Tennis: Kalispell to host Northern AA divisional

Give your team a chance. Put yourself in the mix.

That’s the goal at the Northern AA divisional tennis tournament today and Friday at Flathead Valley Community College.

Glacier, Flathead and Great Falls High boys and girls teams will fight for the top four singles and doubles spots and a trip to the state tournament.

“It’s gonna be tough,” Glacier coach Josh Munro said. “Nobody’s going to give in to the other. They’re all gonna push and make it tough on each other. It’s gonna be a good fun day.

Glacier has the deepest team, returning both the boys and girls singles champions and a plethora of talent behind them.

Wolfpack senior Kellen Bates is looking for his fourth divisional singles title, having won each of his first three seasons. Glacier senior Katya Kulikova is the defending girls singles champion.

Backing up the top two for Glacier, Hunter Blalack has been among the best boys players in the state this season and Hailey Blalack has challenged for the top spot on the team.

With both the boys and girls shooting for state titles, the goal for Glacier this week is to fill as many spots as possible at state. With a steady base of singles players, the Wolfpack will be looking toward its doubles teams to boost its chances in Great Falls.

“When it comes to state, this is a big step for us,” Munro said.

“We have to have some good quality doubles come through to back up our singles. We have some strong singles players. We’ve got to have our doubles there with them.”

Veronica Walton and Kailea Vaudt will lead the charge for the Glacier girls doubles teams. Freshmen Spencer Johnson and Britt Walton are the top boys pair.

The Flathead boys hope to make some noise in the singles competition. Glenn Strickler and Matt Widen have challenged the best in the conference this season and hope to get a shot at the top players this weekend.

“They’re both playing very well right now,” Flathead coach Sue Corrigan said.

The Bravettes’ Barrie Sugarman dropped from singles to team with Sarah Christiansenova and form one of the better doubles teams in the state.

“They haven’t had a lot of playing time this year,” Corrigan said. “They can kinda work on their specialty shots that way. We’re excited to see what they do.”

Great Falls’ Molly Crum is expected to challenge for the girls singles title. The Bison have loaded up on their doubles programs, looking to crack through with some state contenders.

“We’re really glad to have some players that can compete,” Corrigan said. “It should be fun to watch. You never know what could happen. It’s gonna be pretty exciting and good tennis.”

Matches start at noon at the FVCC courts.