Girls tennis starts out well, boys so-so

Hungry Horse News

Despite little outdoors practice, the Columbia Falls girls tennis team continued to play impressively Saturday.

After easily beating Eureka in their opener April 5, the Wildkats were strong again Saturday, dominating Libby for a 7-0 victory and then building a commanding 5-2 lead against Eureka.

The Wildkats did not finish three of their matches against Eureka. The Wildkats left so they could get back in time for Oklahoma!, the school musical. Columbia Falls was leading two of those matches, but Eureka claimed them as victories and took a 4-3 win.

Meanwhile, the boys struggled in their opener Saturday without their top two players, losing 5-2 against Libby.

Crystal Nieves won the No. 2 singles match for the Wildkats. In doubles, Kate Marcille and Sarah Marcille won 6-3, 6-4 and Emily Emmert and Donna Burns won 6-3, 6-4.

Wildkats Dana Gross and Chelsea Smith were leading 6-2 when they had to leave. Hopkins led 6-0, 2-3 in her singles match.

In the No. 1 singles match, Columbia Falls' Nikki Freebury lost against Jenny Bruns.

Columbia Falls swept Libby, winning all seven matches. In singles, Kate Marcille, Emmert, Sarah Marcille and Lisa Carter all had victories for Columbia Falls.

In doubles, Freebury and Nieves, Burns and Danielle Fagre, and Smith and Hopkins won for the Kats.

In exhibition matches, Carter won in singles and Gross and Chelsey Wilson had a doubles victory for Columbia Falls.

Casey Hebert had the only singles win for the boys team against Libby, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 against Steve Hauck.

Columbia Falls also won the No. 1 doubles match, with Chuck Sneddon and Kevin Kropp taking a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The girls team's next match is at Whitefish on Monday at 4 p.m.

The boys and girls also have matches against Flathead and Polson in Kalispell on Tuesday.