WHS girls pound Bravettes

Whitefish, Flathead boys tie

Whitefish's Danni Paulson has made a habit of spending very little time on the court.

Paulson is undefeated so far and has dropped just one game. In her match on Tuesday against Flathead's Sara Newgard, she didn't even lose a point until the third game in the first set. Paulson won the quick match, 6-0, 6-0.

Paulson set the pace for the Lady Bulldogs, who cruised by the Bravettes, 7-1, while the Braves tied the Bulldogs, 4-4.

Newgard started the match strong. Her first serve was powerful, but she hit the ball wide after a short rally. Paulson was immediately in good form. Her punchy shots were well-placed, forcing Newgard to run just to keep the ball in play.

"I feel really good, really confident," Paulson said of her play this year.

Newgard had her chances in the first set. When she stayed near the baseline, her length and power kept Paulson on the move. Unfortunately for Newgard, she tried many spin hits that were either too easy for Paulson to get or landed well outside the lines.

Except for one.

One of Newgard's strong slices caught the edge of her racquet. When the ball landed on Paulson's side of the court, it bounced so dramatically that Paulson let out a surprised shout as she swung.

Newgard's best game in the first set found her up 30-0 with Paulson serving. But three errors later and a swift backhand by Paulson ended any glimmer of an upset.

In spite of a short struggle with her serve, Paulson ran through the second set without much trouble.

Paulson, the reigning state champion in Class A, is again heavily favored to win it all. No one has come close to beating her in a long time.

"It's just one match at a time," Paulson said. "I just play the ball, the opponent doesn't really matter."

BRAVES 4, BULLDOGS 4

Singles - Matt Harris, WF, def. Ryan Gregg 6-3, 6-2; Travis Cattron, FHS, def. Izaak Opatz 6-4, 6-4; Wesley Mathison, FHS, def. Ben James 6-2, 6-2; Ian Hosek, WF, def. Charles Satterlee 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles - Ryan Rottenbiller/Kyle Jakobson, WF, def. Cody Harrison/Josh Brann 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Jon Thiebes/Jeremy Loween, FHS, def. Brendan Viscomi/Scott Johnson 6-7, 6-3, 6-4; Erik Skybak/Kevin Burfeind, FHS, def. Chase Pierce/David Hobbs 7-5, 6-2; Matt Whitehead/Matt Harris, WF, def. Jordan Vaughan/Taylor Heinecke 6-2, 6-1.

BULLDOGS ?, BRAVETTES 1

Singles - Danni Paulson, WF, def. Sara Newgard 6-0, 6-0; Elli Brown, FHS, def. Jesse Kuennen 6-1, 7-5; Brielle Menegazzi, WF, def. Mallory Pisk 6-1, 6-0; Maria Driscoll, WF, def. Margaret Koenig 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles - Kate Whitaker/Taylor Beach, WF, def. Izzy Makman/Hanna Hanes 6-2, 6-3; Mares Jenson/Kyla Roy, WF, def. Ashlea Vaudt/Chelsea Vaudt 6-2, 6-2; Molly Lauterbach/Sabrya Martin, WF, def. Theresa Gill/Maggie Sherrill 6-2, 6-3; McCara Cullen/Kate Klundt, WF, def. Heather Wallace/Melanie Nelson 5-7, 7-6 (7-5).