Polson girls' tennis takes second

BILLINGS - A strong showing at the state championship tournament last weekend netted the Lady Pirates a second place trophy in Class A, the best finish in school history for the tennis program.

The team finished with 20 team points as two singles players and two doubles teams competed from Polson.

Senior Jane Probst "had an amazing state tournament," said head coach Bob Hislop, as she took fourth place individually. Probst began with two straight set wins, starting with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Billing Central's Jessie Robinson.

"That was a great win considering that Robinson had a 24-2 match record on the season," Hislop said.

Probst again rolled in her quarterfinal match, notching a 6-4, 6-3 win, before falling to another tough Billings Central opponent 4-6, 1-6.

"Jane played some of the best tennis of her career but [Taylor] Steubs is amazingly steady and finally wore Jane down," Hislop said.

In the consolation bracket, Probst downed her first opponent 6-3, 7-5 before facing conference rival Jackie Mee, of Libby, in the third place match. Probst fell 2-6, 0-6 against one of the toughest singles players in Northwestern Class A to take fourth place. Probst faced Mee in the divisional final the week before.

"Jane finished the season 24-5 at number one singles which is an amazing accomplishment," Hislop said.

Freshman Whitney Zimmerman went 1-2 during the tournament, but left her third and final match with a hamstring injury and the score tied at one set apiece. Her tournament started with a loss before she dominated her second match 6-1, 6-0.

"It is always amazing to get a freshman to state, but to get her to state and then have her win a match in that convincing a fashion is very cool," Hislop said.

In doubles, senior Kelsie Howell and sophomore Mackenzie Clay went 1-2 in the tournament. Facing the Eastern Division champions from Glendive, the two lost their first match 1-6, 3-6. They stayed alive with a 6-4, 6-4 win before falling 4-6, 4-6 in the next round.

"They were a very solid number two team for us all year and represented themselves very well at state," Hislop said of his doubles squad.

The sister duo of senior Kayla and junior Kendyall Rochin took fourth place overall with a strong finish, Hislop said. The team rolled through two Thursday matches to reach the semifinals, where they ran into a tough No. 1 Dillon team that had dealt the Rochin's two of their three losses during the regular season. They didn't play their best match, according to Hislop, and fell 2-6, 3-6.

The two rebounded with a 6-4, 6-4 win to reach the third place game, where they faced a doubles opponent from Havre. Both Kayla and Kendyall predicted before the state tournament that the toughest opponent would be a Havre team, and they faced a "red-hot" opponent from that school that downed the sisters 1-6, 1-6.

"Kayla and Kendyall had an amazing two years together, losing only one match in conference in two years (last week's championship) and reaching all-state status both years," Hislop said.

With a solid end of the season, Hislop said it is time to say good-bye to the departing players and look towards next year.

"The senior leadership of Jane, Kayla, Kelsie, and Erika Nunlist will be sorely missed," he said. "The good news is that the Lady Pirates are very young and actually have good players coming up out of the junior high to compete for varsity spots."

The boys sent one singles player and one doubles team to state, and they did not have as much success as the girls did.

Senior Matt Roberts bowed out after two matches when he endured "tough losses." He fell 2-6, 4-6 and then 3-6, 4-6 against a Lewistown opponent he had beaten earlier this season.

The doubles team of senior Shad Giles and junior Justin Evertz finished 1-2 at the state tournament after tough losses as well. They breezed through their opener 6-0, 6-0 before falling by a score of 4-6, 4-6 to a team from Corvallis that eventually reached the title game. Some "untimely errors" let their next opponent back into their loser-out match as the two lost a long third-setter to end their run.

"Shad and Justin are one of the best doubles teams I have coached in my 19 years as head coach and are really fun to watch," Hislop said.

The boys will lose four seniors to graduation after a great season.

"Shad and Matt will be greatly missed, as will fellow seniors Christian McCurdy and Jacob Browne," Hislop said. "This is one of the youngest boys teams we have ever put on the courts so the future is bright for the Pirates."