Lady Dogs seize divisional title in Polson

The Lady Bulldogs capped off a strong season on the courts with a divisional title down in Polson last week.

Whitefish came away with 52 team points, ahead of Polson’s 40 and Columbia Falls’ 20, a testament to strong play by the team as a whole, head coach Patrick Dryden said.

“Everybody stepped it up,” he said. “Every person on the team scored at least three team points. That’s never happened in my 17 years as coach. So everybody really picked it up.”

Paint Intasuk finished in third in the singles bracket, falling to eventual winner Cassie Carlyle from Polson. The doubles team of Cailyn Ross and Paige Sproul fell in the final to Olivia Hewston and Kyler Lundeen of Polson to take second place, and the duo of Holly Hileman and Mellisa Pollard took fourth.

The divisional title for Whitefish ends a 10-year streak of titles for the Lady Pirates.

On Thursday and Friday Intasuk, Hannah Madsen, Ross and Sproul, and Hileman and Pollard will face off against the best in state at FVCC. Start times had not been announced as of presstime.

For the doubles teams, Dryden said his girls will be facing matchups from the east side of the state.

“Which is really a pretty tough draw this year. The east is really strong in doubles,” he said.

For the singles, Madsen and Intasuk will likely be facing players from the Southwest that they’ve seen plenty of this season.

Dryden said he’s ready to see how his players fare in state, but he’s proud of how the team did as a whole this season.

“It’s been kind of a surprising year, to go 15-2 in duals and to win a divisionals title. We just never really talked about it,” he said. “Couldn’t have been much better.”

Tuesday, May 16

Girls

Northwest A divisional

Singles

Savannah Krause (Whitefish) defeated Sammi Mueller (Columbia Falls) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3; Paint Intasuk (Whitefish) defeated Josie Peterson (Polson) 6-0, 6-1; Molly Schmitt (Columbia Falls) defeated Claire Carloss (Whitefish) 6-1, 6-1; Hannah Madsen (Whitefish) defeated Brianna Kirby (Columbia Falls) 6-0, 6-0; Claire Carloss (Whitefish) defeated Brianne Bartschi (Stevensville) 6-0, 6-0; Cassie Carlyle (Polson) defeated Savannah Krause (Whitefish) 6-1, 6-1; Paint Intasuk (Whitefish) defeated Erin Bartlett (Stevensville) 6-0, 6-1; Hannah Madsen (Whitefish) defeated Sophia Speckert (Polson) 6-1, 6-2; Claire Carloss (Whitefish) defeated Erin Bartlett (Stevensville) 7-5, 6-4; Savannah Krause (Whitefish) defeated Ashley Eyre (Stevensville) 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles

Olivia Pothoff/Aubrey Hanks (Whitefish) defeated Alex DesChamps/Kayla Eyre (Stevensville) 6-2, 7-5; Holly Hileman/Melissa Pollard (Whitefish) defeated Jamyn Beller/Kylie Burlingham (Stevensville) 6-4, 6-1; Elizabeth Violett/Olivia Hewston/Kyler Lundeen (Polson) defeated Olivia Pothoff/Aubrey Hanks (Whitefish) 6-1, 6-1; Holly Hileman/Melissa Pollard (Whitefish) defeated Kayla Nicol/Meghan McCallum (Columbia Falls) 6-4, 6-0; Paige Sproul/Cailyn Ross (Whitefish) defeated Elizabeth Violett/Alia Tavenner (Polson) 6-2, 6-4; Olivia Pothoff/Aubrey Hanks (Whitefish) defeated Sharmaine Zempel (Polson) 6-3, 6-3;

Thursday, May 18

Northwestern A divisional

Team scores: Whitefish 52, Polson 40, Columbia Falls 20, Stevensville 14.

Singles

Quarterfinals: Claire Carloss, WHI, def. Savannah Krause, WHI, 6-0, 6-3; Paint Intasuk, WHI, def. Shea McGuinness, POL, 6-1, 6-0; Hannah Madsen, WHI, def. Claire Carloss, WHI, 6-0, 6-1.

Semifinals: Cassie Carlyle, POL, def. Paint Intasuk, WHI, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2; Molly Schmitt, CF, def. Hannah Madsen, WHI, by default.

Final: Carlyle def. Schmitt, 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles

Quarterfinals: Olivia Potthoff/Aubrey Hanks, WHI, def. Kayla Nicol/Meghan McCallum, CF, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Holly Hileman/Melissa Pollard, WHI, def. Jamyn Beller/Kylie Burlingham, STE, 6-2, 6-3; Shelby Spokas/Jackie Westman, STE, def. Olivia Potthoff/Aubrey Hanks, WHI, 6-1, 6-4.

Semifinals: Hewston/Lundeen def. Hileman/Pollard, 6-2, 6-1; Sproul/Ross def. Spokas/Westman, 6-3, 6-3.

Final: Hewston/Lundeen def. Sproul/Ross, 6-1, 6-2.