Havre tennis looks to carry on success

The Havre High tennis teams may be under new leadership this spring, but the goal remains the same. With new head coach Jeff Miller leading the way, the Blue Ponies will look to continue developing their players and bringing home some more trophies.

"We have a very heavy senior class on the girls side, so I'm looking for a lot of those seniors to pave the way for the upcoming girls that are coming up and hopefully put together some team success towards the end of the year," Miller said. "(The boys) are chasing some pretty big hardware towards the end of the year. Definitely looking for a division title on the boys side and then we'll see what we can do at state."

While the Ponies will see a transition at leadership, they will have several returners on both the boys and girls teams. On the boys side, Conner McKay and Gavin Hall return for their senior seasons. Carter Spangler should make an impact as he returns to play singles for the Ponies. In doubles, Miller expects Reid Kato and Tre Gary to make an impact. Other returners that Miller expects to play well this spring include Jackson Headdress, Mason Kinsella and Callen Stoner.

On the girls side, Miller expects seniors Courtney Burchard and Cat Kaftan to lead the way. Other seniors that will look to make the most of their final year include Emerald Tinsley and Rayna Johnson.

The Ponies also have some young up and comers that will look to make an impact this spring. On the boys side, Miller expects Max Spangler, Carter Chagnon and Dax Ostwalt to step up. On the girls side, Miller hopes to see the likes of Chloe Bricker, Kylie Greenwood and Heather Herring to play well.

The Ponies will rely on both their veterans and their youngsters to lead them through their schedule this spring. The Ponies will start the season with the Cut Bank Invite this Saturday. Then on April 1, the Ponies will compete in the Conrad Meet. On April 7, the Ponies will compete at home in a dual against Glendive.

On April 14 and 15, the Ponies head back to Cut Bank to compete in the Cut Bank "A" Invite. The following weekend, the Ponies compete in the Hardin Invite. The Ponies then wrap up April with the Great Falls Duals and then the Dawson County Invite.

The Ponies kick off May with the Mayfair Invite in Billings. Then on May 12 and 13, the Ponies have a long road trip with the Fergus County Invite and the Custer County Invite. The Ponies then begin the postseason on May 17 with the Divisional Meet in Lewistown. The Ponies then wrap up the season with the State Meet in Missoula on May 24-27.

The Ponies have many tough meets and duals ahead of them this spring. Miller looks forward to all of them, but with frigid weather forcing the Ponies to practice inside so far this spring, he looks forward to the Cut Bank Invite just so that his players can get some action.

"It'll be really great for the kids to get out and play." Miller said. "We'll probably be inside, but it'll still be good to get out and play."

This will be Miller's first year leading the Ponies as the head coach. He has played tennis from a young age and played for the Ponies when he was in high school. During that time, he won an individual state title and helped the Ponies take third at state on a few occasions.

Miller will be replacing former HHS head coach George Ferguson, who coached the Ponies for 20 years. Growing up, Miller got to know Ferguson well as the game of tennis brought them together. As Miller now takes over the program for Ferguson, he looks to carry on the proud tradition of Havre High tennis.

"I just want to keep that tradition alive with the tennis program," Miller said. "Just how we do things and talk about things and just leading the way. More or less just giving the kids good advice through the sport and trying to teach them as best I can."

The HHS tennis teams will begin the season this Saturday with the Cut Bank Invite.