Ronan tennis gains win, confidence

RONAN - The Ronan Maidens tennis team broke through for a victory Saturday as part of five matches in a five-day stretch, with only Sunday off.

The lone win came with a 4-3 score over Eureka, but the grueling span of matches began Thursday with a home match against rival Polson. The girls fell 7-0 as only one of the matches went to three sets. Head coach Gordon Cummings remained upbeat, despite the lopsided score against the Lady Pirates.

"The inexperience of the girls showed against the more seasoned teams," he said. "Polson is very strong and will be tough at divisionals."

Friday saw a 7-0 home loss to Bigfork. No. 2 doubles sophomores Seri Smith and Brianna Frank lost their first set 5-7 before eventually falling in the second set as well, 1-6.

Saturday featured two matches on the day, including a 2-5 loss to Whitefish. The doubles teams of Smith and Frank, at No. 1, and the No. 2 team of Taylor Courville and Sarah Anderson earned solid victories for the Maidens, rolling to a 6-2, 6-1 and a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory, respectively, earning praise from their head coach.

"Sarah and Taylor teamed up to play well together as did Seri and Brianna," Cummings said.

The match against Eureka again featured solid doubles play as all three Maiden duos took a victory, as did No. 4 singles Jonelle Lauer, in the 4-3 victory. Each team rolled, as Darian Leo and Katelyn Matkovich won 6-4, 6-2, Smith and Frank won 6-0, 6-2, and Bujn Chinzong and Kylee Pennington took a 6-0, 6-1 decision.

"They really needed this win to give them some confidence," Cummings said.

The long haul was capped off Monday with a match against Columbia Falls, where the Maidens fell 0-7. Sophomore No. 1 singles Amber Metzger had a strong showing again, taking her match to three sets, losing 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, as did the twosome of Frank and Smith, who fell 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, but continue to improve after each match.

"Amber is playing well at No. 1 even though she isn't winning," Cummings said. "She's determined and hard working. She is improving as she takes instruction well and wants to learn."

The Chiefs had a similar tough stretch, playing one less match than the girls over the same time frame.

A 1-6 loss to Polson started things off. Despite not winning, sophomore No. 3 singles Jess Smith showed good fight against Pirate Christian McCurdy, falling 4-6, 1-6.

"The tennis is improving," Smith said. "We've done more conditioning and my serves are getting better. We get more consistent as the year goes on. It's a fun sport."

The lone win against Polson came from seniors Jeff Leo and Colten Cheff, who took a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 doubles over Polson's freshman Will Davey and sophomore Ian Laimbeer.

The doubles duo of Leo and Cheff again accounted for the lone win, this time last Friday against Bigfork. The duo took a 6-3, 6-3 win in what ended up as a 1-6 loss to Bigfork.

Saturday against Whitefish was a close match as the boys succumbed 3-4. No. 1 singles Austin Butler had a nice win, coming back 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to earn the victory.

"Austin played some of the best tennis he had ever played against Whitefish at No. 1 singles," Cummings said. "He took his opponent out of his game and returned everything he hit to him."

The boys rounded up the week Monday against Columbia Falls with a 1-6 loss. Leo and Cheff showed again why they will be a tough match up for any opponent to take on as they won 7-5, 6-1.

"Colten and Jeff had a great weekend, winning all three of their matches," Cummings said. "They are ahead of where they were last year. As seniors, they are making good decisions on the court that puts them into position to win points."

The team will hope to keep the improved play going as Ronan will play Stevensville at home on Friday at noon.