Tennis Hardware Comes Home: Pony boys first, girls second in Central A

The Havre High trophy cases are full of Central A boys divisional tennis championships. And after a rare weekday Central A Divisional tournament in Lewistown, there’s one more coming to the halls of Havre High.

On Thursday, the Blue Pony boys wrapped up their seventh straight Central A crown by scoring 46 points to easily beat second-place Lewistown. It was Havre’s 24th divisional title in the last 25 seasons, proving once again that the Ponies are the true Central A powerhouse in tennis. Meanwhile, the HHS girls also had a strong week, scoring 32 points to finish second behind a powerful showing by Livingston, which scored 55 points on its way to its second straight divisional championship.

Individually, the Ponies also advanced seven players to this week’s Class A state tournament.

On the boys side, HHS senior Jeff Miller captured his fourth straight divisional championship in singles, while junior Dustin Haas placed fourth. The doubles tandem of Jerod Boles and Jake Sedahl also won the doubles title. In the girls field, the senior duo of Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch placed second in doubles, while sophomore Paige Nelson finished fourth in singles.

“The divisional tournament was tough this year,” said HHS head coach George Ferguson, who now has coached 19 divisional championship teams. “I give a lot of credit to the other teams in our conference because I thought the competition was really strong this year, with teams like Belgrade and Lewistown really improving from last season.

“So, the competition on both sides was tough,” Ferguson added. “And we had some kids run into some difficult situations, and some things that just didn’t quite go our way. And still, we had a lot of success. All 20 of our kids played their hearts out, they left it all on the court in Lewistown, and I couldn’t be prouder of all of them, because as a coach, that’s all you ask them to do, give their very best and every one of our kids did that every second they were on the court in Lewistown.”

Miller, who joined former Blue Pony star Kyle Baltrusch as the only four-time Central A champion, was flawless. In four matches, he dropped just six games, including a sparkling 6-3, 6-0 crushing of Lewistown’s Danyon Rice in the singles finale. Miller, who never so much as lost a set in a divisional tournament match, also broke Baltrusch’s divisional team points record on his way to the championship.

Meanwhile, Boles and Sedahl were great, too, including a straight-set win over Livingston’s Laden and Jakim Ricketts in the championship match. For Boles, it was his second straight divisional championship in doubles, as he teamed with Noah Landgraf to win last year, while Sedahl earned All-Conference honors for the second straight season.

“Our three big guns did what we thought they would do,” Ferguson said. “They performed great. Jeff was untouchable, as he has been for his entire career in this tournament. And Jake and Jerod played some of their best tennis of the season. The boys doubles draw was much tougher than expected, and those two were clearly a cut above everyone else. So I’m really proud of those three guys, because they were great on the court, and they showed tremendous leadership off it for the entire tournament.”

Haas is also making his first trip to state after a roller coaster of a tournament. He knocked off a No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals, then lost a heartbreaking three-setter to Rice in the semifinals, before bouncing back to win in the consolation semifinals, then losing another three-setter to Belgrade’s Jan Mann for third. Havre almost got the sophomore doubles team of Trey Murphy and Kennedy McKay through as well, but the young duo lost a tough match to Belgrade in the consolation semifinals, after knocking out teammates Nate Korb and Trey Hanson, who also scored three points for the Ponies.

“I was really proud of Dustin Haas,” Ferguson said. “He had a really tough road, and he not only got through it, he played great. He was really down after the semifinals, he wanted that match and to play Jeff in the championship so bad. But he really stood up and bounced back, and while he was disappointed with his finish, I see it as, he’s going to be a really tough out for some guys this week in Bozeman.

“Our boys team did a great job,” Ferguson added. “Our two and three doubles, they had tough draws and they battled as best they could. Really, we were a pretty inexperienced boys team as far as the divisional tournament goes, and those doubles teams, and Tommy Brown and Brady Ophus, those guys really battled, and they showed we’re going to be pretty tough to contend with next year. So, this divisional championship was a lot harder to get, and all 10 of those guys should be really proud of that trophy.”

