Blue Pony netters play well against the Central A

The Havre High tennis teams got a glimpse of what next month’s Central A divisional tournament will look like when the Blue Ponies traveled to Lewistown on Saturday.

Havre was in Lewistown for duals against the host Eagles, as well as Belgrade, Anaconda and Livingston as part of the Central A Preview Meet, and from a results standpoint, the Blue Ponies fared well. The Havre boys went a perfect 4-0 on the day, while the HHS girls went 2-2.

But more importantly, Havre head coach George Ferguson was looking to see how his players were progressing, as well as how they stacked up against their divisional rivals.

“It was a good day,” Ferguson said. “The weather once again did not cooperate, but we played a lot of tennis and we found out exactly where we are with a month left in the season. We found out exactly what the other teams in our division have and exactly where we need to go from here in order to be ready for the divisional tournament in a month.

“So the meet was a good one for us,” he continued. “All of our kids played very hard and worked on the things we’ve been working on and that’s what we wanted out of the day. So I was pleased.”

On the boys side, HHS defeated Belgrade 5-2 to start the day. The Panthers are in their first year of high school tennis. The Ponies then dropped Anaconda 5-2 followed by a 6-1 win over a short-handed Livingston squad. Havre wrapped up the day with a 5-2 win over rival Lewistown.

Individually, Jeff Miller went a perfect 4-0 in singles, as did Havre’s top doubles tandem of Noah Landgraf and Jerod Boles. The Pony No. 3 duo of Trey Hanson and Jeffrey Ralph were also 3-0, while Dustin Haas went a perfect 4-0 at the No. 3 singles spot, including recording a key win in the dual against Lewistown. Senior Jamie Lieberg also clinched the dual win over Lewistown with a thrilling tiebreaker victory at No. 2 singles.

“Our boys won a lot of matches,” Ferguson said. “They took care of business. So that was nice to see. I thought some of our newer players really played well. Dustin Haas, Trey Hanson and Jeffrey Ralph, they are all sophomores who haven’t been this deep into a varsity season before, and they are really coming along, and they did a really nice job on Saturday.

“I think our boys are progressing and this was a good measuring stick for them,” Ferguson added. “But I think they know, they need to keep getting better over the next couple of weeks, because we found out, when Lewistown is at full strength, they are going to give us all we can handle at the divisional tournament. So we have work to do on the boys side.”

Havre only had eight girls Saturday, and were missing varsity stalwarts Alara Vogel, Meggan Smith and Ashley Hoffland, so the Ponies forefeited the No. 2 doubles spot in all four duals. Yet, they still managed to dominate Belgrade 5-2 and Anaconda 6-1. But rivals Livingston and Lewistown proved too much for the young Ponies, as they fell 7-0 to the Rangers and 4-3 to the Eagles.

Individually, Tatiana Ralph went 3-1 in singles, losing a heartbreaker to Livingston’s Emilee Coleman. Reggie Bernard went 2-2 at No. 2 singles and Paige Nelson went a stellar 3-1 at the No. 3 spot. In doubles, Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch went 2-2, while freshmen Alex Donaldson and Megan Lindbloom won twice at the No. 3 spot.

“The girls that went to Lewistown played well,” Ferguson said. “Actually, collectively, they played some of their best tennis of the season. Livingston is tough and we knew they would be, but we battled well in those matches against them. We have a lot of inexperience on our girls team, but Saturday showed me they are getting better and better every time out, and that’s all I want to see from a team like we have. The girls did an outstanding job Saturday.”

And while Havre will look to keep getting better, with the season hitting the stretch run, the Ponies will now have to do it against mostly Class AA competition. This week, Havre trips to Great Falls three times, and will play at the prestigious Helena Invite in two weeks. So Ferguson noted that now is the time for his teams to make their biggest push yet.

“This is the most important part of our season so far,” Ferguson said. “I think we learned a lot in Lewistown, and now we will learn even more, because the level of competition is going to go way, way up. But that’s good for us. That’s what we want. We want to keep building for the postseason, and for the future, and the teams we’ll be seeing this week in Great Falls will certainly help us do that.”

The Ponies will be in Great Falls Tuesday to dual Butte Central in the morning and Great Falls High and CMR in the afternoon.

