Mission tennis teams look to repeat last year's success

ST IGNATIUS — The tennis team has been swinging the racket with a Bulldog strength that could create some challenging matches for their opponents.

Last year the season ended with the boys finishing second at State. They had 10 wins, two losses and one tie. The girls team took second at Divisionals and finished last year's season with nine wins, seven losses and one tie.

This year the team is back with a good line up for both the boys and girls teams. Coaches Martin and Kimimi Ashley have been preparing the team for this season.

Head Coach Martin Ashley has taught tennis off and on for 17 years and he has been Mission's head coach for five years. Assistant coach Kimimi Ashley has taught tennis for three years and this is her second year of coaching at the high school level.

The boys tennis team had 11 try out this year — some of them are veterans to the game but many of them are coming in for their first year on the court.

"The returning varsity players are Austin Arlint, Jay Jensen, Riley McCollum and Casey Cable. We fully expect to see Riley and Casey at the State singles finals, playing against each other. They have both grown so much in their games in just the past few weeks and are big hitters with lots of tools to beat their opponents," Kimimi Ashley said.

Arlint and Jensen will be playing doubles this year, she said. At practice they have both been at the height of their game. She added that they should also be in the State doubles finals.

As a senior, Max Willet is trying his hand at tennis for the first time this year. Kimimi said that Willet has a lot of natural ability and he is easy to coach.

Another newcomer to the team is varsity singles player Wyatt McCollum, a freshman.

"He put in a lot of extra time before the season even started and it's showing," she said.

Other freshmen on the team this year are: Clayton Makepeace, Austin Jensen, Josh Bowers, Tyrell McCollum and Cheyenne Morton.

"They are all progressing along well in learning their strokes and how to play the game. [We are] looking for some of them to fill the open varsity spots very well and making the St. Ignatius boys team a team to watch out for," she said.

The Lady Bulldog's tennis team consists of 13 girls. The returning varsity players are sophomore Staci Udall, junior Frankie Frazzini, senior Sara Ashley, senior Catherine Baylor and junior Sarah Morigeau.

"Staci and Frankie's games have risen to the next level from last year. Morigeau has left off from last year in her hitting and looking good and ready to fill some varsity spots. Sara Ashley and Catherine Baylor are hitting strong and will be ready to bring the trophy home their senior year," she said.

The Lady Bulldogs have been practicing their skills and the newer team members are learning the game. The coaches said that they have high expectations for the girls this season.

"The girls are shooting for the Divisional title this year. With our returners and a couple of newcomers that are fitting in nicely to the varsity role, we fully expect this of them. We have lots of newcomers this year and right now they are all working hard; the available varsity spots are open to any of them," she said.

Barb Pfeifer was a strong competitor in both volleyball and basketball and now she is moving in to tennis.

"Look for lots of playing time for Barb Pfeifer. [She] is a good athlete with the smarts to go with it," she said.

"Another youngster who is looking strong is Sara Keeble. She is quick on her feet and hits well," she said.

Other newcomers to the team are Sam Scheeler, Chelsea Kuntz, Sadie Frey, Elisabeth Schmidt, Adrianna Fehr and Hannah Frommelt. The coaches said that they are getting better every day.

The first match is this Saturday, April 1, against Loyola in Missoula. Then on Tuesday, April 4, they have a home meet against Ronan and on Thursday, April 6th they travel to Missoula to play the Hellgate tennis team.