Blue Ponies more then ready for Northeast A tourney

The Havre High tennis teams have been preparing all season for the divisional tournament. So, even though the Blue Ponies are getting ready to play on short notice, HHS head coach George Ferguson is convinced his teams will be ready to go.

The first-ever Northeast A Divisional Tournament was set for Thursday and Friday in Lewistown, but because of impending bad weather, it has been moved up to today and Wednesday.

"It's short notice for sure," Ferguson said. "But, this isn't the first time we've had to do this. That's spring sports in Montana for you. We actually are only losing one full practice, and you don't love it, but it's what we have to do and our kids will be ready to go. They're well prepared."

As prepared as the Ponies are, this is also the most inexperienced divisional roster Ferguson has ever had. Of the 20 boys and girls heading to Lewistown, 16 of them have never played in the postseason, a combination of the 2020 season being canceled, and just being a younger team.

"We do have a lot of players who haven't been to this level yet," Ferguson said. "In a way, though, that's exciting. Divisionals is so much fun, it's intense, it's exciting, it's the toughest tournament in high school sports in my opinion, and I'm excited for all of our kids to finally experience that. And again, even though we have really young teams this year, they've been preparing for these two days since the first day of spring. So they're ready to go."

The Northeast A consists of Havre, Miles City, Glendive and Lewistown, and on the boys side, the Ponies are trying to hold on to a streak that dates back to the Central A, where Havre has won 11 straight divisional championships. However, Miles City and Glendive will present strong challenges, as the Ponies have just four players with postseason experience, and only junior Josh Currie and senior Mick Chagnon played in the same role at the 2019 Central A. Currie is Havre's No. 1 singles player and a top four seed this week, while Chagnon also played singles a sophomore. Senior Josh Warp finished second in singles as a sophomore, but now teams up with Trenton Maloughney, a junior who played singles in 2019. Warp and Maloughney are the No. 1 seed this week in Lewistown.

The rest of the Havre boys lineup includes No. 2 doubles Caleb Spangler and Theron Peterson, No. 3 doubles Collin Miller and Conner McKay, and No. 3 and No. 4 singles Carter Spangler and Jared Rosgaard.

"Our older guys are really going to have to lead us," Ferguson said. "This is the most inexperienced divisional lineup we've ever had. We're young, and we're going in with three doubles teams who never played together in the postseason before. But, that said, our boys team is very talented. We have very good players. We have been progressing just like I hoped we would this season, and I think they're peaking at the right time. It's going to be really close with Miles City, but at the end of the day, I have a lot of confidence in this group. They're a great group of guys and they're going to do very well this weekend."

While Havre's boys will be fighting for a 12th straight divisional championship, the Blue Pony girls are in a bit of a different situation, but it doesn't make it any less exciting. Havre doesn't have a single player who has been to the divisional tournament before, but Ferguson noted, that doesn't mean they're not ready.

"Our girls have come so far," he said. "From where they started, with so many first-year players, it's remarkable how far they've come. I'm so proud of them. This hasn't been easy. It's been really hard. This is a hard sport. But these 10 girls have hung in there, they've learned, they've grown so much, and they're going to be very tough at this tournament. And this experience is only going to make them better. I'm really proud of this team. And I'm excited to see how far they can go in Lewistown."

The doubles tandem of Talia Ralph and Grace Crantz lead the Pony girls. They should be a favorite this week, while Rayna Johnson, Kaylee Torgerson and Kate Hemmer are the top three singles players for the Ponies, and all three have really come on strong of late. Freshman Kylie Greenwood rounds out the Pony singles lineup, while the first-year teams of Chloe Bricker and Courtney Burchard and Kat Kaftan and Mylee Shennum round out the doubles lineup for the Ponies.

"The girls are doing great," Ferguson said. "They've worked hard really hard. They've already learned so much. I think they're really going to surprise people in this tournament. I'm really excited for them."

Exciting is the word Ferguson uses most often when talking about divisionals. And while the tournament is being rushed because of the foul weather headed to Montana this weekend, it doesn't change how much fun, and special this week truly is.

"This week is everything," Ferguson said. "It's the culmination of all the hard work, the days in the cold and wind and snow, it's the culmination of all the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the conditioning and the footwork, and everything we do. This is what it's all about. These next 48 hours are why we do what we do. So I'm excited for these 20 kids. They're going to do great things. They're going to represent out school and our program the right way, and at the end of the tournament, they will be successful. I'm already so proud of this group for all they've endured in what has been a very challenging season. And I'm so happy for them that they get this opportunity after not having it a year ago. So this is going to be an exciting two days and our kids are going to do great things."

The Northeast A starts today and runs through Wednesday evening weather permitting. The top four boys and girls singles players and top four boys and girls doubles teams advance to next week's Class A State Tournament in Billings.