Havre High tennis to send three players to state meet in Missoula

This week is it. It's what all the hard work, all the time spent in horrible weather, and all the long bus trips has all been for. For three Havre High tennis players, 2023 has come down to two days in Missoula.

Thursday and Friday, HHS seniors Courtney Burchard and Cat Kaftan, and junior Carter Spangler will compete in the Class A state tennis tournament at Fort Missoula. And after a long season of ups and downs, the three Ponies are just looking to finish on a high note.

For Spangler, who placed third at last weekend's Northeast A in singles, it's his second straight trip to the state meet, and he has an excellent chance to bring home a medal, as he's played all of the top players in the draw this season. He's also playing without pressure as he's the lone Blue Pony boy in the field.

"Carter has a really good chance to hopefully get at least in the top six this weekend," HHS head coach Jeff Miller said. "I just expect him to go out and play well like he has all year and if he does that, he'll have plenty of success."

The boys tournament, will feature top teams from Billings Central, Polson, Hamilton, Corvallis and Miles City, while the girls tournament could go in a number of directions, with Polson and Miles City possibly battling it out for the trophy,

Individually, Burchard and Kaftan could be fighting for medals, after they finished second in the Northeast A last weekend. It's the duo's first year together, but they've been an excellent team from start-to-finish, and they'll have a chance to do great things this weekend according to Miller.

"They played well all year and they beat a lot of good teams," Miller said. "I think that if they show up and play well, they'll also have a lot of success."

And at the end of the day, the HHS trio will be looking to have the best tournament possible, and Miller is excited to see how it all unfolds.

"I think it'll be a lot of fun. It's unfortunate we only have three going but it'll still be a lot of fun to see really good competition from all over the state," Miller said. "We just hope we can go out and do our best."

The Blue Ponies will play at the state tournament Thursday and Friday in Missoula.