Polson Tennis rebounds at Cut Bank Invite
After a rocky start against Columbia Falls, the Polson tennis teams found their rhythm at the Cut Bank Invitational on April 11-12, winning three of four duals apiece and delivering standout performances across both singles and doubles action.
The Pirates began the week with a tough trip to Columbia Falls, where the boys dropped a 6-1 decision and the girls fell 5-2. Ruger Ellis was the lone bright spot for the boys, earning a 6-0, 6-1 win over Jax Ramage in dominant fashion. On the girls’ side, Summer Newman and Baylee Lemm each picked up solid straight-set victories.
Despite strong efforts, Polson was unable to close out the numerous tight matches that defined the day. Five matches went to tiebreakers or third sets, and Columbia Falls won them all.
“Columbia Falls was rough,” head coach Bob Hislop admitted. “We didn’t play our best and lost every close match and almost every tiebreaker we played.”
But the Pirates responded with a renewed sense of focus at the Cut Bank Invite, showing resilience and depth across the board. The boys defeated East Helena/Cut Bank (6-1), Havre (5-2), and Hardin (4-3), before falling to a strong Billings Central squad (5-2).
Ruger Ellis anchored the team’s singles success, going undefeated in Cut Bank. He notched wins over East Helena’s Kontland Smith (8-2), Hardin’s Luke Brien (8-4), and helped carry the momentum into other matches throughout the weekend. Branson Moss and Strider Gage were also key contributors, each picking up multiple wins, while the doubles teams showed marked improvement.
Gage went 3-1 at No. 2 singles, including an 8-0 sweep of Havre’s Vance Burr and an 8-6 win over Hardin’s Adrian Taganahan. The Moss-McElwee doubles duo posted an 8-4 victory over Cut Bank and earned another win against Havre.
On the girls’ side, Polson notched dual victories over East Helena (4-3), Havre (4-3), and Hardin (4-3), narrowly falling 4-3 to Billings Central.
Leading the charge was Newman, who went 3-1 in Cut Bank singles play. Her only loss came in a razor-close 8-7 (5) tiebreak to Billings Central’s Alisan Pelatt. Newman started the weekend with a convincing 8-4 win over Taylor Hadley of East Helena and followed up with an 8-2 rout of Havre’s Lindsey Leinwand.
Freshman Zoe Schroeder delivered one of the most impressive showings of the tournament, going 4-0 in singles and doubles combined. Schroeder dominated in a shutout win (8-0) over Billings Central’s Paula Twichel and added a victory over Dempsey Hadley of East Helena in a hard-fought 8-7 (7) match.
In doubles, the team of Josie Henriksen and Vivian Grainey earned two victories, defeating opponents from Billings Central (8-3) and Havre (8-5). Meanwhile, Cleo Martin and Abigail Lei clinched back-to-back 8-5 wins against Hardin and Billings Central to help swing key dual results in Polson’s favor.
Though both teams ultimately came up just short of a clean sweep in Cut Bank, the overall tone of the weekend was one of growth and momentum as the season enters its middle stretch.
“The kids bounced back very well in Cut Bank with both teams winning three duals and losing just one,” Hislop said.