(From the Daily Inter Lake)
Ten would have been a perfect sendoff for state, but seven should suffice.
For awhile last Saturday, on the final day of the Northwestern A divisional tennis tournament in Libby, Polson had a chance to qualify all 10 of its girls for the Class A season finale.
"That was with four matches to go in singles and in doubles," Polson coach Bob Hislop said.
"Three girls who didn't make it are freshman and they were one match away."
To qualify for state, individuals and doubles teams had to place in the top four. That meant Polson qualified seven girls, led by two-time divisional champ Kendyall Rochin, a senior.
"That's the most," Hislop said of state qualifiers for boys or girls in his 20th season on the courts.
"I had six boys a couple times, I'm sure of that."
Seven should be enough, however, to help the Polson girls push Glendive, Livingston and Hamilton for team trophy honors. Polson won its fifth-straight divisional title last weekend.
Polson's girls finished second at state last year with 20 points. Glendive won it with 23.
Rochin finished fourth last year at state in doubles with her sister Kayla.
Kendyall Rochin finished sixth in doubles as a sophomore.
"She's done very well," Hislop said of Rochin this spring.
"She really wanted to play singles last year, but stayed willingly in doubles. This is her time to do it on her own. She's only been beat three times this season."
On the boys side, Polson is sending two boys doubles teams.
"The kids did fabulous (at divisional)," Hislop said.
"We got four boys to state, we like their chances. We could be top five, six, and we're only taking one senior boy (Justin Evertz) to state."
Hislop said division champs Evertz and Will Davey are playing with a lot of confidence.
"Justin and Will are playing fabulous right now," he said.
"They just have to put two to three matches back-to-back."
State play begins today in Great Falls at 8 a.m. The forecast is for 70 percent chance of rain with a high of 50 degrees.
The Class AA state tournament was held indoors all three days on three courts at a country club in Great Falls last weekend because of rain. That meant for all-night tennis.
"We've been pretty lucky, we'll take it as a compliment," Hislop said weather-wise.
"Everyone in the state gets rained on (last weekend) and we have 75 degree weather in Libby. Central A finished at 3 in the morning (because of rain). We feel pretty good (that won't happen this weekend)."
Columbia Falls is sending three girls - one in singles and one doubles team - to state and three boys - one in singles and one doubles team.
Libby has qualified three boys, all in singles. That was enough to give the Loggers their second-straight divisional title last weekend.
The Loggers finished third at state last year with 15 points, just two behind runner-up Havre. Corvallis rolled up 59 points to win it all.
The Loggers are again led by divisional singles champ Cree Maloney, who finished fifth at state last year.
Alex Cislo, third in state doubles last year, will play singles this weekend.
Whitefish will have one boys doubles team competing.
Northwestern
A state qualifiers
Boys
Columbia Falls - 1 doubles team (Vadim and Miroslav Zvygelskiy - 1 singles (Parker Johnson)
Polson - 2 doubles teams (Justin Evertz and Will Davey; Brady Hislop and Ian Laimbeer)
Libby - 3 singles (Cree Maloney, Alex Cislo, Crawford Dinning)
Whitefish - 1 doubles team (Connor Ellis and Camp Kenyon)
Girls
Columbia Falls - 1 singles (Gabrielle Stenger) and 1 doubles team (Lexie Bartkoski and Marissa Getts)
Polson - 3 singles (Kendyall Rochin, Whitney Zimmerman, Sara Robinson and 2 doubles teams (Kenzie Clay and Jordan Quinn; Audra Engebretson and Carmen Borchers)
Ronan - 1 doubles team (Katelyn Matkovich and Taylor Courville)
