Girls tennis starts season on fire

The Lady Bulldog tennis team opened its season on fire last week. Whitefish went 3-0 in team duals, notching victories over Columbia Falls, Libby and Bigfork.

Coach Pat Dryden admits he’s a bit surprised by the hot start.

“I thought this might be a rebuilding year since we have no seniors, but we’re definitely not rebuilding,” he said.

Whitefish kicked off the season April 7 with an impressive 5-2 Northwest A dual win over the Wildkats.

The teams split in singles, but the Lady Dogs swept doubles action to get the team victory.

In singles, Heather Luedke won in the No. 2 match, and Hannah Madsen picked up a win at No. 3.

Top doubles team Anna Peterson and Katie Fyall easily won 6-0, 6-0.

Dryden is looking to those four girls to lead the team.

“They’re just stepping it up a notch this season,” he said.

Dryden was impressed by the No. 3 doubles team of Melissa Pollard and Paige Sproul in their 6-1, 7-5 over Kaylee Flanigan and Emily Scallen. Neither of the girls has played tennis prior to this season.

“They really picked it up for how little time they’ve had on the court,” he said. “Both are good athletes.”

Against Libby, Whitefish simply took care of business, winning all seven matches.

Fyall won at No. 1 singles defeating Kaylene Hudson 6-0, 6-3.

Luedke and Madsen teamed up at No. 1 doubles to get an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.

Whitefish was solid at the Cut Bank Invitational over the weekend and survived the steady 40 mph winds.

“You just have to have a good attitude and roll with it,” Dryden said of the wind. “Some kids handled it well and others hopefully learned from it. It was survival tennis.”

The team returned from Cut Bank to host Bigfork on Monday afternoon, marking their seventh tennis dual in six days.

Showing no signs of fatigue, the Lady Dogs rolled to a 5-2 victory.

Key wins in singles came from Keara Delaney and Pollard.

Whitefish swept the doubles action.

The Lady Dogs next travel to Polson to take on Dillon and Polson.

Dryden says the team will spend the week working on different ground strokes and will introduce some match strategy.

Whitefish 5, Columbia Falls 2

Singles — Emily Getts, CF, def. Keara Delaney, 6-1, 6-1; Heather Luedke, W, def. Hailey Sapa, 6-0, 6-4; Hannah Madsen, W, def. Molly Schmit, 6-3, 6-2; Harley Molchan, CF, def. Makenna Benbrook, 7-6 (9-7), 6-0.

Doubles — Anna Peterson/Katie Fyall, W, def. Samantha Gilk/Samantha Mueller, 6-0 6-0; Cassidy Grady/Annika Gordon, W, def. Sydney Grilley/Morgan Stenger, 7-5, 6-2; Melissa Pollard/Paige Sproul, W, def. Kaylee Flanigan/Emily Scallen, 6-1, 7-5.

Whitefish 7, Libby 0

Singles — Katie Fyall, W, def. Kaylene Hudson, 6-0, 6-3; Anna Peterson, W, def. Sarah McBride, 6-1, 6-2; Annika Gordon, W, def. Katie Alspaw, 7-5, 6-4; Makenna Benbrook, W, def. Laurynn Lauer, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles — Heather Luedke/Hannah Madsen, W, def. Jenna Barrick/Cloie Boardner, 6-0, 6-1; Keara Delaney/Cassidy Grady, W, def. Dani Hawthorne/McKenzie Cosgriff, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2; Melissa Pollard/Holly Hileman, W, def. Paula Fernandez/Issabella Martineau, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Whitefish 5, Bigfork 2

Singles — Alanna Weilacher, B, def. Katie Fyall, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5); Sophie Hasselmeier, B, def. Anna Peterson, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Keara Delaney, W, def. Karlee Park, 6-1, 6-2; Melissa Pollard, W, def. Stacy Paulson, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles — Heather Luedke/Hannah Madsen, W, def. Brooke Bonner/Lana Berg, 6-2, 6-3; Cassidy Grady/Annika Gordon, W, def. Jaime Berg/Kalia Wicklund, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3); Paige Sproul/Cailyn Ross, W, def. Wilson Vogt/Kassandra Butterfield, 6-0, 6-2.