The time has come for Pony tennis teams

Havre High head tennis coach George Ferguson believes every day of the season is part of a building process. And what the Blue Ponies build toward each season is the Central A Divisional tournament.

Well, that process has reached a culmination, as the Central A Divisional meet starts Thursday afternoon in Bozeman. The tournament is scheduled to run through Friday evening, and with it, four spots in boys singles, girls singles, boys doubles and girls doubles at the Class A state tournament will be on the line.

But tennis is also a team sport, and Central A titles are also on the line this week in Bozeman. The Havre High boys have won an astonishing 18 of the last 19 Central A titles, and have won the last four, including a convincing showing at last year’s Central A tourney in Lewistown and Great Falls. Meanwhile, the HHS girls are chasing something they haven’t had in a while, a team title at divisionals. From 2005 to 2010, the Ponies won six straight Central A championships, but they haven’t won one since.

“The divisional tournament is two-fold,” Ferguson said. “On one hand, tennis is certainly an individual sport, and all of our kids are playing for individual places this weekend. But it’s also a team competition, and our teams want to win divisional championships. Our boys and girls teams have strong bonds, we have good team chemistry and they support each other really well.

“So our philosophy at divisionals is, for each player or doubles teams to only focus on the match they have in front of them. We don’t think about team points or how the draws might unfold. We worry about each individual match, and if we do our best in each of those matches, the team points will be there at the end of the tournament.”

The Central A is made up of Havre, Lewistown, Livingston and Anaconda. The Copperheads are dropping to Class B next season, while Belgrade will add tennis in 2015. And for the Pony boys, the term favorite is once again the label they’ll head into Bozeman with. Ferguson said that Lewistown and Anaconda being strong in doubles and Livingston sporting three strong singles players will make things close and interesting, but he believes his team is solid and ready for the divisional tournament.

“I like where our boys team is at,” Ferguson said. “I feel like our depth and balance between singles and doubles has gotten better over the course of the season. The three other teams will challenge us at every turn and I expect the points race to be very close. But if we play at the level we’re capable of, we will be successful this weekend.”

The Ponies are led by defending Central A champion Jeff Miller in singles. He went 20-3 in the regular season and didn’t lose a match to a Class A, or Central A opponent. Havre is indeed deep in singles with four-year varsity stalwart Zach Hellegaard and Jerod Boles also in the draw, while first-time divisional player Jamie Lieberg rounds out Havre’s singles lineup. In doubles, the senior tandem of Ned Malone and Brian Smith have had a solid first season together. Malone spent the last three Central A meets playing singles, while Smith has had strong showings at divisionals with different partners the past two years. Meanwhile, juniors Noah Landgraf and Wyatt Lindbloom (20-5) have had an outstanding season at the No. 2 spot for Havre and have only lost two matches in the last six weeks. Freshmen Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb round out Havre’s entries in the doubles draw.

“We’ve got some firepower,” Ferguson said. “Obviously, Jeff is playing at a very high level and is a heavy favorite this weekend. But Zach Hellegaard has a ton of divisional experience. He’s won some huge matches at this tournament over the years, and I expect he will have a very big week. Jerod is also peaking at the perfect time, and he’s going to be someone no one wants to play at this tournament.

“I really like how our doubles teams have progressed, as well,” he continued. “All three of them are first-year doubles teams, and that’s not easy. I think Ned and Brian have really done a great job of figuring it out, and they have great chemistry and teamwork on the court. Wyatt and Noah have become perhaps one of the best No. 2 teams in the entire state, and Jake and Nate have really come a long way for never having played the sport before. So we really do have good balance, and that’s what you need if you want a chance to win a divisional championship.”

And a divisional championship is something the senior-laden HHS girls want badly. The Ponies have finished second to Livingston for three straight years, and while the Rangers are strong again this season, Ferguson sees this week as Havre’s opportunity to get the divisional trophy back to Havre High.

“The senior class has worked so hard over the last four years,” Ferguson said. “But at the same time, Livingston has been really good over that same stretch. But I think this Havre team is the deepest and most experienced we’ve had in quite some time, and this could be a special week for them. This is a goal of theirs, and it’s there for the taking. If our girls team plays confidently, and plays at the level I know they’re capable of, they are going to be tough to beat.”

Havre returns three All-Conference players from a year ago. Brandy Lambourne is a two-time All-Conference performer, and this week, is the favorite in singles. Seniors Ellery Bresler and Breck Don also finished third in the Central A last year, and are gunning for a divisional championship this weekend. Behind Don and Bresler, the senior tandem of Morgan Jappe and Haley Graham will also be a serious contender this weekend, while in singles, senior Shannon Herring and junior Tatiana Ralph both have the game to go deep in the draw and score big points for the Blue Ponies. Sophomores Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch man the No. 3 doubles spot for the Ponies, while sophomore Alara Vogel plays No. 4 singles.

“Like the boys team, our girls team has great balance,” Ferguson said. “Brandy is playing well, she’s on a mission. A singles title is something she doesn’t have yet, and I know that’s one of her big goals. And then, our two senior doubles teams have done so well at divisionals the past two years. I think they both can beat anybody in the draw when they’re playing well and playing with confidence. That’s the key for both of those teams.

“But overall, I love the depth of our girls team,” Ferguson continued. “Players like Tati (Ralph) and Shannon are experienced singles players, and they are both going to be very dangerous in Bozeman. And I would watch out for our No. 3 doubles team, too. Rainey and Madison have come a long way in a short amount of time. They have beat some really good teams this year, and they have gotten better every week. At divisionals, it’s a nice luxury to have a really solid No. 3 doubles, and we have that with those two.”

Solid is a word Ferguson would choose to describe both his teams. He says Havre enters divisional week playing well, and the goal is to get as many kids to state as possible, while being in the race for divisional championships. And while he says the task will not be easy on either front, he believes his teams are up to the challenge.

“There is a lot of pressure at divisionals,” Ferguson said. “In many ways, it’s much more intense than the state tournament, because if you don’t get through it, your season is over. And then there’s the team points. So the kids deal with a lot at the divisional tournament. What we do is try to take as much pressure off our kids as possible. We want them to only focus on doing their very best, and nothing else matters, and that’s how we’re approaching this week.

“I think our kids are peaking right now,” he continued. “And that’s been the goal all along. It hasn’t always been easy. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs this season. And divisionals won’t be easy either. It will be the toughest tournament of these kids’ lives. But we’ve been through the building process now. All these kids have been dedicated, and have worked very hard to get to this point, and I believe in all of them. I’m really proud of these 20 kids and I know they are going to play well in Bozeman and do a great job representing Havre High tennis.”

The Central A divisional gets underway at 3 p.m. Thursday in Bozeman. The tournament will conclude Friday weather permitting, or could run into Saturday. Those who advance will move on to the Class A state tournament next week in Billings.