Whitefish girls nab Class A tennis honors
Whitefish girls tennis dominated on the final day of the Class A State Tournament at Flathead Valley Community College on Friday.
The Bulldogs placed first as a team with 33 points, Gracie Smyley claimed the girls singles title and Aubrey Hanks and Olivia Potthoff brought home the doubles championship.
Both matches ended within seconds of each other, with cheers erupting from all sides. Players embraced outside the courts.
“It was kind of like the Fourth of July,” Whitefish girls coach Patrick Dryden said. “Everything exploded at once. The kids have really worked hard this year. We’re pleased to bring another state championship home for Whitefish High School.”
Smyley beat Livingston’s Bobbi Lima in the title match 7-5, 6-3. Lima knocked off defending champion Shea McGuinness of Polson in semifinals earlier in the day.
“It was a very evenly fought match,” Dryden said. “Bobbi gave Gracie all she could handle. Gracie was down 5-4 in that first set and we were trying to figure out how we could win some points off (Lima) because she just wasn’t giving us anything.”
Hanks/Potthoff won in three set against Polson’s Berkley Ellis/Qia Harlan, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
“It was tough,” Dryden said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for Polson. It’s a really good rivalry and to have it come down to the state doubles championship to determine the state trophy, that was pretty neat.”
Whitefish’s Brendan Buls lost to defending champion Brad Rakich in boys singles, 6-3, 7-6 (8).
Hannah Schweikert of Columbia Falls beat McGuinness in the consolation round to place third. Columbia Falls’ John Gilk and Camryn Lingle lost in the boys doubles fifth place match,
Whitefish’s boys doubles team Mark Anderson/Colter Upton lost in the fifth place game.
“There’s some quality tennis here and it’s gonna get better in the next couple of years,” Dryden said.
Class A State Tennis
at FVCC
Girls
Singles
Semifinals
Gracie Smyley (Whitefish) def. Tricia Joyce (Havre) 6-0, 6-2; Bobbi Lima (Livingston) def. Shea McGuinness (Polson) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Loser Out
Hannah Schweikert (Columbia Falls) def. Eliana Foss (Hamilton) 7-6 (7), 6-0; Emma Putnam (Billings Central) def. Madeline DeLeo 6-0, 6-2; Schweikert (W) def. Tricia Joyce (Butte Central) 6-1, 6-1; McGuinness (P) def. Putnam 6-3, 6-3.
Fifth Place
Joyce (Butte Central) def. Putnam 6-2, 6-0.
Third Place
Schweikert (W) def. McGuinness 6-0, 6-2.
Championship
Smyley (W) def. Lima 7-5, 6-3.
Doubles
Semifinals
Aubrey Hanks/Olivia Potthoff (Whitefish) def. Ara Mercer/Megan Rost (Polson) 6-4, 6-4; Berkley Ellis/Qia Harlan (Polson) def. Kodie Vondra/Sylvie Schoenen (Livingston) 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Loser Out
Cailei Cummins/Deidra Don’t Mix (Hardin) def. Macie Flamm/Rilee Green (Hardin) 6-4, 6-1; Katie Murdock/Makiko Reisig (Hardin) def. Megan Kirkland/Christina Weidkamp (Corvallis) 6-0, 6-3; Murdock/Reisig (Hardin) def. Vondra/Syvie Schoenen 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Fifth Place
Vondra/Schoenen (Livingston) def. Mercer/Rost 6-1, 6-2.
Third Place
Murdock/Reisig (Hardin) def. Cummins/Don’t Mix 6-0, 6-1.
Championship
Hanks/Potthoff (W) def. Ellis/Harlan 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Boys
Singles
Semifinals
Brendan Buls (Whitefish) def. Famous Lefthand (Hardin) 6-0, 6-1; Brad Rakich (Dillon) def. Ethan Carney (Glendive) 6-0, 6-0.
Loser Out
Dalton Polesky (Miles City) def. Danner Purkett (Livingston) 6-2, 6-3; Caleb Warnken (Corvallis) def. Aubry Potier (Corvallis) 6-0, 6-2; Polesky (Miles City) def. Lefthand 6-3, 6-1; Warnken (Corvallis) def. Carney 6-1, 6-0.
Fifth Place
Lefthand (Hardin) def. Carney 6-3, 6-0.
Third Place
Warnken (Corvallis) def. Polesky 6-3, 6-1.
Championship
Rakich (Dillon) def. Buls 6-3, 7-6 (8).
Doubles
Semifinals
Jonathan Noteboom/Ben Noteboom (Hardin) def. Tommy Brown/Tyrel Kjersen (Havre) 6-3, 6-4; Mark Southam/Nathaniel Leonardson (Dillon) def. Mark Anderson/Colter Upton (Whitefish) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Loser Out
Jaymark Liedle/Ryan Hubbard (Corvallis) def. Ryan Old Crow/Kent Swisse (Hardin) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7); John Gilk/Camryn Lingle (Columbia Falls) def. Aidan Petritz/Guido Ossello (Butte Central) 6-4, 6-4; Brown/Kjersen (Havre) Liedle/Hubbard 6-0, 6-3; Anderson/Upton (W) def. Gilk/Lingle 6-3, 6-2.
Fifth Place
Liedle/Hubbard (Corvallis) def. Gilk/Lingle 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Third Place
Brown/Kjersen (Havre) def. Anderson/Upton 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Championship
Southam/Leonardson (Dillon) def. Noteboom/Noteboom 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1.
Team Scores
Top 3
Boys
Dillon 33, Whitefish 22, Hardin 21
Girls
Whitefish 33, Polson n/a, Hardin 19