Havre High netters win big in Billings

For the first time in more than 30 years, the Havre High boys and girls tennis teams didn’t start the month of May in Helena. As it turns out though, the schedule change may have been exactly what the Blue Ponies needed.

With the Helena Invitational no longer being played, Havre traveled to Billings Friday and Saturday for the Mayfair Invitational, hosted by Billings Central. There, the Ponies dueled all Class A opponents, and this late in the season, head coach George Ferguson said, the change turned out to be a blessing for his squads.

“It was a great trip,” Ferguson said. “It was great tennis over two days. I think Billings was actually a perfect situation for where we are in the season, and what we needed at this point. We played five matches, where, in Helena, a lot of our kids would have gotten no more than two. It was a great situation for us, and our kids took full advantage of it. It was lot of fun, and we’re very grateful to Billings Central for getting us involved in it.”

Fun was also the word Ferguson used to describe watching his teams in Billings.

The Havre girls dropped just one match over the weekend, and that was to Hardin on Friday evening. Other than that, the Ponies beat Glendive 4-2 on Friday, Cody, Wyoming 5-1 and Billings Central 4-2 Saturday morning before finishing with a 4-2 win over Central A rival Belgrade on Saturday afternoon.

And every girl in the lineup played well, according to Ferguson.

In doubles, Marcee Murphy and Devyn Solomon won three straight matches on Saturday at No. 1, Teagan Fee and Tiffany Ralph went 3-2, and the pairings of Kassidy Compton and Cassidy Acor and Tamera O’Leary and Sylvia Wilting went a combined 7-2 over the course of two days. Acor and Brynn Nault also teamed up to win against Belgrade Saturday, while senior singles standout McKenzie Tommerup scored key wins over Glendive, Hardin and Cody at No. 1 singles.

“Our girls have really been clicking the last few weeks,” Ferguson said. “And that trend continued in Billings. We didn’t just win a lot of duals and a lot of matches, we did so against really good competition, and on top of that, we won a lot of really close matches. And those matches we didn’t win, we still played really well, and we ended up in a lot of battles that also could of gone our way. And that’s what I wanted to see from our girls this weekend, I just wanted to see them play well, and see how they would do in those really close, divisional-type matches, and they did really well. They definitely took the steps forward we were hoping they would this weekend, and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Havre’s boys also took some big steps forward in Billings. After a close loss to Glendive to open the tournament Friday, Havre tied defending state champion Hardin 3-3, tied a stellar team from Cody 3-3 Saturday morning, then finished the weekend by trouncing Central 4-2 and Belgrade 5-1.

The strong doubles play by Jake Huston and Reese Bulkley and Tommy Brown and Tyrel Kjersem led the way for the Ponies, as they went a combined 10-0. But seniors Jack Johnsrud and Josiah Harrison had their best weekend of the season as well, while Josh Warp went 3-2 at No. 1 singles, including scoring a key win over Belgrade’s top singles player, and Trenton Maloughney also played well, moving up to No. 2 singles this weekend.

“Similar to the girls, our boys were in a lot of battles, or, they just flat-out dominated their matches,” Ferguson said. “Right away against Glendive, Josh and Trenton were in really close matches against really good players, and while they didn’t quite win those, it kind of set the tone for the weekend for our boys, that we came to play and we were on top of our game. And you can see by the results, as a team, we just kept getting better and better as the weekend went along, and the way we finished against Belgrade, who we had yet to play this season, that was very telling. I thought

all of our boys played their hearts out, and were very focused and determined, and they did it against really good competition, so it was a big weekend for those guys and I’m proud of them.”

Proud is something Ferguson usually always is when talking about his tennis teams, but, with the Central A tournament so close now, he felt even stronger about the way his teams performed in Billings.

“We really challenged the kids before we went to Billiings,” Ferguson said. “We pushed them to just be better, physically and mentally, and there’s no question they did that. The way we finished the weekend against Belgrade, the way we battled in so many third-set tiebreakers, and just the quality of tennis we played, our kids exceeded the goals we set for them this weekend, and I couldn’t be more happy, and more proud of them for that. They absolutely were awesome in Billings. They really had a great weekend, and it’s going to really help them as we move forward.”

Moving forward, the Ponies wrap up the regular season with the highly-important Lewistown Invitational Saturday. Then, it’s right back to Lewistown for the Central A next Thursday and Friday.

Mayfair Invitational

In Billings

BOYS

Glendive 4, Havre 2

Singles

Carney, GLE def. Warp, HAV, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8; Sickler, GLE def. Maloughney, HAV, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 12-10.

Doubles

Huston/Bulkley, HAV def. Scarpholt/Reinhart, GLE, 6-2, 7-6 (3); Brown/Kjersem, HAV def. Jentey/Crockett, GLE, 6-3, 6-4; Heilman/Sherman, GLE def. Johnsrud/Harrison, HAV, 7-6 (8), 6-3; Jacobsen/Hajek, GLE def. Powell/Peterson, HAV, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.

