Ponies shine in Lewistown

If the Havre High tennis wondered if they were ready for this week’s Central A divisional tennis tournament, the Blue Ponies need look no further than how they performed in Lewistown this past weekend.

At Saturday’s Lewistown Invitational, the Blue Pony boys closed out the regular season by going 4-0 in duals, and losing just two matches the entire day. The HHS girls were just 1-3 in duals, but, the results don’t tell the whole story according to HHS head coach George Ferguson.

“We went to Lewistown wanting to sharpen our skills and build momentum for this week,” Ferguson said. “And we accomplished all of our goals. The boys were awesome. They were focused and played some great tennis. None of the duals were even close, and that means we played exactly the way we were capable of. The girls played really well. The competition was good and we needed that. The scores might now show it, but the majority of our girls played the best tennis of the season, and that’s what we wanted to get out of this weekend. So I’m really proud of all of our kids for being focused and for how they played on Saturday.”

The Pony boys beat Dillon 6-1, Hardin 7-0, Anaconda 6-1 and Lewistown 7-0 on Saturday. Individually, Jeff Miller was 4-0 in matches at No. 1 singles, while Jake Sedahl and Dustin Haas joined Miller as being perfect. Jamie Lieberg was also 2-2, while all three of Havre’s doubles teams were undefeated as well.

“The crazy thing is, I think our boy’s best tennis is still ahead of them,” Ferguson said. “They still haven’t peaked. But they did a great job and played very well. Our singles guys won a lot of big matches, against kids who have gotten much better than the last time we saw them. And our doubles were the same. Trey Murphy and Kennedy McKay are two freshmen who left a big impression on everybody this weekend because of how they played. They did a great job. Wyatt Lindbloom and Nate Korb also played some of their best tennis too. It was a lot of fun to watch. The boys did awesome, and the great thing is, I think we can play even better this week than we did on Saturday.”

Havre’s girls blanked Anaconda 7-0, but fell to Dillon and Hardin 5-2. The Ponies also lost a close battle to Lewistown, 4-3 to end the day. Tatiana Ralph and Paige Nelson each won three singles matches, while Ashley Hoffland won twice at the No. 4 spot to lead the way for the Ponies. Madison Huebsch and Rainey Stoner also won two doubles matches.

“Our girls really did play well,” Ferguson said. “Hardin and Dillon are strong teams, and we played very well in those duals. The Lewistown dual was very close, I think we’ve been 4-3 with them like five times this year. But what I liked most is that I saw all 10 of girls play so much better than last month when we saw some of these same teams. Our girls team is young, but they are coming on strong right now, and they are going to be a force this week in Bozeman. They all did a great job on Saturday.”

And Bozeman is the destination for the Ponies. Havre will play at the Central A divisional Thursday and Friday, where both HHS teams are the defending champions.

“Lewistown showed me we’re right where we need to be,” Ferguson said. “It’s been a long, tough process, but the kids showed Saturday that they are ready for this divisional tournament. So I’m really proud of all 20 of them for what they did this weekend. Now, we have three practices to fine-tune everything and get ready for Thursday. And I’m excited. I can’t wait to get down there and watch our kids play in this tournament.”

Lewistown Invite

BOYS

Havre 6, Dillon 1

Singles

Jeff Miller def. Mark Waldrup, DIL, 8-5; Jake Sedahl def. Jon Leonardsen, DIL, 9-8 (7-5); Isaac Koslosky, DIL def. Jamie Lieberg, 8-5; Dustin Haas def. Caleb Jones, DIL, 9-7.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf def. Logan Hall/Kyson Wilson, DIL, 8-4; Wyatt Lindbloom/Nate Korb def. Gunna Maisch/Todd Nordahl, DIL, 8-3; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay def. Parker Jones/Luke Peterson, DIL, 9-8 (7-4).

