Bulldog netters earn first win
ST. IGNATIUS - The Mission boys' tennis team earned its first victory of the season Friday, taking down Cut Bank in a home match as part of a busy week of singles and doubles matches.
Dominant singles play, which included wins at all four spots, helped the Bulldogs take a 4-2 decision over Cut Bank in a prequel to the Flight Tournament in Bigfork last Saturday.
"The boys are coming on strong, but still aren't at their set line-up for state play," head coach Kimimi Ashley said. "Within the next week, we will need to be at that line-up so we can get working hard on our doubles teams."
Junior Spencer Ahlborn continued his undefeated streak in team play, winning his match 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
"Spencer showed how much of a thinker he is out there in figuring out his opponents this week," Ashley said, referring to his victory Monday against Valley Christian. "Both of his opponents got a set off him until he figured them out and then he steam-rolled."
Junior Wes Nowlan had a strong showing, winning 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles spot. Senior Pakin LaBaisa-Ard, a Thai foreign exchange student, has continued to impress with his play, gutting out a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 win in the No. 3 spot.
"We had told them before the matches that we just wanted them to focus hard on how they were going to put each point together," Ashley said of her players. "Win or lose, coming off the court they were supposed to leave every ounce of energy out on the court. I think that all of the kids did that on this day and performed well."
While the result was a loss, Ashley enjoyed watching her No. 2 doubles team perform.
"[Junior] Trail Bundy and [freshman] Paden Alexander had an exciting match to end the day," Ashley said. "It was fun because all the other matches were done and so everyone was watching them and they played very well. It was nice to see the whole crowd behind them and giving them support."
Last Saturday saw the team compete at the Bigfork Flight Tournament, where the players played 10-game pro sets. Ahlborn had the most success, taking two of three matches. He beat Cut Bank 10-8 and Troy 10-0 but fell to host Bigfork 2-10.
LaBaisa-Ard had a successful tournament before he left with an injury. He beat Troy 10-5 but lost to his Bigfork opponent 8-9 in an injury default. The strong play from her players against top competition has Ashley excited about the rest of the season.
"The second half of the season is going to go so fast and we will need to work very hard because playing at state isn't just going to be handed to the boys," she said. "This year's team is very capable of taking state. The work still needs to be done on the court each and every time they step out, be it at practice or in a tennis match."
The Lady Bulldogs had less success against Cut Bank, falling 1-5 last Friday. Despite the team loss, sophomore Jane Makepeace continued her strong start after coming back from an ankle injury, earning the only team win in a tough 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) match.
"Jane is hitting the ball well," Ashley said of her No. 2 singles player. "I'm very proud of the fight she has shown, though, in matches she isn't winning. She isn't quitting when she gets down. She fights right on and is coming out on top."
Senior newcomer Rachel Jensen has been a pleasant surprise for the team this year, Ashley said, and showed tennis smarts in her 2-6, 3-6 loss to Cut Bank.
"You could see Rachel understood the angles of what she needed to do when her opponent came to the net, but just that little bit of inexperience would make the difference in losing or winning the point," Ashley said. "A bit more match play under her belt and she will be ready for divisionals."
The team played at home against Loyola on Tuesday but results were not available before press time. The girls' play at 4 p.m. today in Darby and in Eureka on Saturday. The boys head to Corvallis on Saturday.