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'A' 2016 TENNIS PREVIEWS
Bulldog swatters have deep roster
Matt Baldwin / Whitefish Pilot
Bulldog tennis
Chaffin Ross buries an overhead smash in a doubles match with teammate Austin Reece on Thursday in Whitefish.
Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 12:00 am | Updated: 9:30 pm, Tue Mar 22, 2016.
By MATT BALDWIN Whitefish Pilot
The Whitefish boys tennis team has high hopes entering the season with a core of returning players ready to get to work.
Sophomore singles players Max Smyley and Eric Holdhusen, along with doubles duo Chaffin Ross and Ryan Brown all are back on the court after making an appearance at last year’s State A boys tennis tournament.
That core will be surrounded by a deep group of tested hitters, like senior Nathan Fauth, and juniors Thomas Carloss and Ethan Potthoff.
“I think we’re going to have a really strong foundation,” said boys coach Chris Schwaderer. “We have a lot of depth, and a lot of those kids are bigger and stronger and they’ve played more in the offseason.”
All totaled, 23 boys came out for the team this spring.
Schwaderer says his top singles players are already looking sharp.
“Max looks great and his strokes keep getting better,” he said. “He should be one of the top players in the state.”
“Eric is always dependable, and he’s gotten better over the winter and looks really good and consistent.”
The coach says with so much depth, he’ll be faced with some tough decisions on deciding who should play where in the rotation.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said. “We have the luxury of finding the best chemistry and combinations.”
With valley snow long gone, the team has already hit the courts at Grouse Mountain for practice.
“We usually don’t get snow off the court until the end of March, and then it takes awhile to get our momentum going,” Schwaderer said. “The fact that we can get out and swing the racquet is great.”
Schwaderer says a team goal is to aim for the Northwest A divisional crown.
“We just missed it last year,” he said. “We’re always shooting for the divisional title.”
The Northwest A now includes Stevensville after Libby dropped to Class B.
Schwaderer has brought on assistant coach Kim Codiga to lead the JV team.
“He’s a tennis guy and will be a good match with the kids,” he said.
Whitefish opens the season April 9 with matches at Polson against the Pirates and Dillon.
Girls tennis stacked at doubles
Whitefish tennis
Katie Fyall in a doubles match at Columbia Falls.
Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 12:00 am
The Lady Dogs tennis team has the weapons and experience to make some noise in the state level with a good group returning to the court.
“Expectations are going to be higher this year,” Whitefish coach Pat Dryden said of his strong roster. “We have the potential to do something at state.”
Coming back are doubles teams Anna Peterson and Katie Fyall, and Heather Luedke and Hannah Medsen. Both teams earned a state berth last year. Cailyn Ross also is returning after earning a trip to state and playing as an alternate.
The group of girls should anchor the Lady Dogs’ roster.
“Heather and Hannah worked hard this winter,” Dryden said. “Anna and Katie have been taking some private lessons and look sharp.”
It’s the strongest Whitefish has been at doubles in years, Dryden said, “without question.”
“We can put three really good doubles teams on the court,” he said.
On the singles side, Page Sproul is looking like a top contender, along with Holly Hileman, Jessica McCoy and Savannah Krause. Two foreign exchange students in Janette Kolarzik and Lili Szundy could add to the depth, as well.
In all, 30 girls came out for the team, including five seniors and six juniors.
As usual, Polson will be a force in the Northwest A. Stevensville is a newcomer to the league after Libby dropped to Class B.
While Dryden says he doesn’t put much stock in chasing a divisional title, he does want to get as many girls qualified for state as possible to make a run at some hardware.
“We’ve got to be a top-5 team at state,” he said. “If we can work our way into a trophy, that’d be even better.”
The Lady Dogs open the season April 9 at Polson with matches against the Lady Pirates and Dillon.
Polson girls have plenty of firepower
· BILL SPELTZ bill.speltz@missoulian.com
Coach Bob Hislop's formula for State A tennis success has served him well, with two girls' team titles and one boys' crown in the past eight years.
He's looking to make it four championships in nine years for Polson this spring and he might just have enough depth on the girls' side to pull it off.
Bob Hislop
"We pride ourselves in program first and individual success second, so it works out pretty neat for the kids," Hislop said. "We try to keep teams pretty deep. I don’t have any idea how it happens but girl-wise it seems to work out better than boys."
Hislop is building his girls' squad around five seniors and three juniors. That group includes state-tested Marlee Congdon, Mollie Lemm, Shawna Lenz, Cassie Carlyle and Olivia Hewston.
"Our top eight are very tough," the coach said. "They're very dedicated, putting in a lot of time during the off-season.
"We have a nice mix of singles and doubles players and we just have to work on combinations like anybody does and see how it works out."
Congdon and Lemm will likely stay with singles after earning valuable experience in that department last season. Congdon took sixth at the state showcase meet in Missoula and although Lemm lost in her two encounters, Hislop calls her "probably the most improved player on the team" this spring.
