Pony netters excited to hit the courts

The 2012 tennis season ended on a high note for the Havre Blue Ponies as then senior Justin Jensen made an incredible run to a third-place finish in boys singles in Class A.

Now the Ponies are set to begin again. Havre is scheduled to open its season on Saturday at the Cut Bank Invitational, though weather may force a modified first weekend of competition for the Blue Pony netters.

Havre High's J.J. Hovet takes a swing during the 2012 Havre Invitational tennis tournament last April. The Blue Pony tennis teams begin a new season this weekend in Cut Bank.

Still, a new season is upon the Ponies and weather aside, now 10th-year head coach George Ferguson is excited about his teams, and about the upcoming season.

"The beginning of a new season is always something we look forward to," Ferguson, who's guided the Ponies to four Class A state titles said. "Everyone starts over, there's new faces, the older kids have improved. It's just very exciting.

"I really like all the kids we have out this season," he continued. "I think, with a lot of hard work and dedication, we have the makings of two very competitive tennis teams."

Ferguson points to his girls team as the more veteran group. HHS returns all 10 players from last year's Central A Divisional roster, with seniors Jade McCormick, Lainey Chagnon and Jennifer Cichosz leading the way. Also back is junior singles player Brandy Lambourne, who finished third in the Central A a year ago, and scored the Ponies' only points at the state tournament. McCormick also came within one match of reaching the state tourney, as did Chagnon and Cichosz in doubles. Those two will pair together again this year.

And doubles is where the Pony girls could be especially strong. Also back are juniors Breck Don and Ellery Bresler and Morgan Jappe and Haley Graham, who combined to score plenty of points at last year's divisional tournament. Junior Shannon Herring is back for her third year of singles, while Tatiana Ralph returns after a strong freshman season.

"Our girls team has a chance to be very strong this season," Ferguson said. "We have great seniors, all of whom have played varsity their entire careers. And our junior class really came on strong last year. We have three very experienced doubles teams, we have singles players who are all very much improved, and on top of that, we have eight freshmen out for the team this year. They are all very good athletes and are going to give us a great foundation, while also competing for varsity spots themselves. So our girls team has really good numbers and really good players from top to bottom."

Ferguson noted that the Havre girls should vie with defending champion Livingston for the Central A championship this season, while on the Class A level, the Ponies could go far as well. Corvallis, Hamilton and Glendive all field very strong girls teams, but he feels the Ponies can get into the mix if they improve as the season goes on.

"Our girls team has a chance to do very well," Ferguson said. "But we're not worried about all that right now. Our goal at the start of every season is to make every day better than the day before. All we worry about is improving each day and each meet. Nothing else matters until the divisional tournament starts. We just want to work hard and get better each day."

The Havre boys, a storied program over the last 15 years, will be a bit different than the girls, in that, the Ponies are relatively young. They do return most of the varsity lineup from a year ago, but boast just three seniors in Nick Rhines, J.J. Hovet and Jacob Holden, all three-year letter winners. Also back for the Ponies are juniors Ned Malone and Brian Smith. Malone came within one match of reaching the state tournament a year ago, as did Rhines, while Hovet teamed with Smith in doubles a year ago. Junior Zach Hellegaard is also a three-year varsity player, and is very versatile as he's played both singles and doubles. Sophomores Noah Landgraf and Jamie Lieberg also saw varsity time for the Ponies last season.

And while the Pony boys are low on numbers this season, Ferguson is really excited about four newcomers. Freshman Jeff Miller is already a tennis standout having played the Montana junior circuit for several years. Miller could step in and be one of the top players in Class A right away. Also joining the program are talented freshmen Jerod Boles and Patrick Leeds, as well as sophomore Wyatt Lindbloom.

"Our boys team has a good mix of experience and youth," Ferguson said. "Guys like Nick and J.J. and Jacob and Ned and Zach and Brian have already played a lot of matches in their careers and we expect all the seniors and juniors to really lead us, especially in practice because they know the ropes and they understand what it takes to improve each day.

"As for our new guys, because our numbers are down, they are all going to play and contribute this season. Of course, Jeff has a chance to have a very good freshmen season. He's been playing tennis a long time and he's certainly high school ready," Ferguson added. "And Jerod Boles also has a solid tennis background. But I'm really excited about all the new guys because they are all going to get the chance to be an important part of our program. Obviously, we would have liked to have had more kids out for the team. I think tennis is a great sport for all athletes and our program is a lot of fun to be a part of in my opinion. But I'm really excited about the kids we do have and they are a great group to work with. I think, as the season goes on, our boys team is going to get stronger and stronger."

Ferguson said his boys lineup is nowhere near set, and he'll experiment with different combinations in the early part of the season, meaning some players will see action both in singles and doubles. The Havre boys are the defending Central A champions and have only not won the Central A trophy once in the last 17 years. Havre should contend with Livingston and Lewistown for the Central A title again this season, while Corvallis and Billings Central are the teams to beat at the state level.

"Again, we're only concerned with improving every day," Ferguson said. "We aren't worried about what the other teams have or how many duals we'll win or any of that. What we're concerned with is making sure everybody improves individually, and with building the best team we can be by the divisional tournament. If we do that, and every guy on this team gives it his all every day like I know they will, the rest of that stuff will take care of itself at the end of the season."

Havre is likely to open its season with a modified tournament in the Cut Bank gym Saturday. The Ponies' early season schedule also includes a trip to Conrad and the Havre Invitational on April 6. The Class A Meet in Cut Bank and trips to Great Falls and Helena are also big-time meet's on the Ponies' schedule this season, a season which winds down with the Central A Meet May 16-17 in Lewistown and the Class A State Meet May 22-23 in Polson and Ronan.

"It's a long season, and right now we're just excited to be out there and we're just focused on ourselves and what we need to do to improve," Ferguson said. "But it's also going to be a fun year. All of the kids out for the team this year are great kids, many of them are already very good tennis players, and all of them, including all of our freshmen have a chance to get better and better as the season goes on. It's going to be a lot of fun this season and I'm really looking forward to seeing what all these kids can do."