Weather forces first canceled Havre tennis invite in two decades

There have been a lot of firsts in spring sports so far this season, and none of them have been good. And for the Havre High tennis teams, this weekend will bring another first.

The Blue Ponies were set to host their annual Havre Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts, with Belgrade, Hardin, Lewistown, Cut Bank and Conrad in attendance. But with the forecast once again predicting cold and more snow, the tournament has been called off.

"It's the first time I've ever had to cancel our invitational in my 17 years," Blue Pony head coach George Ferguson said. "It's pretty heartbreaking because, for us, it's our only one of the year. It's the only chance for every single one of our players to compete on our home courts. It's a day that our kids look forward too all year, and one they take a lot of pride in. So to have to call it off, it hurts, and I especially hurt for our kids."

The Havre Invite is indeed a special day for the Ponies, and one that has been played for many, many years. The last time the tournament was officially cancelled was the 1998 season. And while Havre's four courts are snow free, thanks to the hard work of the Blue Pony tennis teams, the college courts, which are needed to conduct the tournament, as well as the surrounding areas around both venues are far from snow free. And then there's the weekend forecast, which calls for more precitiptation, and high temperatures only in the 20s.

"It just wasn't going to be doable," Ferguson said. "The forecast is anything but tennis weather, and with Belgrade and Hardin making a two-day trip out of it, we had to make the decision to not play. This spring is just not cooperating at all, and it wasn't going to cooperate with our home meet either."

Ferguson said that, aside from losing a ton of valuable matches against strong competition, another downer is that Friday, seniors Trey Murphy, Kennedy McKay, Brady Ophus, Vander Swensen, Kendall Holden, Paige Nelson, Alex Donaldson, Katie Donaldson, Megan Lindbloom and Baylee Miller were going to be honored. Havre does have a dual with Class C Great Falls Central scheduled for April 17, and the seniors will hopefully be honored then. But, Ferguson noted that, there's nothing like playing in your last Havre Invite.

"I feel just terrible for the seniors," Ferguson said. "They won't get to have their home tournament in their last year of playing tennis at Havre High. That's really disappointing. The Havre Invite is a really big deal to these kids, and all of our seniors have given us so much over the last four years. I'm so proud to coach every one of those kids, so I hurt for them that they don't get to play their last Havre Invite."

While losing the Havre Invite will be tough on the Blue Ponies, all is not lost. Havre will travel to Cut Bank Saturday instead, to dual the Wolves on their two indoor tennis courts at the Willie DeGroot Gymnasium.

"Can't say enough thank-you's to coach Jim Gregg in Cut Bank," Ferguson said. "He and I came up with a plan to get together if things didn't work out in Havre. Coach Gregg has done so much for high school tennis in this state, and for him to set that up with us, we really appreciate that."

Playing in Cut Bank is a big deal for the Ponies, because it's matches first and foremost, and that's something Ferguson said his teams sorley need right now.

Havre's varsity has competed just once this season, all the way back on March 24, and the junior varsity competed at last week's Conrad Invitational. And, with so much crazy weather still to come this spring, playing matches in Cut bank on Saturday will be a big help to the Ponies' progress.

"We, like most tennis teams around the state, are pretty far behind," Ferguson said. "And the weather is just not going to let up anytime soon. So, even getting two matches this weekend in Cut Bank will be huge for us. It will give us a chance to compete and to get better, and right now, that's all we're trying to do. We're just trying to get better, and while the weather every day is not making it easy, playing in Cut Bank Saturday will be a big help.

"So we'll be excited for the opportunity," he continued. "We'll go down there and play our very best, and it will make us better in the long run. It really hurts to cancel the Havre Invitational. Again, I feel terrible for our kids. But we are still going to play tennis matches this weekend, and that's the most important thing for us right now."

Havre will play against Cut Bank all day Saturday, and the Ponies are scheduled to return to Cut Bank next Friday and Saturday for the Class A Duals.