Zimmerman gets hardware, Maidens fall in close match
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GREAT FALLS – Polson picked up a pair of convincing wins on the courts in Great Falls last weekend, while the Maidens lone doubles team fell in the opening round. Lady Pirate Whitney Zimmerman earned a third place state finish for Polson’s tennis team.
“We didn’t do as good as we thought we would,” head coach Bob Hislop said. “We were hoping to get top four.”
Zimmerman began her tournament strong against Amanda Reed of Dillon, winning 6-4, 6-2, while teammate Kendyall Rochin defeated Nellie Moran of Hamilton, 6-3, 7-5.
In singles quarterfinals, Zimmerman continued her dominance, taking down Dylan Balanda of Livingston, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Rochin also advanced to semifinals after defeating Jordan Johnson of Glendive, 6-2, 6-1.
Anaconda netter Emily Morani prevented Lady Pirate Sara Robinson from advancing outside of round one, after Morani prevailed, 6-3, 6-4.
During singles semifinals, Rochin fell to Mary Conwell of Hamilton, 6-3, 6-1. Defending champion Morgan Opp from Glendive then took down Zimmerman 6-1, 6-1. With the win, Zimmerman advanced to play for third place in the tournament against Emily Morani. Zimmerman prevailed, winning 6-3, 6-2 to bring home some hardware.
“Whitney has only been playing seriously for the past 15 months,” Hislop said, “She will be tough to handle next year.”
In Polson boys doubles first round action, Justin Evertz and Will Davey defeated Ed Lally and Colin Hollow of Butte Central, 7-5, 6-4. Teammates Ian Laimbeer and Brady Hislop fell to Dalls Lussier and Aidan Goodman of Livingston, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After advancing to quarterfinals, Evertz and Davey then fell to Cody Lengyel and Bridger Walczynski, 6-1, 6-3.
With eight of ten boys returning next year, Hislop is confident they will be sending many boys to state next year.
Ronan tennis duo Katelyn Matkovich and Taylor Courville fell in the opening round to Alex and Macy Ricketts of Livingston, 6-0, 6-1. Courville and Matkovich also fell to to Glendive’s No. 2 team 6-3, 6-4.
Coach Gordon Cummings says despite only having two Ronan tennis players at state, he is thrilled for the upcoming season, as many players are expected to return.
“I’m really excited about next year,” Cummings said. “We don’t loose any girls, and only one boy. We have a lot of juniors who will return as seniors.”
Hislop took three freshmen to state this year and says he’s excited for what will come next year.
“We are a team to watch out for in the future,” Hislop said.
