HHS tennis teams hit the home stretch

The Havre High tennis teams need to play right now. And if the weather forecast for this weekend turns out to be wrong, the Blue Ponies will get to play a lot and against strong competition.

The Ponies are set to play in the prestigious Helena Invitational Friday and Saturday, while some HHS netters will also make the trip to the Lewistown Invitational Saturday. HHS head coach George Ferguson said Havre has a unique opportunity this weekend, and he hopes the weather will allow his teams to take advantage of it.

“This schedule is an abnormal one for us,” Ferguson said. “Most years, the Lewistown Invite is the week before divisionals and Helena is the week before that. But this season, both meets fell on the same weekend, with divisionals coming up next week. So what we are able to do is, send the kids who don’t make it to the second day in Helena on to Lewistown Saturday, and there they will get three more matches.

“And we really need all the court time we can get,” Ferguson added. “This time next week, we’ll be playing in the divisional tournament. We’ve already lost four duals over the last two weeks due to rain, and this weekend isn’t looking good either. We’re having some awful luck with the weather. It seems to only turn bad on the weekends. So hopefully, this weekend is wrong because it’s critical for us to get some matches in. It’s our last chance before the divisional tournament.”

If HHS gets to play this weekend, the Ponies will be up against an all Class AA field in Helena. The Helena Invite is a top-tier high school tournament, with singles and doubles brackets for No. 1s, No. 2s and No. 3s. Havre has always done well in Helena, and Ferguson said his teams will have that opportunity again this weekend.

“Helena is tough,” Ferguson said. “All of the best players and doubles teams in Class AA are there. There are no easy matches in Helena whether you’re a No. 1 or a No. 3. But that’s why we’re fortunate to be a part of it. Because we don’t get to see that much of that type of quality competition throughout the season, so to be able to right before divisionals is really beneficial for us. This tournament makes us better, even if we don’t win a lot of matches. And believe me, there’s no shame in losing matches at this tournament. It really is that tough. But no matter what happens, we’ll be a better tennis team after this weekend.”

The Pony boys lineup is pretty much set, with sophomore Jeff Miller at No. 1 singles. Last year in Helena, Miller became only the second player in Montana history to take a set from then Glacier star Kellan Bates. Bates is now a red-shirt for the University of Indiana. Ned Malone and Brian Smith will play in the tough No. 1 doubles bracket, while Zach Hellegaard will play No. 2 singles and Jerod Boles will play No. 3. There is no bracket for No. 4 singles in Helena. Wyatt Lindbloom and Noah Landgraf, who have only lost once in the last four weeks, will play No. 2 doubles and freshmen Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb will play No. 3.

On the girls side, Brandy Lambourne mans the No. 1 singles spot, followed by Tatiana Ralph and Shannon Herring. Breck Don and Ellery Bresler are at the No. 1 doubles spot, with fellow seniors Haley Graham and Morgan Jappe at No. 2. Sophomores Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch are No. 3. For the past two seasons, both Bresler and Don and Graham and Jappe have gone deep into their respective brackets.

“Actually, in Helena, we see a lot of success from our three singles and our two and three doubles,” Ferguson said. “That speaks to our depth and how well our kids develop. But overall, this is an extremely difficult event. In some ways, it’s much more difficult than a state tournament, because, with the brackets all being so even, there’s rarely any mismatches or lopsided scores. It’s always very close and very competitive. And that’s the type of matches our kids need right now. That’s why we’re crossing our fingers for some decent weather. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be dry. Our kids, like most teams I imagine, need these matches badly. We need this weekend to get us over the final hurdle in preparing for the divisional tournament.

“Also, our kids have worked very hard, especially the last month,” he continued. “We practice in every kind of weather Mother Nature can throw at us. All week we’re out in that stuff, and it’s very frustrating for these kids when you don’t get to play the matches you’ve been working so hard to prepare for. These kids deserve the chance to play, and hopefully that will happen this weekend.”

The Helena Invitational will run Friday and Saturday at four different locations in the Capital City. Saturday’s Lewistown Invitational will feature the host Eagles, as well as Dillon, Anaconda, Hardin and Butte Central.