Lady Dogs sweep Libby in tennis
<p>Sloan Ellis returns a volley Thursday in a conference tennis dual at home against Libby.</p>
The Lady Bulldogs kicked off their tennis season with a clean sweep of conference foe Libby at home, winning all seven matches in two sets. The dual win marked the beginning of an impressive week for a team with high expectations.
“We’re off to a good start,” coach Patrick Dryden said.
Against Libby, Ryan Chauner was never threatened at No. 1 singles, winning 6-3, 6-4 over Kaya Hardgrove. The No. 1 doubles duo of Megan Danczyk and Lindsey Viscomi took care of business with an easy 6-1, 6-0 win.
Saturday the team traveled to the Bitterroot where Whitefish cruised 6-1 against Stevensville and edged Hamilton 4-3. It was Whitefish’s first team win against Hamilton since 2005.
At Stevensville, Viscomi, Danczyk and Katie Fyall each won at singles. Haley Craven and Ryan Chauner teamed up at No. 1 doubles to pick up a 6-1, 6-2 victory. The doubles team of Kendall Sattler and Lauren Cain blanked their opponent 6-0, 6-0, while Caroline Carbo and McKenzie Wick battled to win 7-5, 6-4.
“Caroline and McKenzie had a slow start, but then they just clicked,” Dryden said about the tough match.
Dryden shook up the roster on the road trip as he searches for the most potent combinations at doubles.
“I want to see what our best opportunity is to get the most people qualified for state,” Dryden explained.
He says he’ll have a better idea of where each player will be in the lineup after this week.
Whitefish hosts Bigfork on Thursday, then takes on powerhouses Polson and Dillon on Saturday.
“This week we’ll find out what we’re made of,” Dryden said.