Central A Preview Meet

At Lewistown

GIRLS

Havre 5, Belgrade 2

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Laura Stout, BEL, 8-0; Reggie Bernard, HAV def. Grace Davis, BEL, 8-3; Paige Nelson, HAV def. KIah Hohenstein, BEL, 8-0; Hunter Bos, BEL def. Marca Herron, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV def. Lilly Reddick/Nicole Gilbertson, BEL, 8-2; Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom, HAV def. Chell Allerdings/Eliza McLaughlin, BEL, 8-1; Havre forfeits No. 2 doubles.

Havre 5, Anaconda 2

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Cortney Ivedt, ANA, 8-1; Felicity Kulaski, ANA def. Reggie Bernard, HAV, 9-8 (7-5); Paige Nelson, HAV def. Tristen Nelson, ANA, 8-1; Marca Herron, HAV won by FFT.

Doubles

Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV def. Jennifer Ammerson/Raegan Johnson, ANA, 8-2; Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom, HAV def. Lauryn Stoppler/Kaitlyn Tocher, ANA, 8-4; Havre forfeits No. 2 doubles.

Livingston 7, Havre 0

Singles

Emilee Coleman, LIV def. Tatiana Ralph, HAV, 8-6; Shelly Ouelette, LIV def. Reggie Bernard, HAV, 8-2; Eliza Boyd, LIV def. Paige Nelson, HAV, 8-0; Sophie Badten, LIV def. Marca Herron, HAV, 8-0.

Doubles

Mairel Kelley/Chelsea Woods, LIV def. Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV, 8-3; Brittnie Phipps/Olindi Pronto, LIV def. Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom, HAV, 8-1; Havre forfeits No. 2 doubles.

Lewistown 4, Havre 3

Singles

Tatiana Ralph, HAV def. Abby Gatz, LEW, 8-2; Reggie Bernard, HAV def. Hayden Zilkowski, LEW, 8-4; Paige Nelson, HAV def. Taylor Woods, LEW, 8-4; Josy Allen, LEW def. Marca Herron, HAV, 8-4.

Doubles

Ciara Backer/Beth Olson, LEW def. Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, HAV, 8-2; Summer Elmore/Lexi Arndt, LEW def. Alex Donaldson/Megan Linbloom, HAV, 8-4. Havre forfeits No. 2 doubles.

BOYS

Havre 5, Belgrade 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Trey Laymare, BEL, 8-0; Aiden Hamilton, BEL def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-3; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Jeffrey Fourneir, BEL, 8-5; Jacob Stakke, BEL def. Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV, 8-6.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Simon Solberg/Jarrett Deegan, BEL, 8-0; Wyatt Lindbloom/Jake Sedahl, HAV def. Tate Olson/Thomas O'Leary, BEL, 8-3; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV def. Chris Nian/Sawyer Deegan, BEL, 8-3.

Havre 6, Anaconda 1

Singles

Jeff Miller def. Carson Boynton, ANA, 8-3; Ben Schaefer, ANA def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-5; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Josh Clark, ANA, 8-2; Kyle Kirkpatrick won by FFT.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Gabe Blodnick/Collin Stetzner, ANA, 8-1; Wyatt Lindbloom/Jake Sedahl, HAV def. Nic Foken/Andi Myonette, ANA, 8-0; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV def. Isaac Brito/Joe Freye, ANA, 8-5.

Havre 5, Livingston 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Gavin Noble, LIV, 8-0; Karl Molina, LIV def. Jamie Lieberg, HAV, 8-2; Dustin Haas, HAV def. Alex Swanson, LIV, 8-1; Mitch Froelich, LIV def. Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV, 8-4.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Noble Vance/Calvin Gannon, LIV, 8-4; Wyatt Lindbloom/Jake Sedahl, HAV won by FFT; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph, HAV won by FFT.

Havre 5, Lewistown 2

Singles

Jeff Miller, HAV def. Danyon Rice, LEW, 8-3; Jamie Lieberg, HAV def. Kody Neil, LEW, 9-8 (7-4); Dustin Haas, HAV def. Xavier Plouffe, LEW, 9-7; Dalton Jensen, LEW def. Kyle Kirkpatrick, HAV, 8-4.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf, HAV def. Anders Pedersen/Parker Phillips, LEW, 8-3; McKye McCarthy/Johnny Ramey, LEW def. Wyatt Lindbloom/Jake Sedahl, HAV, 8-5; Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph., HAV def. Chase Farrar/Ryan Fisk, LEW 8-3.