DOUBLES DYNASTY

When it comes to sports, people tend to use the word dynasty a little too loosely. But with all the divisional and state championships won by the Havre High boys tennis teams in doubles, the word dynasty might just be appropriate.

Dating back to 2002, Havre High has dominated Class A boys tennis in doubles. In the previous 17 state tournaments, Blue Pony teams have won the state championship seven times in addition to playing for the state championship a total of 10 times, including both of the past two seasons.

Two years ago, Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb came close to winning the Pony boys' seventh state championship in doubles since 2002, but after they fell short, their teammates, Kennedy McKay and Trey Murphy, reached the championship match and after falling behind 0-2, they rallied to win the fifth Class A doubles title for HHS under head coach George Ferguson.

"I grew up a singles player, it's all I knew really, but I loved watching doubles, and always envied those who played it, "Ferguson said. "And when I started coaching, Havre had already established itself as a very strong program in doubles, so I wanted to make sure we continued that, so I, along with all of the great assistant coaches I've had, worked really hard to make sure we continued to work on and teach kids how to play doubles, and I think that's paid off over the years."

One staple of any good dynasty is longevity and when it comes to that, Pony tennis has it covered. For the past two decades, not only has Havre tennis dominated the doubles bracket at state, it has essentially owned it at the Central A Divisional tournament, winning 16 of the last 18 titles. The last three championship matches have been all-Havre finals and in the past seven seasons, HHS has sent at least two doubles teams to state.

"Another reason I've always felt doubles is so important is, in the team aspect of high school tennis, if you want to be successful, you have to be balanced," Ferguson said. " Throughout the years, Havre has had some of the greatest singles players in Class A history, but, in the team format, you need both, and so, as we started to build a strong tradition in doubles as well, you see the program started to achieve a lot more success in the team competition at divisionals and state."

The run under Ferguson began back in 2004, when the team of Marc Mariani and Gary Wagner, two of the greatest athletes in Havre High history, won the first of back-to-back doubles titles. In 2006, Billy Wagner, Gary's younger brother, teamed up with John Christian to make it three in a row and by the time the duo of Kyle Miller and Mason Sheppard won state in 2009, it was four championships in six years.

While individual talent played a key part in those championships, so did the development of all those players and the success of the program as a whole, has pushed each player and each set of doubles partners to new heights.

"Another big thing that's happened in my 18 years is, kids are helping me out with the doubles tradition," Ferguson said. "Marc and Gary got the torch passed to them, and they passed the torch on, and it's really continued. I think you see that happening with our current doubles teams. Trey and Kennedy got the torch passed to them from Jake Sedahl and Nate Korb, and last year, even though they were focused on winning a state championship, they also did such a great job of helping Jake and Reese and Tyrel, and when Tommy was playing doubles his sophomore year, Nate and Jake helped him out. So kids are doing such a great job of helping the younger teams learn and grow, and obviously, that has helped me out a ton. It's helped us stay really strong in doubles, and it's become a great tradition in our program."

Tommy Brown, who pairs with Tyrel Kjersem, a pair fresh off a Central A championship, also talked about how past players and their success have influenced him.

"I always tell those guys," Brown said of his mentors like Murphy and McKay. "We wouldn't be there without them. I learned a lot from them and they all made me better. Seeing them up at that podium gives us faith that we can follow in their footsteps."

Kjersem, who is playing together with Brown for the first time this season, agreed.

"It just gives us the motivation to keep working hard in practice and getting better every day," Kjersem said. "Seeing those other guys do it makes us believe that we can do it too."

This season, when Brown and Kjsersem took on Jake Huston and Reese Bulkley for the Central A title, it was the seventh time since 2004 that divisionals featured an all-Ponies final. It was also the third straight year.

"That gave us a lot of confidence and showed that our hard work has been worth it," Kjsersem said. "Everything that we are doing is paying off."

While Bulkley and Huston are in their third season playing doubles together, for Brown and Kjersem, this season is their first. But so far, the relationship has proven to be a fruitful one.

"I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else," Brown said. "There have been ups and downs, but a lot more ups. We are going into this tournament looking to win it."

Huston and Bulkley are also hoping to reach the podium at the state tournament, but for them, getting to state was a big accomplishment after missing out the past two seasons.

"Since we just missed last year, our whole goal was to get to state," Huston said. "That was our first goal. Now we want to do as much damage as we can."

The two players, who have grown together over the past three seasons, share similar sentiments heading into the biggest tournament of their high school tennis careers.

"We just plan to play hard and make it as far as we can," Bulkley said. "Hopefully, we can win it and maybe win the team title."

Whether or not either Havre team wins the doubles title Friday in Kalispell, you can expect the Ponies doubles dynasty to continue. Brown is a senior, but Kjersem will be back next season and with the team of Huston and Bulkley set to pair up for a fourth-straight season, it looks like doubles success in Class A will continue to run through Havre.

"You have to find the right kids for it," Ferguson said. "Not everyone is comfortable or cut out to play singles, and the same goes for doubles. So finding the right two individuals is crucial, and the next step is, they have to have some chemistry. They don't have to be best friends, or brothers or anything like that, but, they need to have a great partnership on the court and during the season, and we've been fortunate to find a lot of the kids who have ended up working really well together, and that's led to a lot of success in doubles."

The Ponies will look to continue that success Thursday and Friday in Kalispell at the Class A state tournament.