Glacier's Frampton rebounds to place 3rd in girls singles

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier’s Maria Frampton bounced back from a heartbreakingly close loss in the state semifinals to win two consolation matches and take third place in girls singles at the Class AA state tennis tournament on Friday at Flathead Valley Community College.

Frampton took the first set against Bozeman’s Heather Sikoski, the defending AA state champion, in a tiebreaker but dropped the final two sets in a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-1 defeat.

Sikoski went on to defeat Great Falls CMR’s Mackenzie George for her second straight title.

“(Frampton) played very, very mentally tough, and she was the stronger, more patient player (in the first set),” Glacier coach Josh Munro said. “In the second set and a little bit in the third, Heather took that away from her.

“Heather had her on the defense so much that Maria didn’t have the opportunity to hang around. Heather turned it up a notch.”

In the consolation bracket, Frampton took down Billings Senior’s Gigi Montague 6-1, 6-1 before dispensing of CMR’s Gail Parambi 6-2, 6-0 in the third-place match.

Frampton provided eight of Glacier’s 12 points, which was good enough for fifth place. The Wolfpack boys finished seventh with nine points.

Like Frampton, Glacier’s boys doubles team of Tyler Keller and Kyle Buckingham fell victim to the eventual state champions — Bozeman’s Jackson Pedersen and Andrija Martinovic — in the semifinals by a score of 6-2, 6-3.

“We definitely played the best of the best,” Munro said. “That’s what state’s about.”

Keller and Buckingham lost their consolation semifinals match to Alex Seburn and Evan Martin of Helena 6-4, 6-4.

McKenna Johnson and Maggie Rudbach, paired up in girls doubles for Glacier, edged Ashley Bough and Leslie Pazmino of Billings Senior 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4) in a thrilling match in the consolation quarterfinals before bowing out versus Helena Capital’s Bridget Powers and Fiona Powers — the defending AA state doubles champions — 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in the consolation semis.

Glacier’s only boys singles competitor — freshman Rory Smith — beat Capital’s Alex Hanson 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the consolation quarterfinals before losing to Cory Bowlby of Helena 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the consolation semis.

“I was very pleased with (Smith’s play),” Munro said. “As a freshman with his first real experience with these kind of tournaments, I think he did very, very well for himself.”

Billings Senior put up 23 points to runner-up Bozeman’s 18 to take the boys title.

Senior and Bozeman tied on top with 22 points apiece, splitting the girls title, and Great Falls CMR was just off the pace with 21 points to take third. There is no mechanism in place for breaking a tie for the championship.

“I thought it was a very good day and a very good tournament for our school overall,” Munro said. “The overall quality of play from all schools was high-caliber.”

Class AA State Tennis

Flathead Valley Community College

Friday

Boys

Team scores — Billings Senior 23, Bozeman 18, Missoula Sentinel 15, Missoula Hellgate 14, Helena 13, Missoula Big Sky 11, Glacier 9, Billings Skyview 7, Helena Capital 2.

Singles

Championship — Jesse Dimich-Louvet, BSR, def. Liam Johnson, MBSK, 6-2, 6-4.

Semifinals — Liam Johnson, MBSK, def. Jay Montague, BSR, 6-1, 6-4; Jesse Dimich-Louvet, BSR, def. Cory Bowlby, HEL, 7-6(5), 6-2.

Consolation Finals — Jay Montague, BSR, def. Cory Bowlby, HEL, 6-3, 6-4.

Consolation Semifinals — Cory Bowlby, HEL, def. Rory Smith, GLAC, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Jay Montague, BSR, def. Aiden Binau, BSKV, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Consolation Quarterfinals — Rory Smith, GLAC, def. Alex Hanson, CAP, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; Aiden Binau, BSKV, def. Austin Moseley, HELG, 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles

Championship — Jackson Pedersen/Andrija Martinovic, BOZ, def. Ethan Violette/Cody Curtis, SENT, 6-3, 6-2.

Semifinals — Ethan Violette/Cody Curtis, SENT, def. Tal Rogers/Levi Collins, BOZ, 6-1, 6-3; Jackson Pedersen/Andrija Martinovic, BOZ, def. Tyler Keller/Kyle Buckingham, GLAC, 6-2, 6-3.

Consolation Finals — Jesse Howard/Cole Tolleson-Knee, HELG, def. Alex Seburn/Evan Martin, HEL, 6-1, 6-0.

Consolation Semifinals — Alex Seburn/Evan Martin, HEL, def. Tyler Keller/Kyle Buckingham, GLAC, 6-4, 6-4; Jesse Howard/Cole Tolleson-Knee, HELG, def. Tal Rogers/Levi Collins, BOZ, 6-3, 7-6(4).

Consolation Quarterfinals — Alex Seburn/Evan Martin, HEL, def. Ben Ebel/Trevor Dillon, BSKV, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4; Jesse Howard/Cole Tolleson-Knee, HELG, def. Henry Stahl/Wyatt Brown, HELG, 6-2, 6-2.

Girls

Team scores — Billings Senior 22, Bozeman 22, Great Falls CMR 21, Missoula Hellgate 17, Glacier 12, Helena Capital 8, Billings West 3, Missoula Sentinel 3, Billings Skyview 1, Butte 1, Great Falls 1, Helena 1.

Singles

Championship — Heather Sikoski, BOZ, def. Mackenzie George, CMR, 6-2, 7-6(3).

Semifinals — Mackenzie George, CMR, def. Gail Parambi, CMR, 6-2, 6-1; Heather Sikoski, BOZ, def. Maria Frampton, GLAC, 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-1.

Consolation Finals — Maria Frampton, GLAC, def. Gail Parambi, CMR, 6-2, 6-0.

Consolation Semifinals — Maria Frampton, GLAC, def. Gigi Montague, BSR, 6-1, 6-1; Gail Parambi, CMR, def. Kristen Kraske, BSR, 6-4, 6-4.

Consolation Quarterfinals — Gigi Montague, BSR, def. Meredith Murdock, SENT, 6-4, 6-2; Kristen Kraske, BSR, def. Stevi Parker, BWES, 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles

Championship — Olivia Panarella/Hannah Worden, HELG, def. Makenzy Gilsdorf/Annie Woods, BSR, 6-3, 6-0.

Semifinals — Makenzy Gilsdorf/Annie Woods, BSR, def. Bridget Powers/Fiona Powers, CAP, 6-2, 6-3; Olivia Panarella/Hannah Worden, HELG, def. Annika Linkenbach/Laurel Ward, BOZ, 6-4, 6-2.

Consolation Finals — Bridget Powers/Fiona Powers, CAP, def. Annika Linkenbach/Laurel Ward, BOZ, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Consolation Semifinals — Annika Linkenbach/Laurel Ward, BOZ, def. Ally Dube/Lauren Rich, CMR, 6-1, 7-5; Bridget Powers/Fiona Powers, CAP, def. McKenna Johnson/Maggie Rudbach, GLAC, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Consolation Quarterfinals — Ally Dube/Lauren Rich, CMR, def. Kate Koenig/Maya Heffernan, HELG, 6-1, 6-1; McKenna Johnson/Maggie Rudbach, GLAC, def. Ashley Bough/Leslie Pazmino, BSR, 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4).