"These are girls that are athletic, involved in other sports and do a very good job with the tennis racquet," he said of his top eight. "Then we've got a really talented sophomore three-sport athlete (Kyler Lundin) and two other seniors (Tessa Nunlist and Natalie Wheeler) that didn’t make state last year but could help this year."
Livingston earned State A girls' bragging rights last season and Billings Central was second. The Rams will be tough with Barclay Fagg back to defend her state singles title and Whitefish and Dillon are also expected to make some noise in the State A team race on May 26 and 27 in Bozeman and Livingston.
Whitefish has two salty veteran doubles teams in Anna Peterson/Katie Fyall and Heather Luedke/Hannah Madsen. Peterson and Fyall just missed qualifying for the semifinals at state last year, losing a tough three-setter.
"You coach as long as I have and you do your darndest to get them ready to go, then it comes down to the kids," offered Hislop, who has been at the helm for the Pirates for more than two decades. "The neat thing in A girls and boys this year is that there’s not too many teams that are super deep. But boy there’s some nice players. It will be fun to see how it shakes out."
***
Western Montana's best bet to take top honors in State A girls' singles is senior Emily Getts of Columbia Falls. She reached the semifinals last year before losing in straight sets to Fagg.
"She's been working on her game and it's looking good already," Wildkats coach Gene Marcille said. "This year she is going to get a little more help from our kids who were last year kind of younger. We should have a pretty solid team because most of our girls are back."
Joining Getts on the list of solid singles players for Columbia Falls is junior Molly Schmidt. In doubles, Marcille is looking for big things from senior Sydney Grilley and junior Morgan Stenger.
"Emily was our only girl at state last year and she did pretty well on her own, score-wise," Marcille noted. "This year we hope to give her some help."
The Corvallis girls have rebuilding to do after taking bronze in State A team competition last year. Junior Emma Pickett and senior Rebecca Weidkamp have stood out in practice along with sophomores Emily Thomas and Olivia Fehr.
"Quite a few of the players we have coming back are sophomores," Blue Devils veteran coach Mike Fehr said. " A lot of these players played all summer and have been playing indoors this winter, so I’m happy with what I'm seeing."
***
Topping the list of State A boys' players with championship potential are Hamilton sophomore Alex Raymond and last year's state runner-up, Jeff Miller of Havre. Raymond reached the state singles semifinals last year before losing to Miller.
In doubles, Polson has a state-tested team in Quaid Harlan and Colin Kenney. They won their first-round match at state last year.
"Our boys team is salty on top but there’s no depth," Hislop said. "We've got three state returners, including Harlan, Kenney and Cadis Chowning. And Matt Sitter will help us.
"Whitefish will probably win our (Northwestern) division with the depth they have. Havre is probably one of the teams to beat at state and Glendive could be in mix."
A change in divisional alignment will affect all of western Montana's Class A teams. Stevensville is now in with Polson, Whitefish and Columbia Falls while the Southwestern division includes Corvallis, Hamilton, Dillon and Butte Central.
The Corvallis boys, like the girls, are rebuilding after taking silver at state last season. Blue Devils veteran coach Chris Maul-Smith will build around returning state doubles player Caleb Powell and fellow veterans Josh Smith, Gabe DeLeo and Easton Powell.
"We’ve got a bunch of very enthusiastic guys that are athletic," Maul-Smith said. "We’re going to be developing a lot of new players as well as having some experience from last year."
Belgrade tennis to host Hawks’ JV in opener
Panthers have another big turnout; will just 3 home tournaments
Year two of Belgrade High School’s tennis program begins Tuesday afternoon with the first of just three home appearances this season.
The Panthers will host Class AA Bozeman’s JV at the Marcia Anderson Tennis Complex in the Belgrade Youth Sports complex at 3 p.m.
“It’s Bozeman JV. Last year we had no expectations,” second-year Belgrade coach Aaron Yost noted. “I would expect for us to compete in a lot of different matches, boys and girls.”
Belgrade fielded very young and inexperienced squads, both boys and girls, last year and did not qualify a player for the state tournament. But Yost noted many of the returners worked very hard in the off-season to improve their skills.
“In terms of growth, we’re going to be on totally different level this year, which is exciting,” he said. “A lot of kids played — guys in particular — played over the winter up at MSU (Montana State University), and that will certainly pay dividends.”
Belgrade’s coaching staff, which includes assistant Nettie Dayhuff, had yet to set the roster through the first week of try-outs due to limited time outdoors. Among the more than 40 athletes who tried out were the boys’ top two singles players from a year ago in Trey Layman and Jeffrey Fournier.
On the girls’ side, Laura Stout was at try-outs after competing as the team’s No. 1 singles player last year. Other returners included Hunter Bos, Kiah Hohenstein, and Lilly Reddick.
With a year under their belt, Yost is expecting a much improved team. He also noted the coaching staff has set up practices for more one-on-one drills.
“I think this year we’ll be able to focus on a lot more individual work, and work to improve individual players in ways that I don’t feel we got to do last year,” Yost said. “So we’re really looking forward to that.”
