High hopes for Bulldog tennis
Whitefish High School tennis teams kick off their season Thursday at Flathead Valley Community College against Columbia Falls.
For the defending state champion girls, head coach Patrick Dryden said this year they’re looking for more of the same.
“Last year our goal was to qualify as many people for state as possible, and it turned out really well for us,” he said. “I’d say this year it’s the same thing, to keep improving and peak at the right time. Last year I thought we played our best tennis of the year at state, and that’s the goal for this year.”
The team returns some of last year’s best performers, including seniors Hannah Madsen, Paige Sproul, Holly Hileman, Savannah Krause, Paint Intasuk and Melissa Pollard and junior Cailyn Ross.
However, Dryden said he’s flexible with tweaking the lineup as the season progresses.
“Last year my lineup was pretty much set in stone, and this year’s is pretty much up in the air. I probably won’t have a lineup figured out until early May,” he said.
Dryden also noted a strong surge of freshmen players that will be important in keeping the program running strong for years to come.
“We’ve got a very promising group of freshmen, 17 out for tennis, and I expect between three to five of those will be on the varsity,” he said. “Which is pretty unusual, this is my 17th year and this class probably has more potential than any class I’ve had.”
After kicking the season off on Thursday, Whitefish travels to Polson for duals against Dillon and Polson before returning home to face Libby the following week. Whitefish also hosts this year’s Class A State Tournament in late May.
For the boys, head coach Chris Schwaderer said despite early season weather forcing them indoors, he’s confident in his players as he looks ahead.
“Last year we were divisional champions, and I think we’ve been working for that for a while. So that was exciting. And we still have a lot of the core point scorers from the divisionals team, so this year my goal is to be near the top again,” Schwaderer said. “It’s always a battle, but I think we’ve got the players to compete at a high level.”
Schwaderer pointed to his two returning seniors, Ethan Potthoff and Thomas Carloss, as well as junior Eric Holdheusen, as key leaders for his team this year.
“They’ve been with the program all the way through and they’re very enthusiastic. They play in the offseason and take the game seriously,” he said.
Whitefish’s slew of tournaments this year offers plenty of chances to improve. The Bulldogs will face off in the Cut Bank, Libby, Bitterroot Invitationals, as well as the JV Davis Cup at FVCC.
“I usually look at those tournaments as really critical,” Schwaderer said. “Kids make a lot of gains getting all that court time.”
But early in the season, the main focus is just improving while the courts clear up.
“We’re just really, really hoping that we can get on the courts as soon as we can and have a regular, predictable schedules. That’s one of our biggest anxieties right now, when can we get on the courts and start playing some real tennis,” he said.