landgraf won four times in doubles. Nick Rhines and J.J. Hovet also captured three doubles wins, while Ned Malone won three hard-fought matches at No. 2 singles.

"We mixed our boys lineup up as expected," Ferguson said. "And I thought they all did a great job. We played a lot of tough matches. We played a lot of strong opponents this weekend and that's what a young team needs. Those five duals were a great experience for our boys team.

"I think this was a great weekend for Jeff Miller and Ned Malone, especially," he continued. "They had pretty much played the same three or four kids the last three weeks, and they got a lot of different looks this weekend. They both played really well. For Jeff to go 4-1 at the No. 1 spot in this tournament, that's a sign that he's going in the right direction right now. And I think the same can be said for our all our kids. We did really well in doubles and singles. Everyone won matches. It was a good showing by our boys team for sure."

On the girls side, the Ponies dropped a 5-2 decision to defending state champion Polson on Friday morning. Tatiana Ralph and the duo of Morgan Jappe and Haley Graham scored Havre's wins, while Havre's top two doubles teams lost close battles with outstanding Pirate squads.

Havre went on to beat Libby 6-1 and Hardin 4-3 to close out Friday, while the Pony girls returned to Cut Bank to beat Lewistown 5-2 and Cut Bank 4-3 on Saturday.

Ralph and Graham and Jappe all went undefeated for the Ponies, while Shannon Herring went 4-1. Top singles player Brandy Lambourne defeated two rivals on Saturday, both in tiebreakers to finish the weekend with a 3-2 record, while Lainey Chagnon and Jennifer Cichosz and Breck Don and Ellery Bresler won several key matches throughout the weekend in doubles. Havre senior Jade McCormick missed all but one dual due to a hand injury.

"The competition was really tough for our girls team," Ferguson said. "And they all stepped it up a notch. I think all of our girls really rose to the occasion and played their best tennis so far. Polson, Hardin, Lewistown and Cut Bank all had tough players, and we played a lot of really good matches in all those duals. So no matter whether we won or lost, I was really proud and excited for our every one of our girls because they took a big step forward this weekend, and I think they see how good they can be."

And even with snow surrounding the courts, a 40 MPH wind howling on Saturday and with a late night of indoor play to end the tournament, Ferguson saw many good things from his two tennis over what he called a very successful two days in Cut Bank.

"We battled through a lot of adversity," Ferguson said. "And that's good for us. So for that fact alone, I'm really proud of our kids. But we also played against really good teams and good players, we won, and played in a lot of close matches, and we improved a lot from just last week. And I thought we finished strong against good Cut Bank teams late Saturday night. So we got a lot out of those five matches and I think we left Cut Bank exactly where we need to be right now. So I'm just really proud of all of our kids this weekend. They did an outstanding job."

Havre is right back on the road Saturday. The Ponies will travel to Lewistown for an all-day dual with the Golden Eagles.

Cut Bank A Invite

Friday

BOYS

Polson 6, Havre 1

Singles

Brady Hislop, POL def. Jeff Miller, HAV, 8-7 (7-5); Dylan McCrumb, POL def. Ned Malone, HAV, 8-2; Taylor Dupuis, POL def. Jacob Holden HAV, 8-1; Quaid Harlan, POL def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-3.

Doubles

Hayden Congdon/Layne Zimmerman, POL def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-6; Noah Landgraf/Brian Smith, HAV def. Sam Kinzle/Tommy Mercer, POL, 8-3; Jared Gallatin/Thomas Crosby, POL def. Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV, 8-3.

Havre 4, Libby 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Jason Schnackenberg, LIB, 8-2; Danny Leggins, LIB def. Ned Malone, HAV, 8-4; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Patrick Valentine, LIB, 8-4; Jacob Holden, HAV won by FFT.

Doubles

Lane Luscher/Ian Edwards-Mysicki, LIB def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-6; Brian Smith/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Josh Broderick/Juan Rios, LIB, 8-3; Austin Nagle/Jake Reny, LIB def. Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV, 8-6.

Havre 6, Hardin 1

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Nyles Greer, HAR, 8-7 (7-5); Ned Malone, HAV def. Joe Lemon, HAR,8-5; Jacob Holden, HAV def. Jon Lemon, HAR, 8-7 (7-5); JD Erickson, HAR def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-5; Jayden Covers Up, HAR def. Jerod Boles, HAV, 8-3 in an exhibition.

