Mission tennis gains momentum

BIGFORK - The St. Ignatius girls' tennis team faced some stiff competition during the divisional tournament last Friday and Saturday in Bigfork.

Mission, Eureka, Troy and Bigfork faced off with a trip to state on the line. Only one singles player, sophomore Jane Makepeace, made it out of the first round. She beat a Eureka opponent 6-4, 6-2, before falling 7-5, 6-2 in her second-round match.

"The girls' team had a rough go of it at divisionals in Bigfork this weekend and will only be sending their No. 1 doubles duo of [sophomore] Sarah Bowers and [senior] Becky Hiatt," head coach Kimimi Ashley said.

Bowers and Hiatt have impressed Ashley since she paired them as a doubles team a few weeks ago. The duo took down Bigfork 6-2, 6-1 in their first match before falling in heartbreaking fashion 6-4, 5-7, 5-7 in round two. The girls overcame the disappointment of not earning first place by winning their third match 6-4, 6-2 and taking home third place at divisionals. They will compete at the state tournament, which begins today in Missoula.

"Sarah and Becky won their first set against Troy and found themselves up 5-1 in the second set," Ashley said. "Just that little moment of not closing out the set and Troy worked themselves back into it and won the second set. The third set went right down to the wire with Troy winning it 7-5. Sarah and Becky are a great team together and it will be interesting to see how they fare in state play. Sarah played very well in the third place match on Saturday and if she can carry that competitiveness into the state days, they could do well."

The boys have some serious momentum heading into state competition themselves. The Bulldogs started their week with a 5-2 team win over Loyola last Tuesday. Junior Wes Nowlan won 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles while senior Pakin LaBaisa-Ard took a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3. The team capped the win by going undefeated on the doubles side. No singles or doubles team lost a set in the five wins.

Last Saturday, the Bulldogs welcomed the "Best of the West" in Class B to St. Ignatius. Bigfork, Valley Christian and Troy came to compete, but none could stand up to the hosts, who took first place as a team. The wins included three first place finishes in singles, one second place in singles, and a first place in doubles.

"There was a lot of good tennis going on between all four teams and the St. Ignatius boys really played well on the day," Ashley said. "They were focused for the entire day of play and it paid off for them in the end as they walked away with the team win and also five out of the six divisions walking away with a top two placing."

Senior Spencer Ahlborn, LaBaisa-Ard, Nowlan, and the doubles team of junior Trail Bundy and freshman Nikko Alexander all went undefeated in the tournament, finishing 3-0 respectively en route to first place finishes. Ashley was particularly impressed by the team's resilience against a tough Bigfork squad.

"Bigfork is one of the teams that everyone is looking to this year, and when St. Ignatius played them, almost every match went to a third set tiebreak," she said. "This was really good conditioning for the boys in walking away with the wins after playing so hard."

Ashley admits she is "really excited" for state, and after seeing how they played all season, has high hopes for her boys.

"We have said all year that the team championship won't be handed to anyone this year and there are a lot of teams that could be on for that moment," she said. "The boys have been working hard in practice and are a great bunch of players. [They are] putting in a lot of effort this last week of practice and staying together as a team and knowing their goal as a team. One boy can't do it, the boys will need to go in as one unit, all working towards the same goal and who knows?"

The boys and girls will compete at the state tournament starting today through Saturday in Missoula.