Havre High netters keep getting better

HDN Staff

After an exciting home dual against the Polson Pirates, it's right back to the road for the Havre High tennis teams.

The Blue Ponies are playing today and Saturday at the Mayfair Invitational hosted by Billings Central, and HHS head coach George Ferguson says, it's a critical weekend for his teams.

"Our goal is just, get better every match," Ferguson said. "We've got five chances to do that this weekend. And with divisionals getting closer, time is now not really on our side. This is the final stretch, and we need to be making huge strides every time we play. I thought we did that against Polson, and I think our kids are ready to do that again this weekend."

The Ponies will play Glendive and Hardin today at various locations in Billings, followed by matches against Livingston, Billings Central and Sheridan, Wyoming, Saturday. Once again, weather will be front and center, but Ferguson said weather and travel have really helped his teams continue to strengthen mentally.

"It's been a grind with all of the bad weather, and the scheduling changes, and the kids have been working so hard because they've missed so much time in school, which is never a good thing. But they've all handled it so well. I'm really proud of our kids and all they've had to deal with this season. And we're going to have to deal with some more bad weather again this weekend, and that probably won't be the last of it either."

Despite the weather, the Ponies are also playing really well.

The HHS boys beat Polson on Monday, and their veterans once again led the way. Senior singles player Josh Currie is one of the top players in the state, while the doubles team of Trenton Maloughney and Caleb Spangler have just two losses on their resume thus far. Ferguson also noted that senior singles players Jared Rosgaard and Kendall Pleninger have really come on strong.

"Jared and Kendall are two guys that have really come into their own," Ferguson said. "As we get towards divisionals. We need to keep building our depth and those guys, along with a bunch of our young kids are helping us do that."

The Havre girls are also led by veterans like senior Grace Crantz and juniors Rayna Johnson and Courtney Burchard. The addition of seniors Lacy Preeshl and Claudia Ucin have really bolstered a Havre lineup that was short-handed much of last season.

"Lacy and Claudia are both first-year players, but they aren't playing like it," Ferguson said. "They have both become strong players really fast and they make a great doubles team, too. It's so impressive what they've done in just half of a season.

"Our girls team as a whole continues to grow," Ferguson added. "I'm just really excited about what the rest of the season holds for those kids."

And the rest of the season isn't a lot. After the Mayfair, Havre wraps up the regular season with the Fergus and Miles City Invitationals next weekend, and then it's off to the Eastern A May 18-19 in Glendive.