Havre 3, Hardin 3

Singles

Warp, HAV def. Yarlott, HAR, 6-3, 6-3; Mason, HAR def. Maloughney, HAV, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles

Bulkley/Huston, HAV def. Noteboom/Old Crow, HAR, 6-3, 6-3; Brown/Kjersem, HAV def. Lopez/Swisse, HAR, 6-4, 6-2; Lefthand/Elk Shoulder, HAR def. Johnsrud/Harrison, HAV, 4-6, 6-4, 10-1; Chavez/Dawes, HAR def. Powell/South, HAV, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 10-5.

Havre 3, Cody 3

Singles

Champlin, COD def. Warp, HAV, 6-4, 6-2; DeManoulee, COD def. Maloughney, HAV, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles

Bulkley/Huston, HAV def. Romorell/Stewart, COD, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7; Brown/Kjersem, HAV def. Vikhart/Smith, COD, 6-2, 6-3; Harrison/Johnsrud, HAV def. Townsend/Arnold, COD, 7-6 (5), 6-3; Sankey/Dollord, COD def. Powell/Peterson, HAV, 7-5, 4-6, 10-4.

Havre 4, Billings Central 2

Singles

Warp, HAV def. McIntyre, BC, 6-2, 6-3; Coleman, BC def. Maloughney, HAV, 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.

Doubles

Bulkley/Huston, HAV def. Parkan/Loring, BC, 6-3, 6-4; Brown/Kjersem, HAV def. Berry/Adkins, BC, 6-2, 6-2; Johnsrud/Harrison, HAV def. Blackenbush/Sheiber, BC, 6-4, 6-2; Gaudreau/Snyder, BC def. South/Powell, HAV, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Havre 5, Belgrade 1

Singles

Warp, HAV def. Jackson Thorn, BEL, 7-5, 6-2; Maloughney,HAV def. Keltz, BEL, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles

Bulkley/Huston, HAV def. Brooks/Hargrove, BEL, 6-2, 6-2; Brown/Kjersem, HAV def. Mattson/Gannon, BEL, 6-2, 6-2; Johnsrud/Harrison, HAV def. McCauley/Foster, BEL, 6-2, 6-2; Thorn/Hoppe, BEL def. Peterson/South, HAV, 6-3, 6-4.

GIRLS

Havre 4, Glendive 2

Singles

Tommerup, HAV def. Undem, GLE, 6-1, 6-2; Carney, GLE def. Nault, HAV, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles

Marx/Mires, GLE def. Murphy/Solomon, HAV, 7-6 (4), 7-5; Fee/Ralph, HAV def. Kaufman/Fornall, GLE, 5-7, 7-5, 10-8; Acor/Compton, HAV def. Litwiller/Maher, GLE, 7-5, 6-2; Wilting/O'Leary, HAV def. Frank/Jones, GLE, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.

Hardin 5, Havre 1

Singles

Tommerup, HAV def. Flamm, HAR, 6-1, 7-6 (4); Green, HAR def. Nault, HAV, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles

Murdock/Apirchatwiat, HAR def. Murphy/Solomon, HAV, 6-2, 7-5; ReisigLind, HAR def. Fee/Ralph, HAV, 6-1, 6-1; Cummins/Don't Mix, HAR def. Acor/Compton, HAV, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 10-8; Caden/Elizabeth, HAR def. Wlting/O'Leary, HAV, 6-1, 3-6, 10-4.

Havre 5, Cody 1

Singles

Tommerup, HAV def. Wambeke, COD, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4; Larsen, COD def. Nault, HAV, 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles

Murphy/Solomon, HAV def. Brenner/Croffs, COD, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4; Fee/Ralph, HAV, Morlaes/Mathan, COD, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 10-4; Acor/Compton, HAV def. Alexander/Johnson, COD, 6-2, 6-3; O'Leary/Wilting, HAV def. Johnson/Griebel, COD, 6-2, 6-2.

Havre 4, Billings Central 2

Singles

Putnam, BC def. Tommerup, HAV, 6-3, 6-2; Nelson, BC def. Nault, HAV, 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles

Murphy/Solomon, HAV def. Pankratz/Morton, BC, 6-2, 7-6 (3); Fee/Ralph, HAV def. Souza/Sass, BC, 6-4, 2-6, 10-5; Acor/Compton, HAV def. Byorth/Reck, BC, 6-4, 6-3; Wlting/O'Leary, HAV def. Jennings/Powers, BC, 6-4, 7-4.

Havre 4, Belgrade 2

Singles

Stokke, BEL def. Tommerup, HAV, 7-5, 6-3; Compton, HAV def. Dreyer, BEL, 3-6, 6-4, 10-4.

Doubles

Murphy/Solomon, HAV def. Cady/Gilbertson, BEL, 6-3, 6-3; Beauchaine/Chandler, BEL def. Fee/Ralph, HAV, 7-5, 6-3; Wilting/O'Leary, HAV def. Wagner/Thomas, BEL, 6-4, 6-3; Acor/Nault, HAV def. McMahon/Collins, BEL, 6-4, 6-3.