Pony netters progress in Helena

Under warm, sunny skies, the calendar turned to May for the Havre High tennis teams at the prestigious Helena Invitational. And while HHS head coach George Ferguson wasn’t ready to declare his Blue Ponies ready for the upcoming Central A divisional tournament just yet, he did say his teams took a big step toward being ready.

“The Helena Invitational is the best of the best in Montana,” Ferguson said. “It’s the cream of the crop in high school tennis going head-to-head. And, as I expected, our kids raised up their level of play to meet those head-to-head challenges this weekend. We didn’t win all the matches we played, but in almost all of them, we played some of, if not the, best tennis of our season, and that’s exactly what we were looking to get out of the tournament.

“We’re trying to peak in the next 10 days, and after what I saw in Helena, we’re getting close,” he continued. “So a great job by all of our kids who made the trip. I’m really proud of the way they played.”

The Helena Invite pits players against each other in singles and doubles brackets for No. 1s, No. 2s and No. 3s. And for the Blue Ponies, the No. 1 doubles team of Jerod Boles and Noah Landgraf had the most successful weekend. The duo won three times and reached the consolation semifinals before bowing out to a tough team from Missoula Sentinel. Their loss in the quarterfinals, to the eventual runner-up team from Billings Senior, was just their first of the season.

“Jerod and Noah played great,” Ferguson said. “Just like Jeff (Miller) in the No. 1 singles draw, they were up against the absolute best in the state this weekend, and they played fantastic doubles. It’s not easy for our No. 1s in this tournament, but Jerod and Noah just played great tennis and those matches they played in Helena will go a long way towards helping them when the postseason rolls around.”

Miller went 1-2 in the top singles draw, arguably the toughest bracket in any tournament in Montana, including the Class AA state tournament each year. Jake Sedahl and Jamie Lieberg also won one match each in their respective singles draws.

And while all nine of Havre’s boys faced stiff competition over the weekend, as Ferguson expected, things were even more difficult for his inexperienced Pony girls team.

Only freshman Paige Nelson was able to secure a victory for the Havre girls, as she beat a strong player from Helena Capital in the No. 2 singles draw Friday afternoon. However, Ferguson also noted that the results in Helena don’t tell the whole story about how his eight girls played.

“I thought every single one of our girls showed some of their best stuff of the season,” Ferguson said. “Against competition like we faced in Helena, you don’t have a choice but to play well, and every single one of our girls, including all three of our doubles teams did that this weekend. Paige was awesome. She’s really starting to come into her own as a singles player, and she was very close to going much farther than she did. But again, all of our girls did a great job. This tournament was a big measuring stick for them, and even in losses it was easy to see just how far they’ve come in the last month.”

And with the Helena Invite behind his teams, Ferguson said now things get even tougher as the Ponies make the push toward getting ready for the Central A divisional in less than two weeks in Bozeman. Havre will finish the regular season at this Saturday’s Lewistown Invitational.

“This is the biggest week of the season,” Ferguson said. “First, we are going through the challenge process to solidify our divisional teams. And at the same time, we’re working really hard to continue to peak at the exact time we want to peak. And then, the Lewistown Invite is where we bring it home. That’s the day where we play for divisional seeding, and it’s also the last matches the kids will play before the divisional tournament starts. So again, it’s a really big week for our program, and I’m looking forward to watching all of our kids make that progress that we’re striving for.”

Helena Invite

BOYS

Singles

Jeff Miller (No. 1)

1st rd - Jeff Miller, Hav, d. Gavin Will, CMR, 6-3, 6-2; QF - Hunter Blalack, Gla, d. Miller, 6-2, 6-2; LO - Jay Montague, Sen, def. Jeff Miller, Hav, 4-6, 6-4 (10-8).

Jake Sedahl (No. 2)

1st rd - Levin Mullaney, Bu, d. Jake Sedahl, Hav, 7-6 (6), 7-5; LO - Sedahl, Hav, d. Jader Moller, Sen, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8; LO - Ray Munns, CMR, def. Jake Sedahl, Hav, 6-3, 6-3.

Jamie Lieberg (No. 3)

1st rd - Jamie Lieberg, Hav, d. Marcus Madraza, Bu, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9; QF - Fretwell, Boz, d. Lieberg, Hav, 6-4, 7-5; LO - Brock Belcher, CHS, def. Jamie Lieberg, Hav, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf (No. 1)

1st rd - Boles/Landgrat, Hav, d. Lingsheit/Tobish, MBS, 6-4, 6-4; QF - Wilgus/Thomas, Sen, d. Boles/Landgraf, Hav, 6-4, 6-3; LO - Boles/Landgrat, Hav, def. Bentley/Sherman, Bu, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); Hewitt/Ramsbacher, MS, def. Boles/Landgrat, Hav, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Wyatt Lindbloom/Nate Korb (No. 2)

1st rd - Donahue/Koehn, MH, d. Lindbloom/Korb, Hav, 6-2,6-2; Hall/Lindley, MBS, d. Lindbloom/Kord, Hav, 6-2, 6-4.

Trey Hanson/Jeffrey Ralph (No. 3)

1st rd - Upton/DuFour, Gla, d. Hanson/Ralph, Hav, 6-4, 6-2; Daniels/Carpio, MS, d. Hanson/Ralph, Hav. 6-2, 7-5.

GIRLS

Singles

Tatiana Ralph (No. 1)

1st rd - Hannah Haas, CHS, d. Tatianna Ralph, Hav, 6-2, 6-2; Atkinson, BW, d. Ralph, Hav, 2-6, 7-5, 10-6.

Paige Nelson (No. 2)

1st rd - Ellie Berreth, Flat, d. Paige Nelson, Hav, 6-2, 6-2; Nelson, Hav, d. Bragg, CHS, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4; Megan Branson, MS, def. Paige Nelson, Hav, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.

Doubles

Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch (No. 2)

1st rd - Johnson/Ormesher, MBS, d. Stoner/Huebsch, Hav, 7-5, 6-3; VanDyke/Morales, Sky, d. Stoner/Huebsch, Hav, 4-6, 6-2, 10-5.

Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel (No. 3)

1st rd – Totland/Boyd, LIV def. Bernard/Vogel, HAV, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8; LO - Buckingham/Johnson, Gla, d. Vogel/Bernard, Hav, 6-2, 7-5.

Alex Donaldson/Megan Lindbloom (No. 3)

1st rd - Darrow/Phuttipaiton, Flat, d. Lindbloom/Donalson, Hav, 6-3, 6-2; LO - Pazmino/Zimmerman, BS, d. Lindbloom/Donalson, Hav, 3-6, 7-6, 10-5.