Lady Dogs take fifth in state tournament
The Lady Bulldogs capped off their season with a fifth place team finish at the state tournament.
Whitefish finished with 15 points, behind Glendive (26), Billings Central (26), Dillon (20) and Polson (18).
Paint Intasuk took third place overall in the singles, and the doubles team of Paige Sproul and Cailyn Ross took sixth.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I thought if things came together we could squeak out a top five finish, and that’s where we placed,” head coach Patrick Dryden said. “With a little bit of luck we could’ve climbed higher.”
The team got off to a slow start on Thursday, with Intasuk winning her first round match but Hannah Madsen, Sproul and Ross and Melissa Pollard and Holly Hileman all dropping their early matches.
Madsen picked up wins in her next two matches in the consolation bracket, taking down Grace Davis-Nicolson of Belgrade 7-5, 6-2 and Brittney Schaff of Hardin in a tough 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 battle.
In the quarterfinals, Intasuk took down Madisan Chavez of Hardin 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) in their first matchup of the tournament. Intasuk won again in the third place match 6-3, 6-2.
“To take fourth at divisionals and then third at state, that’s quite remarkable,” Dryden said. “She’s a very intelligent player.”
Madsen fell to Chavez in the third round of the loser out bracket, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. While it wasn’t the ending she wanted, Dryden noted Madsen’s display of character during a tough tournament.
“I thought it showed a lot of character,” he said. “She wasn’t playing her best tennis of the year, but she still managed to squeak out a couple of victories on Thursday.”
Sproul and Ross picked up a win on Friday against Abigail Wierda and Paige Stokke of Belgrade 6-3, 6-3 in the third round of the loser out bracket.
A battle against Kenna Adolph and Blayne Meyer seemed to be going Whitefish’s way in the fourth round, with a 4-1 lead in the second set after a 6-2 first set victory. The Billings Central duo called for a bathroom break and afterwards returned to the court red hot to pick up wins in the second and third sets to advance. Sproul and Ross fell to Olivia Hewston and Kyler Lundeen of Polson in the fifth place match.
“The 10-minute bathroom break just killed our momentum. It’s legal, just a bit unfortunate,” Dryden said.
With a divisional title and a fifth place finish in state, Dryden said he’s pleased with how the season turned out.
“We accomplished a lot this year. Coming off the state championship, there were a lot of people gunning for us and talking about how down we would be this year, and it didn’t turn out that way,” he said.
The team will unload a lot of experienced players during graduation, but Dryden said he’s confident his younger players will step up for another solid season.
“We’re losing a lot of accomplished players, so were going to be extremely young next year, but I’m happy with how this younger group of freshmen is,” he said. “We’re going to try to keep playing this summer and I think we’re going to be alright when next spring rolls around.”
Team Scores — Glendive 26,, Billings Central 26, Dillon 20, Polson 18, Whitefish 15, Hardin 12, Corvallis 5, Belgrade 3, Butte Central 2, Columbia Falls 1, Lewistown 1, Stevensville 1.
Thursday, May 25
Singles
First Round
Olivia Fehr, Corvallis, def. Hannah Madsen, Whitefish, 6-1, 7-5; Paint Intasuk, Whitefish, def. Mariah McClure 7-5, 6-3;
Quarterfinals
Intasuk def. Chavez 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5);
Loser out
First Round
Madsen def. Davis-Nicolson 7-5, 6-2;
Second Round
Madsen def. Schaff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Doubles
Doubles
First Round
Kenna Adolph/Blayne Meyer, Billings Central, def. Paige Sproul/Cailyn Ross, Whitefish, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; Katrielle Carney/Abby Hill, Glendive, def. Holly Hileman/Melissa Pollard, Whitefish, 6-1, 6-2;
Loser out
First Round
Sproul/Ross def. Thomas/Saturday 6-4, 5-7, 6-1; Gatz/Arndt def. Hileman/Pollard n/a.
Second Round
Sproul/Ross def. St. John/Joyce 6-3, 6-3; Wierda/Stokke def. Gatz/Arndt 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.
Friday, May26
Singles
Semifinals
Cassie Carlyle, Polson, def. Paint Intasuk, Whitefish, 7-5, 6-4.
Loser out
Third Round
Madisan Chavez, Hardin, def. Hannah Madsen, Whitefish, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1;
Fourth Round
Intasuk def. Fehr 6-0, 6-2.
Third Place
Intasuk def. Chavez 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
Loser out
Third Round
Paige Sproul/Cailyn Ross, Whitefish, def. Abigail Wierda/Paige Stokke, Belgrade, 6-3, 6-3.
Fourth Round
Adolph/Meyer def. Sproul/Ross 2-6, 6-4, 6-4;
Fifth Place
Hewston/Lundeen def. Sproul/Ross 6-0, 6-4.