Rivalry win for Whitefish

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH 'd1 Buoyed by a sweep in doubles play, the Whitefish boys tennis team clipped Columbia Falls 5-2 Thursday.

Kyle Jacobson and Cody Harrison were 6-3, 6-2 winners in No. 1 doubles. Brenden Viscomi and Ryan Rottenbiller claimed victory in No. 2 doubles and Michael Karper and Kevin Kropp did the same at No. 3.

'd2The kids played really well,'d3 Bulldogs coach Michelle Malletta said. 'd2The kids have been working really hard, trying to get outside as much as possible.'d3

Columbia Falls picked up singles wins from Fredrich Schweinitz and Jeremy Loween. Schweinitz defeated Izaak Opatz 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 slot. Loween won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4.

'd2We had a tough first match, but we looked a lot better'd3 as the day went on, Malletta said. 'd2We have a really young team, so we'd5ve got a lot of years ahead of us.'d3

Boys

BULLDOGS 5, WILDCATS 2

Singles'd1Fredrich Schweinitz, CF, def. Izaak Opatz 6-3, 6-2; Kyle Archer, WF def. Josh Kaplan 6-4, 6-4; Ben James, WF, def. Clayton Johnson 6-1, 6-0; Jeremy Loween, CF, def. Karl McConnell 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles'd1Kyle Jacobson/Cody Harrison, WF def. Devon Hagen/Chuck Sneddon 6-3, 6-2; Brenden Viscomi/Ryan Rottenbiller, WF, def. Michael Karper/Kevin Kropp 6-4, 6-3; Chris Archer/Scott Johnson, WF, def. Paul Webb/Casey Helbert 6-0, 6-2.

Girls

WHITEFISH 'd1 Everything came down to the No. 4 singles match for the Whitefish and Columbia Falls girls tennis teams Thursday.

At 8:15 p.m., with the teams tied at 3-all, each girl had won a set and darkness was settling in. The match went to a 10-point tiebreaker.

'd2It was two really good athletes who are both newcomers to tennis,'d3 said Whitefish head coach Patrick Dryden.

Whitefish'd5s Brielle Menegazzi has a volleyball/basketball background, while Columbia Falls'd5 Lisa Carter has track experience.

It was Menegazzi who got the breaks, however. She was the beneficiary of three straight netcord winners and wound up with the 6-2, 4-5, 7-6 (3) win. That gave the Bulldogs a 4-3 win over their valley rival.

'd2Those kinds of things kind of rip your heart out,'d3 Dryden said of the netcord winners. 'd2Very, very evenly played match,'d3 he added.

'd2I thought the girls played well,'d3 Dryden said. 'd2I thought we got better today, even the matches we lost.'d3

In other matches, Whitefish No. 1 singles player Danni Paulson extended her high school career record to 27-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Emily Emmert.

The No. 2 singles match also featured two of the top players in the conference. Whitefish'd5s Taylor Beach claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory from the Wildkats'd5 Kate Marcille.

Columbia Falls won the No. 1 and 3 doubles.

Crystal Nieves and Nikki Freebury defeated Kelsi Peach and Allie Connelly 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.

BULLDOGS 4, WILDKATS 3

Singles 'd1 Danni Paulson (WF) def. Emily Emmert (CF) 6-0, 6-0; Taylor Beach (WF) def. Kate Marcille (CF) 6-4, 6-1; Sarah Marcille (CF) def. Jessie Kuennen (WF) 6-2, 7-5; Brielle Menegazzi (WF) def. Lisa Carter (CF) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Doubles 'd1 Crystal Nieves/Nikki Freebury (CF) def. Kelsi Peace/Allie Connelly (WF) 6-2, 6-1;Kyla Salisbury/Maresa Jenson (WF) def. Danielle Fagre/Donna Burns (CF) 6-3, 7-6 (3); Chelsea Smith/Jessica Hopkins (CF) Kyla Roy/ Brie Barber (WF) 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Exhibition 'd1'caKelsi Peace (WF) def. Rosemary Delimata (CF) 8-2.