Pony netters looking to peak in Lewistown

Havre head tennis coach George Ferguson likes to refer to the annual Lewistown Invitational as the first round of the Central A Divisional tournament. He does so because he believes so strongly that if his Blue Ponies can play well in Lewistown, they can play well four days later when the divisional tournament starts.

Now, weather permitting, that theory will be put to the test because the Ponies are headed to Lewistown for their regular season finale Saturday morning. In the meet, Havre will dual Dillon, Hardin, Anaconda and Lewistown. Normally, HHS duals its four Central A opponents, but Havre already did that last month, so HHS will get a look at a couple more Class A rivals.

“This is a big day for us,” Ferguson said. “Our divisional teams are set. And they will get four matches in Lewistown against some quality opponents, and that will be it before next Thursday when we start the divisional tournament. So playing well is really important, and the duals against Dillon and Hardin will be a great test because they are both strong teams.

“Of course, the duals against Anaconda and Lewistown will also be used to seed the remainder of the divisional tournament, so those matches are critical as well,” he continued. “So this Saturday is a very important step through the front door of the postseason, and we’re going to find out a lot about ourselves throughout the day.”

Havre’s lineups are now set in stone after two weeks of what Ferguson called an intense challenge process. On the boys side, Jeff Miller, Jake Sedahl, Jamie Lieberg and Dustin Haas man the singles spots, while Jerod Boles and Noah Landgraf, Wyatt Lindbloom and Nate Korb, and Trey Murphy and Kennedy McKay will play doubles.

On the girls side, Tatiana Ralph, Paige Nelson, Meggan Smith and Ashley Hoffland will play singles, while Reggie Bernard and Alara Vogel, Madison Huebsch and Rainey Stoner, and Alex Donaldson and Megan Lindbloom will play doubles.

Now Ferguson said, those 20 players will have an opportunity to play four more times before the postseason arrives next Thursday afternoon in Bozeman, and he expects those 20 players to play at a high level Saturday.

“The kids have worked really hard, and I’m really proud of them all,” Ferguson said. “Coach (Kendall) Griggs and I have pushed them pretty hard the last month. Our practices have been intense. We’ve had a lot of close challenge matches to get here, and we’ve played in some very tough tournaments the last few weeks. So these kids are right where they should be in terms of preparation. They are ready for this next two and some three weeks of tennis. This is the time of the season when the best comes out in all of our kids. We’re in the final phase of our season, and our kids are ready for it. And they get a chance to prove that Saturday in Lewistown. So we’re looking forward to that.