Bulldogs alter lineup heading into divisionals, reg season wraps up with wins
Whitefish senior Austin Gunset watches his shot during a match against Polson on Friday at Riverside Courts in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
The Bulldog boys tennis team has made some last-minute changes to its lineup but believes they are taking the strongest team possible into the postseason.
On the final day of the regular season, the coaching staff decided to switch the Bulldog No. 1 doubles team to the pair of Aaron Dicks and Mason Kelch — neither had ever competed together before. The combination played well, defeating Hamilton’s No. 1 doubles in straight sets and also taking down Corvallis’ doubles team of Nik Talia and Luke Sangster, 6-1, 6-3. Kelch, a sophomore, and Dicks, a senior, will pair up to be the Bulldog's No. 1 doubles team for divisonals this weekend.
“They looked really good against a tough team from Corvallis that we played on Saturday,” Whitefish head coach Chris Schwaderer said. “I was really impressed, it’s a team that didn’t have any history playing together. I just thought from a chemistry standpoint, they looked really good, I think it’s a good matchup.”
Another change that occurred on Saturday was switching senior Highland Lee-French to singles. Lee-French has primarily played in the No. 1 doubles spot, and last year competed at the state tournament with Dicks as his teammate in the doubles play.
Lee-French also came up with a big win when he switched to singles, winning over both Hamilton and Corvallis players in straight sets.
“On the singles side, Highland Lee-French he had a fantastic match against Corvallis’ No. 1 who’s a really good singles player,” Schwaderer said. “He came out, and he’s got all the shots, a complete game. He played a fantastic match.”
Also playing in the No. 1 singles spot is Bulldog senior Joe Brandt. He lost a tough one to Hamilton’s Andy Purcell, 6-4, 6-4, but came back to defeat Covallis’ No. 2 player Braeden Gager in straight sets.
Whitefish defeated Hamilton 6-1 and Corvallis 7-0 on Saturday. The Bulldogs also hosted Ronan and Polson on Friday and defeated both teams. Last week’s performances helped the team to finish its season 14-0, undefeated in regular-season play.
“I’m really happy with the regular season… and I feel like we’ve gotten stronger and stronger,” Schwaderer said.
This season has been tough for the coaching staff to figure out the best combinations for the team, Schwaderer says. The Whitefish team is deep and features a talented group of players. He added that despite late changes to the lineup, his players have been willing to play where they’re needed in order to ensure the best outcome for the team in the postseason.
It’s been fun, it’s been kind of an adventure, but a little stressful trying to figure out how it’s all going to shake out,” Schwaderer said. “But I feel confident now that we’re going into the postseason with the strongest team that we can put out there, I’m looking forward to seeing us play.”
Going into divisionals, Dicks and Kelch will be the No. 1 doubles team, while Brandt and Lee-French will be the No. 1 and 2 singles players.
“We’re 14-0, but I think we probably celebrated that for about 5 minutes…” the coach said. “The divisional tournament is up next and it’s all about showing up.”
Whitefish will play in the Northwest A Divisional Tournament on Thursday and Friday at Flathead Valley Community College. Start times were still to be determined at press time on Tuesday.
Whitefish 6, Hamilton 1
Singles
Andy Purcell (H) def. Joe Brandt 6-4, 6-4; Highland Lee-French (W) def. Isaac Harmon 6-0, 6-0; Austin Gunset (W) def. Dawson Berglund 6-4, 6-3; Neil Bernat (W) def. Sam Duerr 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles
Aaron Dicks/Mason Kelch (W) def. Liam O'Connell/Jackson Heath 6-2, 6-1; Fin Stagg/Jesse Burrough (W) def. Jacob Rollins/James Truax 6-0, 6-0; Dane Hunt/Johnny Nix (W) d. Jonah Wilhelm/Fin Dufresne 6-0, 6-0.
Whitefish 7, Corvallis 0
Singles
Highland Lee-French (W) def. Ryan Hutchinson 6-1, 6-1; Joe Brandt (W) def. Braeden Gager 6-0, 6-2; Austin Gunset (W) def. Jackson Chavez 6-2, 6-0; Neil Bernat (W) d. Emmett Allsop 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles
Aaron Dicks/Mason Kelch (W) def. Nik Talia/Luke Sangster 6-1, 6-3; Fin Stagg/Jesse Burrough (W) def. Chance Jessop/Grant Wilcox 6-4, 6-2; Dane Hunt/Johnny Nix (W) def. Corbin Kirkland/Jeffrey Vai 6-0, 6-2.
Whitefish 5, Polson 2
Singles
Joe Brandt (W) def. Torrin Ellis 6-2, 6-3; Austin Gunset (W) def. Chris Lake 6-1, 6-2; Noah Trosper (P) def. Neil Bernat 6-4, 6-2; Buren Brust (W) def. Casey Trosper 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles
Highland Lee-French/Mason Kelch (W) def. Trent Wilson/Owen McElwee 6-2, 6-4; Colter Wilson/Tate Barentsen (P) def. Fin Stagg/Jesse Burrough 6-4, 7-5; Dane Hunt/Johnny Nix (W) def. Otto Lund/Brock Henrickson 6-4, 6-3.
Whitefish 6, Ronan 1
Singles
Mason Kelch def. Beau Decker (forfeit); Dillon PrettyOnTop (R) def. Austin Gunset 6-3, 6-3; Neil Bernat (W) def. Remi Stalhein 6-0, 6-1; Buren Brust (W) def. John Paca 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
Highland Lee-French/Joe Brandt (W) def. Brady Dresden/Larenz Alvarez 6-2, 6-2; Fin Stagg/Jesse Burrough (W) def. Isaac Cantlon/Dylan Dillard 6-0, 6-0; Dane Hunt/Johnny Nix (W) def. Tristan Buckallew/Eithan McCauley 6-0, 6-0.