Beagle, Oehlerich on collision course at State A tennis

BILLINGS — Ryan Beagle stays perfect on the season. 

The Libby senior and defending state boys singles champion dropped just two games Friday to earn his spot in the State A tennis semifinals against Florenz Keller of Miles City. He hasn’t dropped a set all season. 

On the opposite side of the bracket sits a familiar foe, Whitefish’s Jack Oehlerich, who nabbed two straight-sets victories to set up a semifinal match with Stevensville's Angus Trangmoe. 

A win from Oehlerich and Beagle would mean a third match between the two this season, and the second in a week. Beagle took the Northwest A divisional title — his fourth straight — over Oehlerich in Libby on Saturday. 

Elsewhere in the boys singles competition, Whitefish’s Owen Erickson downed Polson’s Ruger Ellis to move on in the consolation bracket with a chance for third place still available. 

In doubles Columbia Falls’ Silas Ypma and Will Pickard and Whitefish’s Walt Seigmund and Aaron Anderson advanced in the consolation side of the bracket to Friday’s play. 

The Whitefish boys and girls currently lead the team competitions, the boys sitting on 10 points, one ahead of Stevensville. Hamilton has five points and there’s a bottleneck of teams at four. 

On the girls side, the Bulldogs lead with 14 points after day one, ahead of Miles City at 12. Hamilton and Corvallis sit in a tie for third with eight.  

In the girls competitions, Whitefish’s pairing of Maggie Mercer and Camry Kelch advanced to the semifinals with a pair of straight-set wins. They face Miles City’s Brylee Hager and Clea Rapson in for a chance to advance to the championship. 

In girls singles, an all-Whitefish matchup awaits Friday as Liesl Brust and Emy Hansen meet in the consolation bracket. Both girls picked up a round one win before falling in their second match.