Girls tennis fine-tuning ahead of divisionals

As the Lady Bulldogs head into the postseason, they are set in their lineup and working on minor details before the Western A Divisional Tournament begins on Wednesday.

In singles, Gracie Smyley will head to the tournament in Polson as the No. 1 seed and teammate Anyah Cripe is ranked as the No. 4 seed.

Last week the girls tennis team finished out regular season play with a busy five-match week. Whitefish head coach Patrick Dryden was impressed with the improvements he saw and happy to have a solid lineup at full strength going into the postseason.

At doubles, the duo of Ali Hirsch and Tallory Workman continues to be Whitefish’s No. 1 doubles team and will be ranked as the No. 3 seed for the divisional tournament. Last week the team went 3-1 beating Libby, Corvallis and Hamilton in straight sets while losing to Polson’s No. 1 team of Qia Harlan and Berkley Ellis.

Hirsch and Workman are 12-2 on the season with their only losses coming from Polson’s top doubles teams.

“Ali Hirsch and Tallory Workman have really gelled together, they played really well all week,” Dryden said. “Their strength is Tallory serving and Ali at the net, it’s just a great combination. They’re doing a better job of keeping the ball away from the net person, working angles, hitting overheads.”

At the No. 2 doubles is Emma Trieweiler and Ashley Gunset. This team also defeated Libby, Corvallis and Hamilton and lost to Polson last week.

“I think they can make some noise at divisionals,” Dryden said. “They’re both athletic, aggressive players. I’d say their big improvement is they actually eliminated double faults.”

The team of Addie Oehlerich and Stacia Tremper rounds out Whitefish’s doubles lineup. Dryden likes how this team thinks, knows the game of tennis and works together.

At singles Gracie Smyley continued her dominance and remained undefeated last week at Whitefish’s No. 1 singles spot. Smyley defeated Eliana Foss from Hamilton and Madeline Delco of Corvallis, two of the state’s top players according to Dryden, for the second time this season in straight sets.

Anyah Cripe at the No. 2 singles spot for the Lady Bulldogs was matched up with the No. 1 players from Libby and Ronan last week to test her ahead of divisionals. Skyler Shima of Ronan got the better of Cripe on Tuesday, but on Thursday she defeated Libby’s Laneigha Zeiler 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5.

“She (Cripe) earned it, she stepped up and played a couple of the No. 1 players,” Dryden said. “She is 14-2 on the year.”

Lauren Brown and Emma Shaffer are in the No. 3 and No. 4 slots for the Bulldogs. Both played well last week nabbing a couple wins.

The Western A Divisional Tournament in Polson was moved up to begin on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. due to potential delays caused by stormy weather conditions.

Whitefish 4, Ronan 2

Singles

Skyler Shima (R) d. Anyah Cripe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Gracie Smiley (W) d. Courtney Bourdoun 6-0, 6-0. Lauren Brown (W) d. Lainey Racine 6-0, 6-0. Maile Vine (W) won by forfeit.

Doubles

Aaliyah Decker/Allyssa Prettyontop (R) d. Stacia Tremper/Addie Oehlerich 6-1, 7-5. Emma Shaffer/Alivia Lusko (W) v. Kaileen Howard/Maddy Perry, incomplete. Lauren Solem/Iris Hunt (W) won by forfeit.

Whitefish 7, Libby 0

Singles

Anyah Cripe (W) d. Laneigha Zeiler 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5. Gracie Smyley (W) d. Gabby Fantozzi 6-0, 6-0. Lauren Brown (W) d. Sally Weber 6-0, 6-0. Emma Shaffer (W) d. Bella Covington 6-1, 3-6, 1-0(8).

Doubles

Ali Hirsch/Tallory Workman (W) d. Elise Erickson/Ruby Martin 6-3, 6-1. Emma Trieweiler/Ashley Gunset (W) d. Jessica Cunningham/Ivy Pierce 7-6(4), 7-6(8). Stacia Tremper/Addie Oehlerich (W) d. Alex Andersson/Annika Thorstenson 6-4, 6-4.

Polson 4, Whitefish 3

Singles

Gracie Smyley (W) d. Sarah Kinzle 6-0, 6-1. Anyah Cripe (W) d. Sierra Lundeen 6-2, 6-3. Lauren Brown (W) d. Elizabeth Tolley 6-3, 6-0. Katelyn Smith (P) d. Maile Vine 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles

Qia Harlan/Berkley Ellis (P) d. Ali Hirsch/Tallory Workman 6-3, 6-1. Ara Mercer/Megan Rost (P) d. Emma Trieweiler/Ashley Gunset 6-2, 6-2. Clara Todd/Taylor Collinge (P) d. Stacia Tremper/Addie Oehlerich 6-1, 6-2.

Whitefish 5, Corvallis 2

Singles

Gracie Smyley (WF) d. Madeline Delco 6-0, 6-0. Anyah Cripe (WF) d. Tiani Ertel 6-5, ret. Lilly Trail (C) d. Lauren Brown 5-2, ret. Emma Shaffer (WF) d. Addie Rohlman 9-8.

Doubles

Ali Hirsch/Tallory Workman (WF) d. Hailey Anderson/Madison Henry 6-4, 6-3. Emma Trieweiler/Ashley Gunset (WF) d. Ala Allsop/Emma Jessop 6-2, 6-1. Dakota Powell/Bailey Jessop (C) d. Addie Oehlerich/Stacia Tremper 6-4, 6-2.

Whitefish 7, Hamilton 0

Singles

Gracie Smyley (WF) d. Eliana Foss 6-3, 7-5. Lauren Brown (WF) d. Gracie Hawkes 6-2, 6-1. Anyah Cripe (WF) d. Janessa Chaplin 6-2, 6-1. Alivia Lusko (WF) d. Sophia Lewanski 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles

Ali Hirsch/Tallory Workman (WF) d. Maria Kanewisher 7-5, 6-4. Emma Trieweiler/Ashley Gunset (WF) d. Madeline DeVall/Emma Hollingsworth 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. Stacia Tremper/Addie Oehlerich d. Ellie Pearce/Gwen Wolfe 6-4, 6-4.