Pony tennis teams excited to be home

The Havre High tennis teams don't get many opportunities to play on their home courts - at least on the weekends anyway. So, each year when the Havre Invitational rolls around, longtime Blue Pony head coach George Ferguson makes sure his teams make the most of it.

And this Saturday will be no different as the Blue Ponies host the 2016 Havre Invitational, which will be held at both the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts and the Montana State University-Northern tennis courts. It will be a special day for the Ponies, as seniors Jeff Miller, Jerod Boles, Rainey Stoner, Madison Huebsch, Alara Vogel, Reggie Bernard, Meggan Smith and Ashley Hoffland play in Havre for the final time.

But, it will also be a special day for the Blue Ponies because the meet should be highly competitive, as not only the usual suspects in Lewistown, Cut Bank and Conrad will be in attendance, but so, too, will another Central A rival of Havre's in the Belgrade Panthers.

"We're obviously very excited to host our tournament this weekend," Ferguson said. "We really look forward to this day every year because it's our only home meet, and our kids are very proud of our program and they want to show it off. And we have a great, great group of kids, so this is going to be a special day for them.

"We're also very excited about the field," he continued. "To add Belgrade to our tournament will be really good. The draws will be full, and it's something new, so we feel very fortunate that Belgrade could make the trip. It should be a very competitive tournament."

The Havre Invite will indeed be a tournament format, with draws for boys and girls singles and doubles at the Bill Vaughey courts, as well as draws for boys and girls singles at the MSU-N courts. And one thing Ferguson particurlarly likes about his own tourney is he's found a way over the years to make sure every member of his teams gets to participate in it.

"I just felt it was important for all of our kids, no matter if they were varsity or junior varsity to get the chance to play in their home tournament," Ferguson said. "That's always been something I have felt very strongly about. And now that we have the college courts back, that makes it much easier to do. We've got a tremendous group of freshmen and newcomers this year, and for many of them, this will be their first meet ever, so that's very exciting, and, the fact that we get every single one of our kids into our tournament, that's another reason why this is a big day for our program."

On the boys side, Havre is looking at having its full lineup for the first time this season. The Ponies are led in singles by standout Miller, as well as junior Dustin Haas, but HHS will also see the debut of senior Boles and Jake Sedahl in doubles, while Nate Korb and Trey Hanson, and Kennedy McKay and Trey Murphy round out HHS' doubles lineup. The rest of Havre's varsity lineup is currently manned by sophomore Brady Ophus at No. 3 singles and freshman Tommy Brown at No. 4.

The Havre girls varsity has been pretty complete already this season, and the Ponies are very strong in doubles with Vogel and Bernard at No. 1, Huebsch and Stoner at No. 2 and Megan Lindbloom and Alex Donaldson at No. 3. In singles, sophomore Paige Nelson has the No. 1 spot and is coming off a strong showing at last week's Conrad Invite, while seniors Meggan Smith and Ashley Hoffland, and sophomore Marca Herron round out the Ponies' lineup.

And, as exciting as the Blue Ponies are to be playing at home this weekend, there is another goal - and that's to continue improving. The Ponies' schedule takes a dramatic turn after the Havre Invitational, and Ferguson is hoping to see all of his players turn that corner with it.

"The competition will really get ratcheted up after our tournament," Ferguson noted. "And, we will have been at for four full weeks once the Havre Invite is over. So, we always look at our tournament as the first turning point in the season, and we want to use this weekend to make sure we're going in the right direction. So, the goal is still the same as it's been the last two weeks, and that's to do the things we've been doing in practice, to play our very best, and give our very best effort every minute we're on the court.

"But, no doubt we're very excited," he continued. "The Havre Invite is a fun day for our kids. We travel a lot with our schedule. We're always at someone else's courts. So this is one day we can call ours. It's our chance to let all of our family and friends and everyone in Havre see what we're all about. It's our chance to show off our program, and to show how the hard work these kids put in pays off. So it's going to be a great day for Blue Pony tennis."

The Havre Invitational will start at 8 a.m. at both the Bill Vaughey and MSU-Northern courts. The tournament is scheduled to last until dark.