Doubles

Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV def. Tanner Robertson/Jayden Covers Up, HAR, 8-2; Brian Smith/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Patrick Toyne/Tanner Delp, HAR, 8-4; Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV won by FFT.

Saturday

Lewistown 4, Havre 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Andrew Bruno, LEW, 8-1; Ned Malone, HAV def. Preston Kynett, LEW, 8-6; Jacob Holden, HAV def. Kyle Mhyre, LEW, 8-3; Bryson Behl, LEW def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Hooper Armour/Bryce Petersen, LEW def. Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV, 8-3; Andy Butcher/Austin Songer, LEW def. Brian Smith/Noah Landgraf, HAV, 8-4; Parker Phillips/McCye McCarthy, LEW def. Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV, 8-6.

Havre 7, Cut Bank 0

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Isaac Matt, CB, 8-7 (7-2); Ned Malone, HAV def. Trenton Francom, CB, 8-1; Zach Hellegaard, HAV def. Che' Little Dog, CB, 8-5; Jacob Holden, HAV def. Zach Burns, CB, 8-7 (7-5).

Doubles

Nick Rhines/J.J. Hovet, HAV def. Michael Kraft/Robert Jennings, CB, 8-2; Noah Landgraf/Brian Smith, HAV def. Josh Kloos/Falco Rammier, CB, 6-2; Jerod Boles/Wyatt Lindbloom, HAV def. Aaron Burtness/Ty Fassett, CB, 6-0.

GIRLS

Friday

Polson 5, Havre 2

Singles

Whitney Zimmerman, POL def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 8-4; Shannon Oakley, POL def. Jade McCormick, HAV, 8-7 (9-7); Lauren Dupuis, POL def. Shannon Herring, HAV, 8-6; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Shawna Oakley, POL, 8-6.

Doubles

Mollybeth Hendrix/Karly Rochin, POL def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-5; Taylor Rost/Tegan Bauer, POL def. Ellery Bresler/Breck Don, HAV, 8-7 (9-7); Haley Graham/Morgan Jappe, HAV def. Dyaln Quinn/Peyton Anderson, POL, 8-1.

Havre 6, Libby 1

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV def. Haley Malstrom, LIB, 8-1; Erin Rogers, LIB won by FFT; Shannon Herring, HAV def. Sarah McBride, LIB, 8-2; Tatiana Ralph, HAV won by FFT.

Doubles

Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV def. Kaya Hargrove/Kaylene Hudson, LIB, 8-1; Ellery Bresler/Breck Don, HAV def. Kira Rose/Melanie Thomas, LIB, 8-2; Haley Graham/Morgan Jappe, HAV def. Katie Alspaw/Cheyanne Carlson, LIB, 8-1.

Havre 4, Hardin 3

Singles

Chriss Weibert, HAR def. Brandy Lambourne, HAV, 8-2; Gigi Three Irons, HAR won by FFT; Shannon Herring, HAV def. Savannah Green, HAR, 8-5; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Sarah Walck, HAR, 8-5.

Doubles

Snowy Johnson/Alice Cai, HAR def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-2; Ellery Bresler/Breck Don, HAV def. Hannah Ware/Katie McCleary, HAR, 8-7 (7-2); Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Jaysun Albert/Jordan Eidem, HAR, 8-5.

Saturday

Havre 5, Lewistown 2

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV def. Jeanna Mane, LEW, 8-7 (7-5); Hannah Thomas, LEW won by FFT; Shannon Herring, HAV def. Beth Olson, LEW, 8-1; Tatiana Ralph, HAV won by FFT.

Doubles

Jen Monger/Andrea Nielsen, LEW def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-3; Ellery Bresler/Breck Don, HAV def. Kaitlyn Kinderski/Marlee Thomas, LEW, 8-6; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Brianna Petersen/Rita Campano, LEW, 8-1.

Havre 4, Cut Bank 3

Singles

Brandy Lambourne, HAV def. Paige Larson, CB, 8-7 (7-5); Chante Fitzgerald, CB won by FFT; Shannon Herring, HAV def, Donelle Novak, CB, 8-1; Tatiana Ralph, HAV def, Dakota Dosh, CB, 8-5.

Doubles

Jillian Altenberg/Alex Kraft, CB def. Lainey Chagnon/Jennifer Cichosz, HAV, 8-4; Duana Gobert/Allie Anderson, CB def. Breck Don/Ellery Bresler, HAV, 6-4; Morgan Jappe/Haley Graham, HAV def. Eryn Ballard/Sydney Boggs, CB, 6-0.