Pirates rough up tennis teams
<p>Wildcat Miroslav Zvyagelskiy returns a shot against Polson last week.</p>
The Columbia Falls boys tennis team has found a winning combination in Parker Johnson and Miroslav Zvyagelskiy for boys doubles.
Last week, the duo dropped Will Davey and Ian Laimbeer of Polson, 6-2, 7-5. They also beat the No. 1 doubles teams from Whitefish and Stevensville.
The final scores weren’t available at presstime. The Wildcats tried to play the Bulldogs twice last week, coach Gary Yee said, once on Tuesday and again on Thursday. Both meets were canceled by rain. They finally got the match in Monday. Marcille, Johnson and Zvyagelskiy both got lone wins for the Cats.
Yee said he’s pleased with Johnson and Zvyagelskiy.
“They’re coming out on top in the conference,” he said. “But we’ve got some things we need to improve on.”
Yee also noted that Brian Marcille is getting better at No. 1 singles.
“He’s toughened up as a singles player,” Yee said. “He hasn’t peaked yet.”
The girls had a tough time against Polson — they failed to win a match against the Pirates, one of the best teams in the state this year.
“We’re looking forward to our final matches with Whitefish and Libby, then we’ll crank it up a notch for divisionals,” coach Jerry Smalley said.
The teams wrap up the regular season this week with matches against Whitefish and Libby on Thursday and Friday. The boys will be away and the girls will be at home against the Bulldogs on Thursday. Both teams will be at home against Libby on Friday. The matches start at 3 p.m.
Polson 7, Columbia Falls 0
Singles - Sara Robinson, P, def. Gabrielle Stenger, 6-2, 6-4; Whitney Zimmerman, P, def. Gabby Kellar, 6-0, 6-0; Kylee Wegner, P, def. Micinze Christopherson, 6-0, 6-1; Tegan Bauer, P, def. Hailey Sapa, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles - Mollybeth Hendrix/Kenzie Clay, P, def. Kiersten Werdt/Courtney Seward, 6-0, 6-1; Audra Engebretson/Karmen Borchers, P, def. Sonesta Billow/Maggie Penasok, 6-0, 6-0; Jordan Quinn/Karly Rochin, P, def. Elizabeth Jackson/Jessica Ream, 6-0, 6-1.
Polson 5, Columbia Falls 2
Singles - Brady Hislop, P, def. Brian Marcille, 7-5, 6-0; Sam Peel, P, def. Caleb Baumann, 6-2, 6-0; Layne Zimmerman, P, def. Gavin Thelen, 6-0, 6-1; Bailey Griffith, CF, def. Jared Gallatin, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).
Doubles - Parker Johnson/Miroslav Zvyagelskiy, CF, def. Will Davey/Ian Laimbeer, 6-2, 7-5; Dylan McCrumb/Hayden Congdon, P, def. Nathan Gedlaman/Andrew West, 6-3, 6-4; Sam Kinzle/Reed Hovenkotter, P, def. Mike Sandofer/Chris Wittcamp, 6-0, 6-2.