Tennis kicks off this week, coaches build makeshift poles for nets
Cloey Ramage returns serve during a recent practice.
Hungry Horse News
The Columbia Falls tennis team has some strong numbers this year, with 21 girls and 23 boys trying out. The team has had to make do with its new courts across from the high school.
Last year the city, which owns the park, built new courts at Hoerner Park, but it became too cold at the end of fall to put down the lines. Then, in turn, the city tore out the old courts at Columbus Park, which were in bad shape anyway.
So the squad had to practice, at least the first week or so, either in the gym at Ruder Elementary or the Summit in Kalispell.
But the city has since been able to put down temporary lines on the four courts and head coach Michele Colliander and her husband John went to work and built posts from lodgepole pine to temporarily hold up the nets.
Now the team is on the new courts, but they won’t likely have any home meets this year, because the makeshift nets and posts aren’t exactly to specifications, Colliander noted, and it needs to be warm and not rain for an extended period of time to put down the permanent lines and to finish the last coats of the surface.
Court issues aside, Colliander likes the athletes on the team. She expects good things from singles player junior Cloey Ramage, who has a smooth stroke and should be the squad’s No. 1 singles player.
On the boys’ side, expect solid play from Orion Barta and the doubles squad of Cody Schweikert and Cade Morgan. Morgan is a senior and Schweikert is a sophomore.
The pair made it to state last year and should do well this year again.
She also looks for good things from Dale Blickhan and Caleb Donsbach as well as Logan Heupel.
On Tuesday, the squads faced off against Ronan and did well, and they face Whitefish Thursday.
Ronan results:
Boys Columbia Falls 5, Ronan 2 Singles
Dillon Prettyontop (Ronan) def. Dale Blickhan (CF) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Beau Decker (Ronan) def. Orion Barta (CF) 6-1, 6-0.
Caleb Donsbach (CF) def. Brady Dreadon (Ronan) 6-3, 6-0.
Logan Heupel (CF) def. Jordan Gatch 6-1, 6-2. Doubles Cade Morgan/Cody Schweikert (CF) def. Dylan Shock /Isaac Cantlon (Ronan) 6-2, 6-3.
Jax Ramage/Will Pickard (CF) def. Dylan Dillard/ Remi Stilhein 6-4, 6-4 Ben Khodyre/Karson Warren (CF) def. Payton Coe/Tristian Buckallew (Ronan) 6-1, 6-0.
Girls Columbia Falls 6, Ronan 0 Singles
Cloey Ramage (CF) def. Alyssa Prettyontop (Ronan) 6-2, 6-2.
Lillian McDonald (CF) def. Lainey Racine (Ronan) 6-3, 6-4.
MacKenzie Nelson (CF) def. Trinity Carpentier (Ronan) 6-1, 6-1.
Zoey Byrd (CF) def. Angie Paca (Ronan) 1-6, 6-4, (7-1).
Doubles
Grace Gedlaman/Alyssa Williams (CF) def. Kaileen Howard/Madison Perry (Ronan) 6-0, 6-0. Kya West/Kati Crockett (CF) def. Margret Deming/ Mollie Sydnor (Ronan) 6-0, 6-2.