Pony netters compete well against Class A rivals

For the first time this season, the Havre High tennis teams were up against Class A competition. But, it wasn’t the first time the Blue Ponies were up against severe conditions.

Friday and Saturday, the Blue Ponies were in Cut Bank where they took on Hardin, Polson, Libby and Whitefish at the Class A Invite, and despite some rough and windy conditions, the Ponies had a successful weekend.

The HHS boys finished a perfect 4-0 in four duals while the Havre girls went 1-3 on a weekend where the wind blew hard, but Pony head coach George Ferguson still liked what he saw from his teams.

“I was very pleased,” Ferguson said. “This was the first time this season where we were playing new opponents, players and doubles teams like we’ll see at divisionals and state. And I thought our kids all did a great job. On Friday, the weather was decent and I thought we played pretty well collectively. I thought we made some nice improvements from last week. Saturday was tough to judge. The wind was blowing a good 40 (mph) and the gusts were event stronger. So it wasn’t a good day for tennis. But what I liked was how hard our kids played, and the attitude they took to the court with them. They fought hard through the conditions and that was what I was looking for out of that second day. So I’m really pleased with how the weekend went.”

Friday was an especially good day for the Havre boys as the Ponies beat Hardin 5-2 and Polson 6-1. Jeff Miller went 2-0 in singles as did the teams of Jerod Boles and Noah Landgraf and Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb in doubles. Jamie Lieberg and Kyle Kirkpatrick also scored wins for the Ponies in singles, as did the duo of Trey Hanson and Jeffrey Ralph in doubles.

Saturday, Havre took care of Libby 5-2 and finished the tournament with a 4-3 win over a strong Whitefish team. Sophomore singles player Dustin Haas clinched the win for the Ponies against the Bulldogs with a come-from-behind win at the No. 3 spot. Boles and Landgraf remained undefeated by winning twice Saturday while Haas was also 2-0.

“Our boys did a really good job,” Ferguson said. “Winning four duals is nice, but the biggest thing I was looking for was how they would stack up head-to-head against Class A players and I thought we stacked up very well. Noah and Jerod continue to play really good doubles and we got some nice wins up and down our lineup. But the biggest thing for me was improvement, and I thought, especially on Friday, our boys did that. Also, this was a good measuring stick for us, and I think these four duals showed our boys team has a chance to be really strong at the end of the season if we continue to improve like we have been doing the last few weeks.”

Ferguson also liked what he saw in the way of improvement by his girls team. Friday, the Ponies lost 6-1 to a tough Hardin squad, but came back and battled a very good Polson team to a 4-3 loss. On Saturday, Havre beat Libby 6-1 before falling to Whitefish 6-1.

Individually, senior Tatiana Ralph went 4-0 at the No. 1 singles spot, while Meggan Smith scored a big point against Polson in singles Friday, before teaming with Ashley Hoffland to win a doubles match on Saturday. Against Libby Saturday, Havre also swept the doubles portion of the dual, with wins by Madison Huebsch and Rainey Stoner, Reggie Bernard and Alara Vogel, and Smith and Hoffland.

“It was easy to see how much our girls improved, because we didn’t play as well as we should have on Tuesday against Chinook. So the fact that we won three matches against a strong Polson team, and came right back on Saturday and won six against Libby, that showed me that our girls did exactly what we asked them to do, and that’s just to get better this weekend. And I’m proud of them for that.

“Tatiana Ralph had a great weekend,” Ferguson added. “She beat girls from Hardin and Polson that are very strong players. In fact, by going 4-0 this weekend, Tatiana improved her singles record to 12-0 in this tournament the last three years. That’s pretty cool. But overall, I thought all of our girls made big strides against tough competition. We lost some very close matches, but that also means we played much better, and those close matches will turn around for us eventually. So I’m excited about how all of our girls played this weekend.”

And a good weekend for the Ponies it was because, above all else, Havre has now gotten in four weeks of play, and Ferguson said the Class A Invite was a perfect way for the Ponies to springboard into the most important stretch of the season.

“This was a good, challenging weekend for us, and that’s exactly what we need,” Ferguson said. “I’m excited about where we’re at. All the kids are doing a great job. But we’ve also got work to do. The divisional tournament is now only a month away. So this is the time when we absolutely have to make some big, big improvements.”

Next up for the Ponies will be a trip to Lewistown for the Central A Preview Meet. Havre will also host a junior varsity tournament with Lewistown and Cut Bank Saturday.

