Whitefish's Paulson going for 3rd state title
At least one Whitefish High School tennis player has a target on her back.
As the results from last weekend's Western A divisional tennis meet in Kalispell would indicate, the Whitefish boys and girls should be strong contenders for state titles.
If so, the State A Tennis Tournament in Polson will bring them out.
The tournament starts today and one Bulldog has already been out - for a while.
Her name is Danni Paulson and she is going for her third State A singles tennis championship. She's lost only four games - not matches - all season.
Whitefish has 11 kids slated to compete - three singles players and four doubles teams.
Host school Polson qualified seven kids into the meet. That means the Pirates should also be considered strong contenders on their home courts. They lost the divisional team titles by just seven and six points.
Five other individuals from northwest Montana, besides the ones from Whitefish and Polson, are entered to compete. Three of them are from Bigfork and two are from Columbia Falls.
Bigfork's boys doubles team of senior Joe Wolstein and junior Owen Roberts easily won the Western A divisional championship and are slated to play a pair from Stevensville in the opening round. Wolstein lost in the consolation final last year with a different partner.
If things go well for northwestern Montana participants, Wolstein and Roberts could face Whitefish's Ryan Rottenbiller and Kyle Jacobson in the state semifinals - the third round. The Whitefish sophomores lost in the divisional semifinals to Polson seniors Colton Woods and Brett Vandeberg in a tiebreaker. Vandeberg and another partner won the state consolation match against Wolstein last year.
Rottenbiller and Jacobson start off against big Trevor Fehr, a basketball star, and his partner from Corvallis.
On the other side of the bracket are Woods and Vandeberg, who play a pair from Hamilton, and Whitefish senior Izaak Opatz and junior Ben James. Opatz and James beat Rottenbiller and Jacobson, 6-4, 6-2, in the divisional consolation match.
It's in the singles that Whitefish is really looking for state champions.
Everyone knows about Paulson but there is a newcomer to the scene. Freshman Matt Harris won the divisional and plays Hardin's Florian Rooss in the opening round. Whitefish sophomore Ian Hosek is the divison's No. 3 seed and opens against Billings Central's Alex Powers. The Bulldog girls also have a second entry in the singles. She is sophomore Brielle Menegazzi. She opens against Corvallis's Maria Peterson with Paulson staring at her in the semifinals.
On the other side of the girls bracket is Bigfork senior Tisha Smith and Polson senior Jenn Orchard. Orchard lost in the consolation quarterfinals at last year's state tournament. She opens against Dillon's Katherine Bonnin. Smith opens against another Beaver in Katie Hansen.
Along with Harris and Hosek in the boys singles for northwest Montana will be Polson seniors Andy Dykstra and Derrick Rogers. Dykstra, the division's No. 2 seed who lost to Corvallis's Fehr in the state singles consolation semifinals last year, will open against Hardin's Robbie Seykora, who lost last year's state championship match. Roberts will play Billings Central's Jordan Hatzell in the opening round.
In girls doubles, Polson sophomore Malika Erickson and senior Emily Fors beat Whitefish senior Taylor Beach and junior Kate Whitaker in straights sets in the divisional championship.
Erickson and Fors open against a pair from Miles City.
Beach and Whitaker also open against a pair from Miles City and are in the same side of the bracket as Columbia Falls sisters Kate and Sarah Marcille, who lost in the state consolation semifinals last year. They open against a pair from Billings Central.
Whitefish senior Kyla Roy and junior Maresa Jenson are the division's No. 4 seed and open against a pair from Glendive.