Beeters now sit atop Class B-C tennis

Five years ago, the Chinook girls tennis team captured the school’s first state championship in tennis. But after one hot weekend in Missoula, the Sugarbeeters no longer have just one state title.

Behind a dominant state championship run from junior singles player Mariah Swank, and an equally impressive third-place finish by sophomore Brooke Nicholson, the Beeters scored 35 points at the Class B-C state tournament and earned their second state title under head coach Thom MacLean, with the first coming at the end of the 2010 season.

“I knew going in we would be in the race for a trophy, I thought we were good enough to place,” MacLean said. “But I’m a little surprised that we did what we did. I think maybe this happened a year earlier than I thought it would. Mariah is a junior and Brooke is just a sophomore, and even our doubles teams are young. But the girls played so well. So it’s very exciting and I’m really proud of them.”

Swank and Nicholson were the springboard to Chinook pulling away from Townsend, which scored 31 points, and Cut Bank, which scored 28. Swank took care of St. Ignatius’ Daisie VandenBos and Townsend’s Miranda Gower in the first two rounds, then beat Fairfield’s Maggie Leland in the quarterfinals. Leland had beaten Swank earlier in the season, but Swank won when it counted most, 6-4, 6-3. After a tough battle with Baker’s Kylie Hadley in the semifinals, Swank met tournament favorite Paige Larson of Cut Bank in the state championship match, and after a tough 7-5 win in the first set, Swank rolled in the second, and gave Chinook a coveted single’s state title.

“I just can’t even describe how awesome it feels,” Swank told the Missoulian. “Coming in I saw the bracket and thought, ‘I might actually have a chance to make it to the championship.’ So I was just happy to be there and I just had to tell myself I could do it a million times. I just tried to have fun and even when I was down, I thought, ‘I’m in the state championship.’ I played my hardest and it worked.”

But Swank wasn’t the only big point-getter for the Beeters. On the other side of the draw, Nicholson cruised into the semifinals before losing to Larson. But she immediately rebounded to beat Chester/J-I rival Susanne Stewart in the consolation semifinals and then took care of Hadley to earn a remarkable third-place finish.

“Mariah did what she has been doing since divisionals started,” MacLean said. “She really has just met every challenge. She got through a pretty tough semifinal after beating Maggie Leland, and then in the final against Paige, she was just really poised. She just played outstanding tennis and never once seemed nervous.

“But it was big to have Brooke Nicholson get all the way to the semifinals,” he continued. “And then for her to come back and take third, that was outstanding. Both of those girls just played outstanding tennis all weekend.”

Madison McCann and Laura Nussbaum also competed for the Beeters in singles, while the team of Lauren Harshman and Cortney Gunderson reach the quarterfinals in doubles and ultimately scored enough points to ensure the Beeters would have enough to hold off Townsend and claim the coveted trophy. Hattie Niederegger and Stella Rigg were also part of the state championship squad for the Beeters.

Meanwhile, C/J-I had one of its strongest showings at a state tournament in quite some time. Stewart wound up placing fifth in singles to earn Class B-C All-State honors, while the doubles tandem of Haley Erickson and Madeline Woods reached the quarterfinals before falling and bowing out one match later. C/J-I scored 13 points to finish alone in fifth place overall.

But the tournament, and the weekend belonged to the Beeters. And MacLean, who’s had a mountain of success as Chinook’s head coach, says the second time was maybe even better than the first.

“This one might even be more special,” MacLean said. “The first one we won, we had a really solid lineup, in both doubles and singles. That team knew it was really good and the state championship was the goal going in. This team, they are very solid, too, but also, we are younger. But the thing that really stands out is how hard this group has worked. They have put in the hard work and extra time on the courts and it showed in the results this weekend. So I’m just really proud of this group.”

Class B/C state tournament

GIRLS

Team scores

Chinook 35, Townsend 31, Cut Bank 28, Fairfield-Power 23, Chester/Joplin/Inverness 13, Baker and Choteau 12, Bigfork 11, Loyola and Troy 9, Conrad 7, Superior-Alberton and Wolf Point 5, Valley Christian and Fort Benton 4, St. Ignatius 3, Eureka and Ronan 2, Simms, Boulder and Darby 1.

Singles

Championship

Mariah Swank, Chinook, def. Paige Larson, Cut Bank, 7-5, 6-3.

Third place

Brooke Nicholson, Chinook, def. Kylie Hadley, Baker, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

Fifth place

Susanne Stewart, Chester/Joplin/Inverness, def. Jocelyn Caldwell, Loyola, 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles

Championship

Jill Barta/Kaylee Baeth, Fairfield, def. Kasee Clark/Mariah Saltzman, Townsend, 6-2, 6-4.

Third place

Alex Kraft/Duana Gobert, Cut Bank, def. Katie/Kellie Lundin, Troy, 6-3, 7-5.

Fifth place

Alecia Fladstol/Carmen Estalella, Choteau, def. Alanis Stallknecht/Brooke Bonner, Bigfork, 6-4, 6-2.