Polson Tennis qualifies several for State
Polson High School tennis athletes turned in a gritty, resilient performance at the Western A Divisional Tournament last week, qualifying several competitors for the state tournament and finishing second overall in the girls' team standings behind Whitefish.
Leading the charge was standout singles player Summer Newman, who fought her way to the girl's singles championship match. Newman won a tight three-set semifinal over Whitefish’s Ainsley Grubb, then surged to a first-set victory and even held match points in the second set against Whitefish’s Liesl Brust in the final. However, an injury forced Newman to withdraw a few games into the third set, resulting in a second-place finish.
Polson's Baylee Lemm also battled adversity. After winning her first-round match, Lemm was sidelined due to illness in the second round. Showing determination, she returned to the court the following two days and advanced deep into the consolation bracket. Her tournament ended in a hard-fought 7-5 third-set loss to Whitefish’s Emy Hansen, but her effort was enough to secure a state berth.
All three Polson girls doubles teams competed well, with Hinkley Moss and Greta Lund leading the way by placing third. The duo lost in the semifinals to the top-seeded Mercer/Kelch team from Whitefish, but fought back through the consolation rounds to earn a straight-set win over Columbia Falls' Arends/Peterson in the third-place match.
The team of Josie Henriksen and Vivian Grainey came within one match of qualifying for state. They advanced to the consolation semifinals but fell in a competitive three-set match against Arends/Peterson. Meanwhile, Karly Smith and Alexa Kinaman battled through a marathon match against Davis/Meyer of Libby that stretched over two days. Despite ultimately falling 6-7(5), 7-6(10), 7-6(5), the pair showcased excellent play and resilience.
On the boy's side, Ruger Ellis placed fourth in singles and secured a trip to state. Ellis dropped two matches to Whitefish's Owen Erickson, once in the quarterfinals and again in the consolation final but scored a signature straight-set win in the consolation semifinal against third-seeded Alderic Martineau of Dillon — who had beaten Ellis earlier in the regular season.
In boy's doubles, Branson Moss and Teague McElwee earned a third-place finish. The Polson pair knocked off Columbia Falls’ Masters/Ramage in the quarterfinals — avenging an earlier loss — then pushed the eventual champions from Whitefish to three sets in the semifinals. Moss and McElwee later met Masters and Ramage again in the third-place match, this time emerging victorious in another tight three-set battle.
Max Violett and Zayne Newman also performed well in doubles, advancing to the consolation semifinals before being eliminated.
With multiple athletes advancing to the state tournament — set to begin Thursday in Billings — and younger players gaining valuable postseason experience, Polson tennis looks to continue its momentum on the state stage and into future seasons.