Ronan takes three losses

RONAN - The Ronan tennis team had a rough go of it the past week, winning only two matches in three dual match ups with Class A competition.

"Not the kind of week you want to have heading into divisional play," head coach Gordon Cummings said. "We did not get off the bus to play at Polson and Corvallis is a very strong team that we were not ready for and we lost our focus during the Whitefish match."

The team started its week last Tuesday in Polson, but fell 0-7 on both the girls and boys side. Kyle Yankey came close in his No. 2 singles match before succumbing 1-6, 5-7. Taylor Courville gave it a shot at No. 2 singles on the girls side, but fell as well, 1-6, 3-6.

Corvallis brought tough competition last Friday as they blanked both teams 0-7. Amber Metzger won her first set at No. 3 singles, but lost in the final two, 7-6, 4-6, 0-6. The boys had much more trouble, winning only 10 games out of 94 on the day.

The final match of the week last Saturday against Whitefish was the team's best outing of the week, even though both the girls and boys lost 1-6. Amber Metzger took a dominating win at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-0.

"Amber played well against Whitefish," Cummings said. "She's a hard worker and wants to do well."

On the boys side, new No. 1 doubles pairing, Jeff Blixt and Austin Butler, found success together, rolling to a 6-1, 6-3 victory, and "played really well," Cummings said The other doubles teams did not fare as well, winning only one game in two matches..

Payton Adams had a hard fought match, falling 4-6, 6-0 in his No. 4 singles match. Spencer Sucha fell 5-7, 4-6 at No. 3 singles, but coach Cummings liked the effort he put out on the court.

"He's a great kid who goes out and competes every time," Cummings said. "Other coaches like what they see in him."

The regular season is wrapped up, and Ronan will begin divisional play today through Saturday in Kalispell.

"Anything can happen if some team or player gets hot and plays with a lot of confidence," Cummings said of the upcoming divisional tournament. "We will just have to see what happens."