Blue Pony netters ready for divisonals after long road trip

By Havre Daily Staff

The Havre High tennis teams made their longest trip of the season in order to get ready for the upcoming Northeast A Divisional Tournament. The Blue Ponies trekked to Lewistown Friday for the Fergus Invite, then went on to Miles City to play in the Miles City Invite Saturday.

And while it was a long trip, and the Ponies played in more hot weather, HHS head coach George Ferguson said, it was exactly what his teams needed.

"The goal was to play our best tennis of the season, win or lose," Ferguson said. "At times, we did that. We saw a lot of improvement. But I think, just as importantly, a trip like that helps our team bond and helps us overcome adversity, and we also needed that in order to get ready for divisionals. So, it was a good trip, and I'm proud of the kids."

The Havre boys beat Billings Central 4-3 and fell to Hardin 4-3 Friday with Josh Currie going 2-0 in singles. Saturday, the HHS boys blanked Lewistown 7-0, before falling to Miles City 5-2. Josh Warp and Trenton Maloughney went 2-0 in doubles and will be the No. 1 seed at the Northeast A.

"Our boys team showed a lot this weekend," Ferguson said. "They took their game up a notch, win or lose. They're peaking, just like we hoped they would."

The Pony girls lost to Hardin and Central Friday, but bounced back to beat Lewistown 6-1 before falling to Miles City Saturday. The top doubles team of Grace Crantz and Talia Ralph went 3-1 over the weekend to pace the young Pony girls.

"Again, I thought our girls team took some big steps forward," Ferguson said. "They've come so far since they started. And it shows every time they step on the court. They're doing great. And they're going to be very tough this week."

And this week is now reality. The Northeast A will be played in Lewistown and may be moved up due to impending bad weather set to hit the area later this week. But, no matter when and where the Ponies play, Ferguson said he's just excited to get there and see how his teams do.

"We're ready," Ferguson said. "The kids have done everything we've asked them to do to get to this point. And this last road trip was a big part of that. I felt good about where we're at when we got on the bus to come home from Miles City Saturday night. I'm proud of these teams, and I'm excited to take them to the divisional tournament. It's going to be a lot of fun and I know they'll do really well."