The Havre girls were also after a trophy, and while Livingston proved to be too strong again, the Ponies had their share of success.

Stoner and Huebsch, who have played together the last three seasons, got over the hump by reaching the championship match before falling to a tough Livingston pair. And Nelson, just a sophomore, also reached the semifinals, before battling back to win a three-setter to punch her ticket to her first state tournament.

“So happy for Rainey and Madison,” Ferguson said. “Those girls have been at this thing a long time. And they got so, so close last year. So, getting to the state tournament was their goal from the first day we started practicing this season, and I was just so excited for them when they finally made that happen. They played really well.

“And I’m really proud of Paige Nelson,” he continued. “She was our number one as a sophomore, and that’s a lot of pressure. And she had a rough ride this weekend. She had some intense and difficult matches, but she fought hard and got through them, and it’s always exciting to see a young player get to the state tournament. Just very proud of her.”

Of course, the divisional tourney is never perfect, and for some of the HHS girls, it was heartbreaking. The senior doubles team of Reggie Bernard and Alara Vogel had high hopes coming in, but fell one win short of reaching the state tourney, while senior Meggan Smith was also a state tourney hopeful, but things just didn’t go her way in Lewistown either. On the other side, the sophomore doubles team of Alex Donaldson and Megan Lindbloom scored big points for the Ponies, while freshman Kadyn Acor won a first-round match in her first trip to the divisional tournament.

“Divisionals is so up and down emotionally, and it really was that way for our girls team,” Ferguson said. “You have these great highs, like with the girls who made it to state, and when you see what Kadyn and Alex and Megan and even Marca (Herron) did as young players. But, then you’re also crushed to see it not work out for our other three seniors. All three of those girls are such great players and great kids, and it hurts to see their career’s end like that. As a coach, that’s what makes the divisional tournament so bitter sweet.

“But I’ll say this about our entire girls team,” Ferguson said. “I’m very proud of them. Things didn’t go the way we planned going into the tournament, and that’s tennis. But I still believe we have the best girls tennis team in the division and I wouldn’t trade my team for anybody. They have been an amazing group to coach, and I’m so proud of them.”

And while Lewistown was the end of the line for 13 Blue Ponies, there’s more work to do. The seven Ponies who advanced will now play in the Class A state tournament Thursday in Bozeman and Friday in Livingston.

“It’s exciting,” Ferguson said. “This is what these kids dream of. This is what they work so hard for and why we challenge them the way they do. This is their chance to go to state and make memories that will last forever. So it’s going to be an exciting week and a lot of fun for us.”

Central A Tennis

At Lewistown

BOYS

Team Scores

Havre 46, Lewistown 32, Belgrade 24, Livingston 22

Singles

Championship: Jeff Miller, Havre, def. Danyon Rice, Lewistown, 6-3, 6-0; Third place: Jan Mann, Belgrade, def. Dustin Haas, Havre, 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.

Doubles

Championship: Boles/Sedahl, Havre, def. Ricketts/Ricketts, Livingston, 6-3, 6-4; Third place: Layman/Hamilton, Belgrade, def. McCarthy/Neill, Lewistown, 5-7, 6-3, 11-9.

Havre High Results

Jeff Miller (Champion)

1st rd – def. Johnny Raney, LEW, 6-0, 6-2; QF – def. Chad Landers, LEW, 6-0, 6-0; SF def. Jeff Fourneir, BEL, 6-1, 6-0; Final – def. Danyon Rice, LEW, 6-3, 6-0.

Dustin Haas (4th Place)

1st rd – def. Dalton Jensen, LEW, 6-0, 6-2; QF – def. David Noble, LIV, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3; SF – lost to Rice, LEW, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; L/O – def. Raney, LEW (inj def.); Consolation – lost to Jan Mann, BEL, 6-2, 3-6, (10-7).

