Boys tennis picks up win at Hamilton

The pieces are starting to fall into place for Whitefish’s boys tennis team after playing three duals in as many days last week.

“I’m encouraged,” head coach Chris Schwaderer said. “We’re a very young team — about half our starters are freshman. It’s a good feeling to know we are in good shape.”

The Bulldogs ran past Hamilton 6-1 on a blustery Saturday in the Bitterroot, and lost 5-2 at Stevensville. They were edged by Libby 5-2 on Thursday in a dual that could have gone either way.

“We had three tiebreakers against Libby,” Schwaderer said. “It could have gone either way. We were so close.”

Freshman Noah Roalson picked up a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles against Libby. Casey Ling and Nathan Fauth scratched our a win at No. 2 doubles 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).

At Stevensville, Logan Blades and Sean Janni teamed up at No. 1 doubles for a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Schwaderer thinks the pairing could be a dominate force.

“They’re both solid and athletic and crafty,” he said. “Whitefish has developed a mini tradition of having a really strong No. 1 doubles team. This team seem like natural heirs to take on that role. I’m excited to see how that develops.”

The team should get a boost when Nevada Kramer returns to the lineup after wrapping up his alpine ski racing season.

“Kramer looks fit and strong,” Schwaderer said. “He’ll really help us out.”

Whitefish hosts Bigfork on Thursday, then travels to Polson for duals against the Pirates and Dillon.