Bulldogs swat 'Cats in league duals

Whitefish knocked off Columbia Falls in league tennis matches May 6 and 11 to keep their winning streak alive at five duals.

Led by an impressive show of endurance from Whitefish senior Joel Mallams in the May 6 dual, the Bulldogs pulled off a 5-2 win at Columbia Falls.

Mallams, playing at the No. 1 singles slot for the first time this season, won a grueling 49-game match over Vadim Zvyagelskiy, splitting the first two sets 6-4, 4-6 before going 7-6 in the third. Mallams ultimately prevailed 9-7 in the tie-breaker.

"That was a great match," Bulldog coach Chris Schwaderer said. "If I could give a team ball, I'd give it to Joel. It was an epic match and kept going back and forth. It was high stress for everyone watching.

"He just dug in there and did a great job of staying focused. I think he wore (Zvyagelskiy) down in the end. He had more in the tank."

Mallams, who typically plays No. 1 doubles with Jake Morison, was moved to singles because regular No. 1 singles player Jacob Washer is out with an injury and because Schwaderer felt he matched up nicely with Columbia Falls.

Morison played at the No. 3 singles slot and pulled off a win over another Zvyagelskiy. He took Miroslav Zvyagelskiy three sets before sweeping the final frame 6-0.

"Jake's first set was really smooth, but in the second he got conservative," Schwaderer explained. "He was playing not to lose. Then he got motivated and rolled in the third."

In No. 1 doubles, Whitefish's Tyler Schiff and Austin Sattler played as a duo for the first time and cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Brian Marcille and Jordan Mueller.

"Their games compliment each other," Schwaderer said. "They communicated and had instant chemistry, which is so important in doubles."

Rounding out the wins, Conner Ellis and Joel Bacher won at No. 2 doubles, and Nick Jack and Casey Beiser won at No. 3 doubles.

"Both are very dependable doubles teams," Schwaderer said. "It's fun to watch them continue to develop as pairs."

Whitefish cruised in a make-up dual on May 11, topping the 'Cats 6-1 by posting wins at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 singles and sweeping the doubles.

Mallams took down Parker Johnson 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1, while Schiff and Sattler teamed up to win a three-set match over Marcille and Zvyagelskiy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

On Saturday at the Flathead Invitational, Whitefish held its own against a field of top-tier Class AA schools, winning three of four doubles matches before the tourney was called due to weather. They were the only Class A team in the tourney.

"Those AA teams are really deep," Schwaderer said. "A lot of those kids play year-round or train in the summer. They are tennis players, not just athletes."

Schwaderer commended the No. 1 doubles team of Mallams and Morison in their loss to a tough team from Missoula Hellgate.

"They stepped it up a lot against Hellgate," he said. "That was the best team they've played this year. They really had to elevate their game."

The duo lost 6-3 in the first set and nearly pushed a third before falling 7-6 in the second.

Joel Bacher and Conner Ellis, playing at No. 2 doubles, beat a team from Missoula Big Sky, as did Nick Jack and Casey Beiser at No. 3 doubles.

Jack and Beiser took their first set against Big Sky's Greg Pinnaro and Will Watson 6-2 before going to the wire in the second set.

Down 30-40 and tied 4-4 in the second, a long rally ensued between the two teams that proved to be a deciding point. Beiser chased down two deep balls hit by Watson to keep the volley alive, and Jack put in the winning point at the net to force deuce. After finishing out the game to take a 5-4 lead, Jack served up an ace in the final point to take the match 6-2, 6-4.

In singles, Tyler Schiff and Francisco Valle both made good runs at winning the invitational before the tourney was canceled.

Playing at No. 2, Schiff topped Jeff Dark of Missoula Big Sky in the first round, while Valle beat Michael DeGrandpre, also of Big Sky.

The two met in the semi-finals, where Schiff won 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.

"I'm really proud of the guys," Schwaderer said about the team's strong week on the court. "Our skills are getting better, and the doubles teams are becoming more cohesive. As a team, even though this is an individual sport, we're starting to come together."

The team hosts Polson today, travels to Libby on Friday and hosts Ronan on Saturday to wrap up the regular season. Seeds for the divisional tourney will be announced on May 17.