Belgrade’s other two home tournaments will be April 15 against Butte Central, and on April 30 against Park County High. The Central A Divisional is May 19-20 in Lewistown.
Maroons open tennis season big in numbers
- In Butte Central, Front Page
- April 1, 2016
- 0 comments
By Bill Foley
Butte Central tennis coach Becky Hancock had a hard time believing the interest in her program this spring.
With 21 boys and 15 girls out for the team, Hancock finds herself with a good kind of problem heading into her second hear at the helm of the Maroons. Hancock must find a way to get court time for all of her players.
The Maroons open the season at 11 a.m. Saturday in Hamilton.
“I had great turnout,” Hancock said. “I have some really great athletic kids, and we have some depth. It is exciting for the tennis program.”
With limited opportunities for matches, Hancock said that depth will translate into competitive practices that will shape the team for the divisional tournament.
The Maroons, who have seven senior boys and seven senior girls, boast a roster with names known well by fans of other BC sports.
Experienced doubles players Ali Guldseth and Kellsie Quinn, a pair of seniors, lead the BC girls into action. Last year, the duo reached the semifinals of the divisional tournament.
Also playing doubles for the BC girls will be junior Larysa Blavatsky and sophomore Samantha Burton and seniors Ryan Trudnowski and Sierra Pica.
Down the road, freshman Tricia Joyce and junior Emily St. John could play doubles, Hancock said. For now, they will play singles, however.
St. John joins the tennis team after playing softball for two years. Hancock said the standout basketball and volleyball player is coming along nicely on the court.
“She’s picking it up very quickly,” the coach said.
Senior Sarah Drew is back to lead the singles players for the Maroons. Sophomore Zoe Sullivan will slide into the No. 2 singles slot, just ahead of Joyce and St. John.
Other BC girls looking to get into the mix are seniors Megan McPherson and Regan Weldon; sophomore Savannah Healy and freshmen Shea Davis and Prestynn Weldon.
Seniors Sam Joyce and Jake McPherson will lead the BC singles players on the boys’ side. Which player is No. 1 could change from week to week.
The next two singles spots will likely be manned by junior Bryan Arnold, sophomore Tash Lester or freshman Seth Gardner.
Senior Sam Sterns and sophomore Cameron Johnson will represent the Maroons in the No. 1 doubles slot. Sophomores Colby Kline and Shane Callahan will play No. 2 doubles, while freshman Aidan Petritz and junior Sam Johnston will play No. 3.
Sophomore Tyge Yelenich, who had a strong freshman season in singles, will likely play doubles with new-coming senior Cal Hollow. That team, though, won’t play this weekend because Hollow doesn’t have enough practices.
Other BC boys looking for court time are seniors Yihuan Gao, Zach Luebeck and Tyler Kukmp; juniors Ian Campbell and Jeonghoon Lim; sophomores Noah McGree and Colter Stillwagon; and freshman Kaden Sehulster.
“There’s an athletic group on both sides,” Hancock said. “That’s a lot to work with, and it makes for great competition for practice.”
Once again, Clarissa Stajcar will assist Hancock.
The Maroons will play the first of four scheduled home meets on Saturday, April 9 when they play Livingston and Anaconda in Butte and Anaconda.
The divisional tournament will be held May 19-21 in Hamilton and Corvallis. The Class A State tournament will be May 26-27 in Bozeman and Livingston.
BOYS
Billings Central
Coach: Dave Klarich
2015: Class A state champions
Key players: Harrison Fagg, Sr.; Joey Nichols, Sr.; Jacob Pankratz, Jr.; Isaac Birdwell, Jr.; Chris McIntyre, Jr.; Simon Marshal, Jr.; Andrew Nelson, Jr.; Shay Dantic, Jr.; Jet Campbell, Jr.
Etc.: Fagg won the state doubles championship along with John Knisely last season, helping the Rams to their third straight team title. After three consecutive seasons as a doubles finalist, Fagg will play singles this season. … Nichols qualified for state in singles last season. … Marshall is a transfer from Atlanta. … Klarich worked with Jerry Peach, who is now at West, for both the boys and girls programs at Central last season. Klarich also coached the Billings Senior boys for 25 years.
Coach says: “Despite graduating three of the four players who secured a third straight state championship for the Billings Central boys, the Rams will be competitive again this year.”
GIRLS
Billings Central
Coach: Elizabeth Klarich
2015: Second place at State A
Key players: Barclay Fagg, Sr.; Meg Fitzgerald, Sr.; Molly Putnam, Jr.; Abby Fitzgerald, So.; Emma Putnam, Fr.; Blayne Meyer, Fr.
Etc.: Fagg broke through for her first state singles championship last season. She finished runner-up her freshman and sophomore seasons. … Fitzgerald and Putnam teamed up to finish fifth at state last year. … Klarich is in her first season as the Rams coach.
Coach says: “With the return of state Class A girls singles champion Barclay Fagg and the doubles team of Meg Fitzgerald and Molly Putnam, we have the nucleus for a successful 2016 season.”
