Mission tennis eyes end-of-season run

MISSOULA - Two dual matches and a tournament in a three-day stretch has hopefully gotten the Mission tennis team ready for end of the season competition, head coach Kimimi Ashley said.

"The St. Ignatius tennis teams played a lot of tennis this week in preparation for girls' divisionals on Friday and Saturday in Bigfork and one more week until state for both girls and boys," she said.

The boys had a good week, despite a loss last Thursday to open up play, falling 1-5 to Valley Christian. Ashley said the team "didn't play their best tennis" as junior Spencer Ahlborn took the lone win with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles, while no other singles player won a set. Freshmen brothers Nikko and Paden Alexander played singles together for the first time all season and took their match to three sets, falling 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (7-9).

"Spencer did well in his match, but the rest of the singles players were just enough off that they were making way too many unforced errors," Ashley said. "The line-up was changed a bit due to a player missing, but that was no excuse for the errors. When you get to state tournament play, you have to go out and play your absolute best with a low percentage of unforced errors against players that you most likely haven't matched up against one-on-one all year long."

The Bulldogs rebounded Friday, earning a 5-1 win over Troy. All five wins were quick, as the boys dispatched their Troy opponents in straight sets. The lone loss of the match was at No. 4 singles, as junior Brian Schock fell in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9).

On Saturday, the Bulldogs headed for Missoula to partake in the Loyola Invitational. The team faced players from Conrad, Loyola and frequent foe Valley Christian. Ashley was pleased with the play, as two singles players made the finals of their respective brackets. Ahlborn advanced to the final after winning his first two matches by scores of 10-0 and 10-3, before falling 6-10 in the No. 1 singles final.

"Spencer may have made too many unforced errors to make him happy, but Cade [Cross, of Loyola] was playing some good tennis today," Ashley said. "His serve was on and he had a game plan. Spencer will have another chance to play him this Tuesday and if Spencer will concentrate on opening up Cade's weaknesses and going for more aggressive shots on his part, he should be able to beat him."

Senior Pakin LaBaisa-Ard had another impressive showing as he headed to the No. 3 singles final after wins of 10-5 and 10-1. He lost a close finals match, 8-10, but battled an injury to even stay out on the court.

"Bass (the team nickname for LaBaisa-Ard) has been playing a lot more aggressively at the net his last couple of matches," Ashley said. "During his second match of the day, Bass fell down and twisted his ankle, but he wasn't going to let this stop him. We wrapped it up and put some ice on it and he was determined to finish the day. He is a great player to have around because he is very determined and competitive. He wants to be out there and does his best every time. He is coming on strong just when it is needed for the end of the year tournament."

Junior Wes Nowlan finished third in the tournament at No. 3 singles.

"I would like to see Wes coming to the net more because he has good corner shots and needs to back them up with a drop or putaway volley," Ashley said.

Ashley was impressed with two of her freshmen, Chris Camel and Paden Alexander, who showed some grit as the No. 3 doubles pairing. The two won their first match 10-6 before falling 2-10. Playing in the third place game, they pulled out a 10-6 victory.

"It was nice to see these two young players do so well," Ashley said. "Paden is on the state team as an alternate this year and Chris has improved a lot since the beginning of the year. These two will have big impacts in the future years of Bulldog tennis."

The Lady Bulldogs had a similar schedule, with one dual and a tournament in Missoula, but did not have as much success as the boys.

Thursday, the girls faced Valley Christian and fell 2-4. Sophomore Jane Makepeace earned one win at No. 1 singles by downing her opponent 6-4, 6-2. The other win came from No. 1 doubles duo Sarah Bowers, a sophomore, and senior Becky Hiatt, who won their match 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

"Their matches against Valley Christian and then all the matches at the Best of the West tournament saw them winning first sets and then coming back in the second set from way down, as much as 0-5, and winning the second," Ashley said of her newly formed No. 1 doubles team. "This made them play tough in the third sets and tiebreaks to take the wins."

At the Best of the West tournament, the Bowers and Hiatt duo earned the only win for the Lady Bulldogs, taking down Darby 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. They fell in their next match to Superior, 6-7, 4-6.

Ashley is hopeful that despite the losses, the team will be zoned in for upcoming competition.

"The singles players didn't come out on the winning side of their matches, but it was a good chance for them to see how competitive teams from the east of the state are and how much competition there is coming into state," she said. "The girls are going to be facing some tough competition in Bigfork and Eureka at divisionals this year and are going to have to play some hard, focused tennis this weekend."

The girls will head to divisionals Friday and Saturday in Bigfork while the boys' will welcome the "Best of the West" tournament Saturday to St. Ignatius.