Blue Ponies look to peak in Lewistown

The Havre High tennis teams won’t play at the Central A Divisional Tournament for another six days. But make no mistake, the importance of the postseason is already upon the Blue Ponies.

Havre will travel to Lewistown Saturday for the annual Lewistown Invitational, and for a myriad of reasons, longtime Blue Pony head coach George Ferguson looks at the annual regular season finale as the actual start of the postseason.

“There are a bunch of reasons why this weekend is so big for us,” Ferguson said. “Obviously, head-to-head duals against our divisional opponents will be used to seed the divisional tournament, so that’s a big one. But, this year, two big reasons why Saturday is so crucial for us is, one, we have missed a bunch of practice because of all this rain. I know a lot of people like the moisture, but it’s really killed the momentum we built last weekend in Helena. So, playing five matches on Saturday will be huge for getting that momentum back. And lastly, we need to be peaking by Saturday night. That’s our goal every year, and it’s our goal again this year.

“So, this is a huge weekend for us, and we really need to play our very best,” he continued. “For a lot of reasons.”

The Ponies will get ample opportunities to do that too. Havre will play Dillon, Hardin, Butte Central, Belgrade and Lewistown all in one day Saturday, and Ferguson said, that many matches is sorely needed right now.

“It’s been a weird year,” Ferguson said. “We haven’t had this many practices rained out in a long time. We’re used to struggling with weather on Friday’s and Saturday’s, but this year, we’ve missed a ton of Monday’s and Tuesday’s, so that’s been frustrating. So now, these five matches are going to go a long way towards determining how ready we will be to play at the divisional tournament.”

And, Havre will do everything it can to simulate a divisional atmosphere this weekend, especially since the Ponies’ divisional lineups are set.

On the boys side, Havre will be led by senior Jeff Miller at No. 1 singles, and Jerod Boles and Jake Sedahl at No. 1 doubles. Also in singles, junior Dustin Haas is No. 2, freshman Tommy Brown is No. 3 and sophomore Brady Ophus is No. 4. In doubles, the teams of Kennedy McKay and Trey Murphy and Nate Korb and Trey Hanson are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

On the girls side, Havre’s veteran doubles lineup leads the way. Seniors Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch are No. 1, while fellow seniors Reggie Bernard and Alara Vogel are No. 2, and sophomores Megan Lindbloom and Alex Donaldson are No. 3. In singles, sophomore Paige Nelson is No. 1, senior Meggan Smith is No. 2, Marca Herron is No. 3, and freshman Kadyn Acor will man the No. 4 spot.

"Both our boys and girls teams have played some really good tennis as of late," Ferguson said. "We have a really good mix of veterans who have been here before, and some young kids getting their first taste of what this time of year is like. So that's exciting.

“Our lineups are set,” Ferguson said. “We have played a great schedule this year. Now, it’s a matter of going out on the court and doing what we’ve been working towards all season. We have been on the right track. Our kids have worked very hard. I feel like we got better week to week, and that’s our game plan every season. So, this weekend will be a great barometer for what we’re going to look like come next Thursday and Friday when we’re back in Lewistown for divisionals. This Saturday where tell us a lot about ourselves, and hopefully our kids continue to go in the direction they’ve been going. I’m confident they will and I’m excited for what lies ahead.”

The Ponies will start at 9:30 a.m. at the Lewistown Invite Saturday and play all day. Havre will return to Lewistown for next Thursday and Friday’s Central A Divisional.