Lady Bulldog tennis tramples CFalls, Glacier

Whitefish senior and No. 1 singles player Gracie Smyley remained undefeated last week as the girls tennis team continues its dominating regular season play.

The girls as a team are 13-1 so far this season with one week remaining before divisionals.

Smyley took down Columbia Falls’ Hannah Schweikert in straight sets for the second time in under two weeks — and this match even more convincingly than the last as she defeated Schweikert 6-0, 6-1.

Whitefish head coach Patrick Dryden says there was a lot going on that day, but believes Smyley had the advantage due to her readiness to play.

“We talk about match preparation and being mentally prepared; I think Gracie was just better prepared for the match and it seemed like she jumped on her,” Dryden said. “Last time it was very tense for the first 30 to 45 minutes, this time around Grace just got the upperhand right from the get-go. Confidence is so important in every sport and certainly in tennis as well.”

Smyley continues her prowess on the court and sharpens her skills as the divisional tournament nears. Dryden says he believes she’ll be seeded No. 1 for the Western A Divisional Tournament.

“If people can make it out to Riverside (this week)… It’s a great opportunity to see an athlete that doesn’t come along very often,” Dryden said of the senior athlete Smyley. “Whether you’re a tennis fan or not, you should come out and take a peek — she’s got some incredible skills.”

The entire girls tennis singles lineup for Whitefish is quite strong. Recently Anyah Cripe and Lauren Brown have often been switching between the No. 2 and No. 3 spots and Emma Shaffer has been in the No. 4 singles role for most matches.

Whitefish won all four singles matches against both Columbia Falls and Glacier last week.

“What’s really standing out is just the grit and determination from the singles lineup,” Dryden said. “We just have some girls with experience that refuse to give in and it’s a pleasure to watch.”

Against CFalls, Brown defeated Wildkat No. 2 player Cloey Ramage 6-0, 6-1. Then against Glacier, Cripe won over the Wolfpack’s No. 2 player Mackenzie Baker 6-3, 6-1. Both Cripe and Brown have only lost once all season.

On the doubles side things are a little trickier for the Lady Bulldogs. Dryden says few of his doubles players have played tennis at the high school level before and the inexperience is something they are battling every time the girls hit the court.

“On the doubles side we don’t have as much experience… so it’s going to take longer for that to develop,” the coach noted. “But I’ve seen some really positive things especially out of our No. 1 team of Ali Hirsch and Tallory Workman.”

The Hirsch-Workman team has been Whitefish’s No. 1 doubles team all year and they’ve won most matches. That includes defeating Columbia Falls’ Grace Gedlaman and Lillian McDonald — 6-4, 6-2 — last week as well as Glacier’s No. 1 doubles team of Collette Daniels and Haven Speer — 6-1, 7-5.

Looking toward divisionals, Dryden is still nailing down his official lineup for the tournament but says he has a pretty good idea of the 10 girls who will play. This week will feature a few challenge matches though to make sure the girls team is the strongest possible heading into the divisional tournament next week.

“You want to enter divisionals on a high note and I feel like we’ve been doing that, we get better every week,” he said.

The girls have a busy schedule ahead of them this week as they were set to take on Ronan after press time on Tuesday. Then they play Libby and Polson on Thursday at Riverside courts in Whitefish beginning at noon, and Hamilton and Corvallis on Saturday at FVCC beginning at 11 a.m.

Whitefish 7, Columbia Falls 0

Singles

Gracie Smyley (WF) def. Hannah Schweikert 6-0, 6-1. Lauren Brown (WF) def. Cloey Ramage 6-0, 6-1. Anyah Cripe (WF) def. Anne Lybbert 6-0, 6-0. Emma Shaffer (WF) def. MacKenzie Nelson 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles

Tallory Workman/Ali Hirsch (WF) def. Grace Gedlaman/Lillian McDonald 6-4, 6-2. Emma Trieweiler/Stacia Tremper (WF) def. Abbey Biel/Alyssa Williams 2-6, 6-0, 6-2. Ashley Gunset/Addie Oehlerich (WF) def. Zoey Byrd/ Kati Crockett 6-1, 6-0.

Whitefish 7, Glacier 1

Singles

Gracie Smyley (WF) def. Mariah Dickey 6-2, 6-1. Anyah Cripe (WF) def. Mackenzie Baker 6-3, 6-1. Lauren Brown (WF) def. Sarah Downs 6-4, 6-1. Emma Shaffer (WF) def. Naomi Jutzi 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-1.

Doubles

Ali Hirsch/Tallory Workman (WF) def. Collette Daniels/Haven Speer 6-1, 7-5. Emma Trieweiler/Ashley Gunset (WF) def. Nicole Mitchell/Madison Johnson 2- 6, 6-2, 6-2. Tori Dobis/Katy Bitney (Glacier) def. Addie Oehlerich/Alivia Lusko 6-2, 6-2. Stacia Tremper/ Lauren Solem (WF) def. Kendall VanAken/Elise Strobel 6-1, 6-3.