Tommy Brown

1st rd – lost to Mann, BEL, 6-2, 6-1; L/O – lost to Mitch Froelich, LIV, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).

Brady Ophus

1st rd – lost to Fourneir, BEL, 6-2, 6-0; L/O – lost to Conner McCauley, BEL, 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles

Jerod Boles/Jake Sedahl (Champion)

QF – def. Miller/Phillips, LEW, 6-1, 6-0; SF – def. Layman/Hamilton, BEL, 66-3, 6-2; Final – def. Ricketts/Ricketts, LIV, 6-3, 6-4.

Trey Murphy/Kennedy McKay

1st rd – def. O'Leary/Nino, BEL, 6-2, 6-1; QF – lost to McCarthy/Neill, LEW, 6-3, 6-3; L/O – def. Monlux/Bell, BEL, 6-1, 6-2; L/O def. Korb/Hanson, HAV, 6-3, 6-1; L/O lost to Layman/Hamilton, BEL, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Nate Korb/Trey Hanson

1st rd – def. Monlux/Bell, BEL, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; QF – lost to Ricketts/Ricketts, LIV, 6-0, 6-2; L/O – def. O'Leary/Nino, BEL, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; L/O – lost to Murphy/McKay, HAV, 6-3, 6-1.

GIRLS

Team Scores

Livingston 55, Havre 32, Lewistown 20, Belgrade 18

Singles

Championship: Emilee Coleman, Livingston, def. Eliza Boyd, Livingston, 6-0, 6-0; Third place: Taylor Woods, Lewistown def. Paige Nelson, Havre, 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles

Championship: Lane/Badten, Livingston, def. Stoner/Huebsch, Havre, 6-4, 6-1; Third place: Reddick/Gilbertson, Belgrade, def. Myhre/Godbey, Lewistown, 7-5, 6-3.

Havre High Results

Singles

Paige Nelson (4th Place)

1st rd – def. Hayden Ziolkowski, BEL, 6-1, 6-1; QF – def. Kadyn Acor, HAV, 6-0, 6-1; SF – lost to Eliza Boyd, LIV, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; L/O – def. Abby Gatz, LEW, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Consolation – lost to Taylor Woods, LEW, 6-4, 7-5.

Meggan Smith

1st rd – def. Eliza McLaughlin, BEL, 6-1, 6-4; QF – lost to Kiah Hohenstein, BEL, 6-3, 6-2; L/O – lost to Gatz, LEW, 6-3, 6-1.

Marca Herron

1st rd – lost to Emilee Coleman, LIV, 6-0, 6-0; L/O – lost to Gatz, LEW, 6-2, 6-2.

Kadyn Acor

1st rd – def. Grace Davis, BEL, 6-3, 6-4; QF – lost to Nelson, HAV, 6-1, 6-0; L/O – lost to Taylor Walker, LIV, 6-0, 6-4.

Doubles

Rainey Stoner/Madison Huebsch (2nd Place)

QF – def. Knerr/Haines, LIV, 6-0, 6-2; SF – def. Mhyre/Godbey, LEW, 6-2, 6-1; Final – lost to Lane/Badten, LIV, 6-4, 6-1.

Alara Vogel/Reggie Bernard

1st rd – def. Elmore/Arndt, LEW, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; QF – lost to Lane/Badten, LIV, 6-2, 6-2; L/O – def. Southworth/Fry, LEW, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2; L/O – def. Donaldson/Lindbloom, HAV 7-6 (7-3), 6-4; L/O – lost to Myhre/Godbey, LEW, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Megan Lindbloom/Alex Donaldson

1st rd – def. Southworth/Fry, LEW, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; QF – lost to Reddick/Gilbertson, 7-5, 6-1; L/O – def. Elmore/Arndt, LEW, 6-3, 7-5; L/O – lost to Vogel/Bernard, HAV, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.