Flathead, Glacier netters on Helena courts today

A season ago the Glacier boys won its 10th consecutive divisional title and the state AA tennis crown and appear poised to be a top team again this year.

“The boys are looking tough,” Glacier tennis coach Josh Munro said. “They’re going to be really competitive. We have a really tough and solid group of juniors that got a lot of experience and put in a ton of work this offseason.”

The Wolfpack remains mostly intact from the 2021 championship team, with the notable loss being Rory Smith, a two-time state singles champion.

Harrison Sanders, third at state in doubles a year ago, will step into the No. 1 singles spot this season. Also back are Will Rudbach and Kyler Knutson.

"Those three guys, at least in terms of singles, are going to win a lot of matches,” Munro said. “They were in everything this offseason… they just played a lot of tennis. A lot of the guys were really close in the qualifying matches and that is a motivating factor. They were playing every week since the season got over.”

Another returner is Alex Galloway, who will head up No. 1 doubles with Jimmy Glanville.

“They have really good shots, really good hands,” Munro said.

Munro calls last season a “learning year” for the Glacier girls, who sent doubles team Colette Daniels and Haven Speer to the state tournament.

“Both matches (at state) went to three sets,” Munro noted. “They had a good year.”

Daniels and Speer return this year at No. 1 doubles.

Rachel Jutzi, the lone senior, is back, as are sophomores Katy Bitney and Sarah Downs and junior Tori Dobis, who Munro said “is going to be really important to us this year.”

The girls are heavy on juniors and sophomores, but what they might lack in age they make up for with experience.

“We’ve got a handful of girls that really put in a ton of time,” Munro said. “We’re trying to balance where they are in the lineup. The girls are really young but last year was a great growth year. This year they’re going to be more competitive.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what this group of girls can turn into. They’ve got a lot of growth and a big future ahead of them.”

Flathead’s boys placed sixth and the girls 11th at state last season, and coach Travis Cattron hopes to build on that in his first season with the program

Cattron, a 2007 graduate of Flathead, was a member of the tennis team all four years of his high school career. Flathead won a divisional championship one year and Cattron played No. 1 singles for two seasons.

The Braves are comprised of mostly juniors with a couple seniors that might make a splash as well.

Kutuk White, who played doubles last season, will be at No. 1 singles.

“We expect him to make it to state this year,” Cattron said.

At No. 2 singles, Evan Sevaly may also flex and play doubles. Junior Quade Ring and senior Cody Ramer will team up at No 1 doubles.

Heading up what Cattron says is “a fairly fresh team on the girls side,” are Patricia Hinchey and Alexis Kersten at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Both have experience at doubles and could slide into that role but Cattron wants to wait and see. Hinchey qualified for the state meet last year with partner Bridget Crowley, now graduated.

“Obviously they’re a doubles team but would they be better at singles or doubles?” Cattron said. “We’ll find out.”

Overall the team is young and Cattron is still getting a feel for things.

“We have a pretty good range of that intermediate level so we’ll see who shines,” he said. “Hopefully it’s a building year… I’d like to see our technical level go up but I definitely have to take the long view.”

Both schools start their seasons in Helena today. Glacier has Helena Capital at noon, and Flathead squares up with Helena High, also at noon.