Blue Pony netters should be strong in 2014

It seems like every year, spring comes later and later. But that has never stopped the Havre High boys and girls tennis teams from continuing to be one of the most consistent and successful tennis program’s in Class A.

And though winter weather seems to be wreaking havoc yet again, the Blue Pony tennis teams are still hard at work preparing for a brand new season.

Blue Pony head coach George Ferguson enters his 11th season at the helm. He’s led the Ponies to five state championships between the boys and girls teams, as well as 16 different Central A championships. A year ago, the Havre boys captured their ninth Central A championship in the last 10 seasons, while the HHS girls finished a solid second in the Central A. Both Blue Pony teams also put on a strong showing at the Class A state meet last May in Polson.

But, at the beginning of the new season, Ferguson says last year doesn’t matter, and his teams are starting all over.

“It’s exciting to start again,” Ferguson said. “Yes, we’re very proud of the tradition we have built over many, many years here. And we want our current teams to help carry on that tradition. But it’s a new season, and we have two new teams, so what we have done in the past really doesn’t come into play. I’m looking forward to this season, and what these teams can do.”

The Havre boys should be strong yet again, especially with the return of All-State singles player Jeff Miller. As a freshman, Miller finished sixth at the state meet and won the 2013 Central A singles championship. Havre also returns three strong seniors in Ned Malone and Brian Smith, as well as Zach Hellegaard. Smith and Malone will team up in doubles this season, while Hellegaard, who is a four-year varsity player, will play singles.

Havre is also an experienced squad this spring. Also back are juniors Noah Landgraf and Wyatt Lindbloom, as well as sophomore Jerod Boles. All were on the divisional team a season ago and Ferguson said all three have improved a great deal since last spring. Junior Jamie Lieberg and sophomore Patrick Leeds also saw extensive varsity action a year ago, and should again this season.

“We do have some experienced kids,” Ferguson said. “All of our seniors have played a lot of varsity tennis matches and we will expect them to be leaders. We also have a little better idea of what our lineup should be from the start because of the experience we return. We know where some kids fit and where they’ll help the team the most. That’s something we didn’t have as much of at the start of the year last season.

“But we also have an outstanding group of freshmen,” he continued. “It’s our biggest freshmen class in quite some time, and I’m really excited about all of them. They are all learning quick and that group is going to all compete for varsity time, right away and throughout the season. So our lineup might look different as the year goes on. They are a really good group.”

Freshmen Jake Sedahl, Nate Korb, Isaac Warp, Jeff Ralph Dustin Haas, Kyle Kirkpatrick and James Berry will add to Havre’s depth and provide a solid foundation for the future of Blue Pony boys tennis.

But the future is also now for this particular HHS team, and Ferguson has high hopes for the boys. Havre will be a strong favorite in the Central A, while on the state level, Billings Central and Polson, which shared the 2013 Class A title, will be the favorites to get there again.

“I really like what I see from our boys team right now,” Ferguson said. “We have experience, we have strong singles players, and I think we’ll be able to put together strong doubles teams. We have a group of freshmen who will make things very interesting this season and beyond, and all of these kids have come into our season ready to go and they work really hard. It’s a great group and I think they are going to have a great season.”

While the boys should have a great season, Ferguson thinks his HHS girls team might be in for even more success. The Ponies have finished behind Livingston at the divisional meet the last four seasons, but this year could be Havre’s year to get back on top of the Central A, and beyond.

“It’s an exciting time for our girls team,” Ferguson said. “It’s been a long time since we have had a team with this much experience. We have a lot of seniors who have all played varsity from day one. And overall, we just have a really experienced team with a bunch of really good tennis players.”

HHS did lose Central A doubles runners-up Lainey Chagnon and Jennifer Cichosz, but the Ponies return the third-place team of Ellery Bresler and Breck Don, who also won a match at the state meet a year ago. Also back is senior Brandy Lambourne, who came within one match of placing at state last season, and is another four-year varsity player. But the experience doesn’t end there either. Seniors Haley Graham and Morgan Jappe have played doubles together the last two seasons and should be a force this spring, while senior Shannon Herring and junior Tatiana Ralph give the Ponies two more quality singles players to go with Lambourne.

The HHS girls also bring back a strong sophomore class, with Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch, both of whom saw plenty of varsity action a season ago. Also back is Alara Vogel, Ashley Hoffland and Corttney Gobin, and that group is joined by newcomer Kaylee Nash.

“This is going to be a big season for our girls team, for a number of different reasons,” Ferguson said. “I think we have a tremendous amount of depth and talent, and we have a group of girls who love to play tennis and they work really hard. We are also going to lose a lot of seniors after this season, so it’s a big season for our underclassmen too.

“I’m just really excited about our girls team,” he continued. “They can accomplish great things, and I think they have the potential to go very, very far, both at divisionals and state.”

As for Havre’s competition on the girl’s side, Livingston will again be tough in the Central A, while Billings Central, Corvallis and Hamilton will be tough to beat at state.

But both Havre teams should be well prepared by the time the divisional tournament rolls around in May. The Ponies play a rigorous schedule, which includes top tournaments like the Class A Duals in Cut Bank, the Great Falls Invitational, the Helena Invitational and the Lewistown Invite.

Havre will also be aided by the addition of two brand new courts on the campus of Montana State University-Northern, so Ferguson said there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months.

“Our schedule is always very tough,” Ferguson said. “I think it gets us really well prepared to play our best tennis at the end of the season, and that’s our goal. We want to make sure we peak in mid May, and everything before that is a building block. Our goal is just to get better every day in practice and at every meet.

“I’m looking forward to this season,” he continued. “We have a lot of kids who put in a ton of work on tennis in their free time and in the offseason, and we have a great group of boys and girls who are very fun to coach. It’s going to be a really fun year, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Havre begins its season Saturday at the Cut Bank Invitational. The Ponies host the Havre Invitational April 12, while the Central A Divisional is May 15-16 in Bozeman, and the Class A state meet is set for May 22-23 in Billings.