Despite youth, boys hope to qualify for state

The Columbia Falls boys' tennis team wrapped up their regular season with a 5-2 loss to Libby. Miroslav Zvygelskiy downed Crawford Denning, 6-0, 6-3 in No. 2 singles and Tim Spencer beat Zack Schikora, 6-3, 6-4.

The divisional tournament starts Thursday at 10 a.m. at Flathead Valley Community College. Additional matches start at noon at the Summit, coach Gary Yee said.

The coaches decided to move up the matches to Thursday because the weather is supposed to turn wetter and cooler. There's a chance of rain Thursday, too, but the percentage ramps up from 40 percent Thursday to 70 percent Friday.

The divisional tournament has a history of being hampered by rain.

Yee said he's hopeful some athletes will qualify for state.

"I think we have a chance of squeezing some in," he said. "It all comes down to which kids can execute."

The top boys for the Wildcats include Parker Johnson at No. 1 singles, Miroslav Zvygelskiy at No. 2 singles and Vadim Zvygelskiy and Brian Marcille at No. 1 doubles.

It's a young group of players. Johnson, Miroslav and Marcille are sophomores. Vadim is a junior.

The team's record is 2-6 in conference duals and 3-9 overall.