Class A Invite

GIRLS

Hardin 6, Havre 1

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Cici Three Irons, HAR, 8-4; Lisa Cai, HAR def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-2; Sara Walk, HAR def. Meggan Smith, HAV, 8-2; Imani Kindness, HAR def. Ashley Hoffland, HAV, 8-3.

Doubles

Savanah Green/Jaysun Albert, HAR def. Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner, HAV, 8-1; Darrelyn Lefthand/Maddie Flamm, HAR def. Alara Vogel/Reggie Bernard, HAV, 8-7 (7-2); Madi Chavez/Naumie Dushane, HAR def. Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom, HAV, 8-3.

Polson 4, Havre 3

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Marlee Congdon, POL, 8-6; Mollie Lemm, POL def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-2; Meggan Smith, POL def. Natalee Wheeler, POL, 8-7 (7-1); Tessa Nunlist, POL def. Ashley Hoffland, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Olivia Hewston/Cassie Carlyle, POL def. Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV, 8-6; Taylor Tost/Shawna Lenz, POL def. Alara Vogel/Reggie Bernard, HAV, 8-2; Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom, HAV def. Hunter Tamcke/Madison Reilley, POL, 8-5.

Havre 6, Libby 1

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Kaylene Hudson, LIB, 8-2; Paige Nelson, HAV def. Sarah McBride, LIB, 8-5; Dani Hawthorne, LIB def. Alex Donaldson, LIB, 8-2; Marca Herron, HAV won by fft, lost to McBride, LIB, 8-1 in exhibition match.

Doubles

Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV def. Cloie Boardner/Jenna Barrick, LIB, 8-3; Alara Vogel/Reggie Bernard, HAV def. Paula Fernandez/Kaylene Hudson, LIB, 8-4; Ashley Hoffland/Meggan Smith, HAV def. Boardner/Barrick, 8-5 in exhibition match.

Whitefish 6, Havre 1

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Kiara Delaney, WF, 8-1; Heather Luedke, WF def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-5; Hannah Madsen, WF def. Alex Donaldson, HAV, 8-2; Makenna Benbrook, WF def. Megan Lindbloom, HAV, 8-2.

Doubles

Katie Fyall/Anna Peterson, WF def. Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV, 8-5; Cassidy Grady/Amika Gordon, WF def. Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel, HAV, 8-5; Cailyn Ross/Paige Sproul, WF def. Ashley Hoffland/Meggan Smith, HAV, 8-5.

BOYS

Havre 5, Hardin 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Michael Nasser, HAR, 8-3; Slade Brian, HAR def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-2; Daniel Lefthand, HAR def. Dustin Haas, HAV, 8-7 (7-2); Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV def. Jeremiah Jabs, HAR, 8-3.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Patrick Toyne/Jayden Coversup, HAR, 8-3; Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV def. Jae Hugs/Codi Smaill, HAR, 8-5; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV def. Klay Wacker/Austin Yarlott, HAR, 8-6.

Havre 6, Polson 1

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Quaid Harlan, POL, 8-1; Jamie Lieberg, HAV def. Matt Sitter, POL, 8-5; Jaron Morgan, POL def. Dustin Haas, HAV, 8-6; Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV def. Scott Sicz, POL, 8-1.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Cadis Chowning/Tommy Mercer, POL, 8-0; Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV def. Colin Kenney/Tim Russell, POL, 8-1; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV def. Kabe Forman Webster/Josh Kinzle, POL, 8-5.

Havre 5, Libby 2

Singles

Walter Briones, LIB def. Jeff Miller, HAV, 8-5; Jason Brant, LIB def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-3; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Jhamaal Sykes, LIB, 8-3; Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV def. Kody Bailey, LIB, 8-7 (7-4).

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Rayson Arnold/Raymond Sadewasser, LIB, 8-0; Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV def. Erik Lauer/Brayden Thom, LIB, 8-2; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV def. Dameon Kelch/Tucker Zimmerman, LIB, 8-3.

Havre 4, Whitefish 3

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Max Smyley, WF, 8-5; Jamie Lieberg, HAV def. Nathan Fauth, WF, 8-4; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Eric Holdhusen, WF, 8-6; Austin Reese, WF def. Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV, 8-5.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Ryan Brown/Chaffin Ross, WF, 8-3; Ethan Potthoff/Thomas Carloss, WF def. Jake Sedahl/Nate Korb, HAV, 8-3; Arsenjie Garvic/Jack Brandt, WF def. Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV, 8-6.