Blue Pony netters face new challengers

The Havre High tennis teams had to suffer through their first cancellation of the 2016 season earlier this week. Now, however, the Blue Ponies will hopefully be rewarded with something new and exciting.

After missing out on duals against Butte Central, Great Falls High and CMR that were canceled Tuesday, the Ponies will turn their focus to the Elks Invitational Friday and Saturday in Glendive. The Elks Invite is new on Havre’s schedule, after the Great Falls Invitational was not held this season.

And it has head coach George Ferguson very intrigued and very excited.

“This is a tournament I’ve really been looking forward too since we added it,” Ferguson said. “It might be a long trip, but all of our trips are long anyway. This tournament will give us the opportunity to go head-to-head with all of the Eastern A schools, and we’ll even get to play Cody (Wyoming). So it’s going to be a really nice change for us, and we’ll see some very good competition, and we really need that right now.”

The Ponies have already seen two Eastern A powers in Hardin and Billings Central, and Havre will again dual those two schools Saturday. But, HHS will also play Miles City, Glendive and Cody Friday, and every dual will be fun and crucial to Havre’s development, especially with the Central A Divisional tournament a mere two weeks away.

“Hardin and Billings Central are both strong,” Ferguson said. “And Glendive is always tough in both boys and girls. So, we’re expecting some very good matches, and that’s good for us because with the way the weather has been, we’re behind now, and we need to catch up. This weekend is going to be really beneficial for us, so hopefully the weather decides to cooperate, because we really need those matches, and we’re looking forward to them.”

Havre may be behind a little with some missed practices and Tuesday’s cancellation, but the Ponies are still taking some strong teams to Glendive.

The HHS boys are led by Jeff Miller in singles and Jerod Boles and Jake Sedahl in doubles, all of whom are undefeated so far this season. Dustin Haas is also having a strong season at the No. 2 singles spot, while Brady Ophus and Tommy Brown are improving immensely, according to Ferguson, as are his No. 2 doubles team of Nate Korb and Trey Hanson and No. 3 team of Kennedy McKay and Trey Murphy.

“Our boys were playing pretty well before this weather struck,” Ferguson said. “Jeff and Jerod and Jake are having good seasons, and they’ll get some tough challenges this weekend. I really like what our two and three doubles did last weekend in Lewistown, too. They are giving us the depth we need. So our boys team is coming along, but after seeing Billings Central last weekend, we know we still have a lot of work to do.”

Havre’s girls also performed well last weekend in Lewistown, and the Ponies will look to continue that in Glendive. Havre’s senior doubles teams of Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch and Alara Vogel and Reggie Bernard are looking very strong, while Ferguson particularly likes the development of his younger doubles players in Alex Donaldson, Megan Lindbloom and Baylee Miller. In singles, senior Meggan Smith is also coming on strong, while sophomore Paige Nelson, senior Ashley Hofland and sophomore Marca Herron have all been making big strides, too.

“I felt like our girls team really turned a corner last weekend in Lewistown,” Ferguson said. “Now, we have to build on that. We can’t take a step back. Our girls are really starting to come into their own, throughout our lineup, and we just need to continue that with this weekend’s matches.”

And, with the divisional tournament drawing ever closer, Ferguson added that now is a critical time for his Ponies, and that this weekend’s five duals in Glendive will tell a lot about where his teams are at heading into the postseason.

“Glendive will be another great measuring stick for us,” Ferguson said. “Our kids have worked hard this season, but now is the time when they need to go even harder. I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished so far, but this weekend, we need to take more steps forward. All of our goals are still ahead of us, but this tournament will go a long way in helping us reach our goals, and we’re looking forward to going down there and competing against all of those good Eastern A teams.”

Havre will play three times Friday and twice Saturday in Glendive. The Ponies will also head to the Helena Invitational next weekend, before wrapping up the regular season with the Lewistown Invitational May 13.