Mission squads head to state
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The Mission boys’ tennis team faced off against some stiff competition this week, splitting with Loyola 3-3 in St. Ignatius before traveling to Loyola for the annual invitational.
Mission boys’ No. 1 Spencer Ahlborn played well this week as he first defeated Loyola’s top player Jonathan Finch 6-0, 6-0 at the home meet. At the invitational, Ahlborn defeated Maelan Arciello of Loyola 6-2, 6-2, and advanced to also take down Shane Kauffman of Valley Christian, 6-2, 7-5. With the win he moved into the singles final, where he defeated Josiah Petersen 6-2, 7-5.
In other action at home against Loyola, Mission’s Bryan Schock won the only other singles match, as he took down Maelan Arciello, 6-4, 7-5.
In doubles action that day, Trail Bundy and Karl Daniels secured the only victory, defeating Josh Gillingam and Travis Haller, 6-1, 6-3.
At the Loyola invitational, Mauro Grosso defeated Jeremy Helmnick of Troy 6-4, 6-3 in 3-4 singles quarterfinals. With the win, Grosso returned to face off with Christopher Manuel of Valley Christian, where Manuel prevailed, winning 6-4, 4-6, 10-6. The loss sent Grosso to the consolation bracket, where he defeated Teddy Muth, 2-6, 6-2, 10-8, to pick up third place.
In the 3-4 doubles semifinal, Brandon Contos and Chris Camel of Mission defeated Levi Bullock and Dylan Dybdal of Valley Christian, 7-5, 6-1. The duo then faced off with Nels Gamaas and Chris Nagata of Loyola in the finals, where they fell 1-6, 6-1, 10-4, to take second.
The Lady Bulldogs hosted divisional play May 13-14 at St. Ignatius, where Makepeace’s stellar performance landed her in the singles final against Shults from Bigfork.
“I’ve worked pretty hard at practice this year,” Makepeace said. “I’m more than just a backboard this year; my tricks have improved a lot.”
To reach the finals, Makepeace first defeated Sara Helmrick of Troy, 6-1, 6-2. She then faced off against Tara Duzan of Troy, where she won convincingly again, 6-0, 6-3. In the final, Shults defeated Makepeace 6-1, 6-3, awarding Makepeace with second place.
In other singles action that day, Mackenzie Trudeau defeated Kathryn Stein of Eureka, 6-3, 6-4. Trudeau then lost to Shults, 6-1, 6-2. Sarah Bowers won a pair during the first day, as she defeated Jackie Pepiot of Troy, 6-0, 6-0. Bowers then advanced to defeat Allison Hight of Troy, 6-0, 6-2. With the win, Bowers played against Ariel Stallknecht of Bigfork for third place. Bowers prevailed, winning big, 6-1, 6-2. None of the double teams for Mission advanced to finals. Both teams will have players represented in the upcoming B-C State Championship in Missoula May 19-20.
