Glacier, Flathead players bow out of winner’s bracket
BOZEMAN — Thursday was not ideal for Flathead and Glacier at the AA State Tennis Tournament.
Eight athletes entered the day with hopes of bringing home a state championship and after the dust settled, four remain with hopes of a third-place.
The lone girl moving on to Friday’s play is Glacier sophomore Leilani Lennarz, who opened with a win over Sentinel’s Clarie Karlovich, then fell to the East’s top seed in Billings Senior’s Bella Rogge.
She answered back with a win the consolation bracket over teammate Autumn Bashara. Bashara dropped her opener before besting Billings Skyview’s Taela Bauer, setting up the match with Lennarz.
In doubles, the pairing of Quinn Berkram and Reid Sanders forced Billings West’s Piper Abrams and Cambry Magone to a third set in the first round before falling 6-2 in the decider. The duo then bowed out with a straight-sets loss in the consolation bracket.
The Glacier girls earned four points in the team competition, putting them tied for sixth. Gallatin and Hellgate are tied for the lead at 12 points, while Bozeman and West are at 10 points and CMR sits at seven.
On the boys side, Glacier finishes day one with four points, while Flathead had one. CMR leads the team standings with 11 points, West is second at 10 and Hellgate sits third and nine.
Glacier’s Carl Bitney and Sam Engellant fell in the quarterfinals to the East’s top seed, Dallin Abrams and Andersen Hurst of Billings West. The pair face off with Billings Skyview’s Isaac Mosser and Karsh Wohler in the consolation bracket Friday.
In singles, Flathead and Glacier both have players still alive in the consolation bracket.
Glacier’s Creed Norick fell in the quarterfinals and has a matchup with Hellgate’s Leo Ma in the consolation rounds.
Flathead’s Holden Askvig fell in the first round to West’s Ty Graham, but advanced in the consolations with a forfeit victory. He next faces off with CMR’s Fleming Daniel looking to advance to the consolation quarterfinals.