Zimmerman takes third

GREAT FALLS - Whitney Zimmerman placed third in last weekend's

Class A state tennis tournament, but that's not the scary part. The

rest of the state should be quaking in their boots knowing that the

sophomore is only going to get better from here.

GREAT FALLS - Whitney Zimmerman placed third in last weekend's Class A state tennis tournament, but that's not the scary part. The rest of the state should be quaking in their boots knowing that the sophomore is only going to get better from here.

"She's only been playing tennis for 15 months," Polson head coach Bob Hislop said. "In the future, she's going to be an amazing tennis player."

As a No. 2 seed in singles play, Zimmerman downed Dillon's

No. 3 seed Amanda Reed in the first round, 6-4, 6-2 and then defeated Park's No. 1 seed Dylan Balanda 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.

"Whitney was up 5-1 in the third set and Dylan came back to make it 5-5," Hislop said. "Whitney was fighting for her life and she found a way to win it."

Zimmerman came just one match away from the state championship bout, falling to Glendive's No. 1 player Morgan Opp, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

She found herself facing Reed again on the consolation side, and defeated her 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the third-place match against Anaconda's No. 2 player, Emily Morani.

Zimmerman sealed up her great run with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Senior Kendyall Rochin finished her high school career with an impressive run through the brackets. She started things out in the first round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Hamilton's Nellie Moran and then downed Glendive's Jordan

Johnson 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals.

It was there where she fell to eventual state champion Mary Conwell from Hamilton.

"She played a better match against the state champion than the girl that played Mary in the championship match," Hislop said.

Rochin dropped the next two matches in the consolation bracket, but her effort as player certainly stands among the best Polson has ever had.

"She was just broken up by the semi-finals loss," Hislop

said. "Kendyall is a pretty passionate kid. She's the only three-time all-state girl in Polson tennis history."

No. 2 seeded Mackenzie Clay and Jordan Quinn defeated Mary Richards and Sallie DeBoer from Livingston 6-1, 6-2 in the first round, before facing Glendive's No. 1 seeded team and falling 6-3, 6-2. They would then lose to Glendive's No. 2 seeded team, 6-3, 7-5 in the consolation bracket.

"Kenzie and Jordan had a really good first match," Hislop said. "They got into the pretty tough teams after that."

Audra Engebretson and Karmen Borchers come in as the No. 3 seeded team from the Northwest and after losing their first round match, they defeated Kasha Caprata and Hannah Sabec from Hardin 6-2, 6-1 before falling in an epic battle to C-Fall's No. 1 seeded Lexie Bartoski and Marissa Getts.

"They almost knocked off the divisional champs from the Northwestern A division," Hislop said. "I was happy with that."

Engebretson and Borchers lost by a hair, 6-3, 6-7, 8-7, 10-5.

BOYS

After downing Ed Lally and Colin Hollow from Butte Central, 7-5, 6-4, Polson's Justin Evertz and Will Davey faced the eventual state champions in the second round.

Corvallis' Cody Lengyel and Bridger Walczynski were upset the week before in their divisional tournament, meaning that despite being a No. 1 seed, Evertz and Davey were facing a powerhouse early.

"I know Will and Justin had about as bad a bracket draw as you can have," Hislop said.

They fell to the Corvallis duo, 6-1, 6-3 and then lost in the consolation bracket. However, Evertz made the tough feat of becoming a two-time divisional champion and Will Davey should be an impressive talent coming back next year.

Two other talented players, Brady Hislop and Ian Laimbeer made a splash despite their youth. Hislop was the only freshman out of 48 players and Laimbeer is just a junior.

After dropping their first round match, Hislop and Laimbeer bounced back with a 7-6, 2-6, 10-6 victory over Billings Central No. 2-seeded team, Tyler Nelson and Michael Heger.

"They barely lost to the team that finish third (in the first round)," Hislop said. "They beat Billings Central and then barely lost to the team that finished in sixth place."

WEATHERED SEASON

If 2011 is remembered for one thing, it's that it was a year without a spring. The state tournament was no different as high winds and rain plagued the tennis players who had to switch from indoor and outdoor conditions.

That was just par for the course in a year that saw numerous duals cancelled and many players get sick due to playing out in the cold.

"It was the ‘perfect ending' to this season," Hislop said jokingly. "I've never dealt with a season like this in terms of weather."

Hislop added that the weather didn't allow for the best tennis to be played due to the conditions. That's got to be

frustrating for players who wanted to end the season with

their best possible performance.

"It's just not very fun for the kids," Hislop said.

YOUTH MEANS BUILDING FOR FUTURE

The most promising thing for Polson tennis is the fact that there were a lot of young kids making an impact at the state tournament.

For the boys, Hislop will have eight back next year.

"We have some of the best athletes in the school in the tennis program," Hislop said. "We are definitely heading in the right direction and we like the kind of kids we have."

The girls will return a whopping nine out of 10 players and again should be a force in the division.

"I don't remember if we've ever had the tennis program this talented and yet this young," Hislop, who has been coaching for 20 years, said.