This is the moment they've been waiting for

The Havre High tennis teams have been forced to get used to playing in the wind. It's been that was for almost the entire season. Now, the Blue Ponies will have to play their biggest tournament of the year in the conditions they've grown accustomed to.

Thursday and Friday, Havre takes to the courts in Glendive for the Northeast A Divisional, where weather will be a factor, but longtime HHS head coach George Ferguson said his teams will be focused on tennis and not the conditions.

"We talked on Monday about the fact that the conditions will be horrible and we kind of put it to bed," Ferguson said. "It's a bad break, but it's pretty much been that way the whole season. So we're going to be mentally tough, we're going to rise above the wind and the cold, because these kids have worked too hard this season to have the weather stand in the way of their success. So we're just going to do the best we can with the conditions we've been dealt. We're gong to just fight through it."

The Ponies have worked hard. According to Ferguson, they've been grinding toward this tournament since the beginning of March, and now, he says, the 10 boys and 10 girls who will serve it up Thursday morning against Miles City, Glendive and Lewistown, are more than ready.

On the boys side, Havre will be searching for its incredible 13th straight divisional championship. The Ponies are led by senior Josh Currie in singles, who was a state runner-up a year ago, as well as the senior doubles team of Trenton Maloughney and Caleb Spangler, who ere both all-conference last season. The No. 2 doubles team of returning all-conference standout Theron Peterson and Carter Spangler, as well as the tandem of senior Collin Miller and junior Conner McKay round out Havre's strong doubles lineup. In singles, the Ponies have seniors Jared Rosgaard at No. 2 and Kendall Pleninger at No. 3, while sophomore Reid Kato is making his first trip to the divisional tourney.

"We're taking another strong boys team in there this year," Ferguson said. "We're going to really lean on our guys at the top of the lineup because they have a ton of experience and they've been really good all season. But our depth is also a huge strength for us.

"It's going to be a real dogfight," Ferguson added. "The Miles City boys have been really good all season. They have an outstanding team this year and they certainly could be looked at as the favorite. Glendive is very solid too. So this boys divisional tournament is going to be a real close one. Probably one of the closest we've been in in a long time. But I know our boys are up to the challenge. They've already proven that. Now, they just need to go out and execute to the best of their abilities and things will fall into place."

On the girls side, Havre will be part of the group of teams trying to knock off defending champion Miles City. And while the Ponies are still a young team this season, and have four divisional first-timers, they also are in a totally different place then they were at this time a year ago.

"Last year, almost the whole lineup was playing in their first divisional tournament," Ferguson said. "Things are so much different now. Our girls have a ton of experience, they've improved so much. They've worked really hard to make huge strides from last year's divisional to now. So this week is going to be a much different story for them and I'm really excited to see what this team can do."

Senior Grace Crantz, a returning all-conference standout, will team with junior Courtney Burchard at the No. 1 doubles spot, and be a favorite to contend for the Northeast A title. Junior Rayna Johnson is in the same spot at No. 1 singles, while Kate Hemmer and Chloe Bricker also return from last year's squad. Newcomer Emerald Tinsley rounds out the singles lineup, while Cat Kaftan and Mylee Shennum are back at No. 2 doubles, while the senior duo of Claudia Ucin and Lacy Preeshl complete the Pony doubles lineup.

"I feel like our girls have a great chance to really shake things up this weekend," Ferguson said. "They have just gotten better and better as the season has went on, and they are a team the rest of the division needs to watch out for, that's for sure."

On the line this weekend in Glendive are spots at the Class A state tournament next week in Bozeman. The top four boys and girls singles players and top four boys and girls doubles teams will advance to state, and Ferguson said, the team's approach will be to just take it one match at a time, and if the Ponies do that, the points will add up.

"This is the toughest divisional tournament in my opinion," Ferguson said. "There's very little margin for error. So there's a lot of pressure. What we need to do though is just focus on what we can control. We can't control the weather, we can't control our opponents, we can control what we do with our rackets. So that's what we're gong to do. We're gong to focus on what we do, and nothing else.

"This is an exciting weekend," He continued. "This tournament is the big-time, and it's the culmination of a lot of hard work. This season, we've really been challenged. It's been cold and windy it seems like every day. We've had cancellations and long bus trips and a lot of things have been thrown at these kids. But they've met every challenge. They've really risen to the occasion all season long. They've been an awesome group to coach. I'm already really proud of this team and what they've done this season. So I can't wait to see them get on the courts and do great things in Glendive."

The 2022 Northeast A tennis tournament starts Thursday and runs through Friday evening in Glendive.