Havre 7, Hardin 0

Singles

Jeff Miller def. Slade Brian, HAR, 8-3; Jake Sedahl def. Jayden Covers Up, HAR, 9-8 (7-3); Jamie Lieberg def. Jeremiah Jabs, HAR, 8-4; Dustin Haas def. Codi Small, HAR, 8-6.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf def. Michael Nasser/Darnell Lefthand, HAR, 8-4; Wyatt Lindbloom/Nate Korb def. Jordel Yarlott/Sean Nasser, HAR, 8-1; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay def. Austin Yarlott/David Evans, HAR, 8-0.

Havre 6, Anaconda 1

Singles

Jeff Miller def. Carson Boynton, ANA, 8-4; Jake Sedahl def. Ben Schaeffer, ANA, 8-4; Eli Van Meel, ANA def. Jamie Lieberg, 8-6; Dustin Haas def. Nick Focken, ANA, 8-2.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf def. Gabe Blodnick/Collin Stetzner, ANA, 8-1; Wyatt Lindbloom/Nate Korb def. Andy Myotte/Josh Clark, ANA, 8-0; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay def. Joe Freze/Isaac Brito, ANA, 9-7 (7-5).

Havre 7, Lewistown 0

Singles

Jeff Miller def. Danyon Rice, LEW, 8-0; Jake Sedahl def. Kody Neil, LEW, 8-2; Jamie Lieberg def. Xavier Plouffe. LEW, 8-5; Dustin Haas def. Dalton Jensen, LEW, 8-0.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Noah Landgraf def. Bryson Behl/Johnny Ranney, LEW, 8-1; Wyatt Lindbloom/Nate Korb def. McKye McCarthy/Tripp Crouse, LEW, 9-7; Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay def. Tanner Mannion/Weston Church, LEW, 8-5.

GIRLS

Dillon 5, Havre 2

Singles

Tessa Sawyer, DIL def. Tatiana Ralph, 8-5; Kodi Ferris, DIL def. Paige Nelson, 8-1; Tea Gibson, DIL def. Meggan Smith, 8-0; Mariah McLure, DIL def. Ashley Hoffland, 8-4.

Doubles

Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel won by FFT, lost 8-2 in exhibition; Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner def. Nicole Hirtsch/Mikaela Traing, DIL, 8-6; Maggie Magee/Amber Sitz, DIL def. Megan Lindbloom/Alex Donaldson, 8-4.

Hardin 5, Havre 2

Singles

Tatiana Ralph def. Brittney Schaff, HAR, 8-4; Paige Nelson def. Imanni Kindness, HAR, 8-4; Sarah Welck, HAR def. Meggan Smith, 8-3; Guan Yin Stevens, HAR def. Ashley Hoffland, 8-0.

Doubles

Jaysun Albert/Savannah Green, HAR def. Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel, 8-4; Darrelyn Lefthand/Maddie Flamm, HAR def. Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner, 8-6; Cici Three Irons/Lisa Cai, HAR def. Megan Lindbloom/Alex Donaldson, 8-0.

Havre 7, Anaconda 0

Singles

Tatiana Ralph def. Felicity Kulaski, ANA, 8-4; Paige Nelson def. Tristen Nelson, ANA, 8-0; Meggan Smith won by fft; Ashley Hoffland won by fft.

Doubles

Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel def. Hailey Rassmussen/Jordyn Nelson, ANA, 8-1; Madison Huebsch/Rainey Stoner def. Raegann Johnson/Kaitlyn Focken, ANA, 8-3; Megan Lindbloom/Alex Donaldson won by fft.

Lewistown 4, Havre 3

Singles

Tatiana Ralph def. Abby Gatz, LEW, 8-0; Paige Nelson def. Taylor Woods, LEW, 8-1; Hayden Zilkowski, LEW def. Meggan Smith, 8-4; Ashley Hoffland def. Audrey Fry, LEW, 8-4.

Doubles

Ciara Backer/Beth Olson, LEW def. Reggie Bernard/Alara Vogel, 8-4; Kodi Myhre/Aubrey Godbey, LEW def. Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch, 8-4; Summer Elmore/Alexia Arndt, LEW def. Megan Lindbloom/Alex Donaldson, 8-4.