On May 21 and 22, the Hellgate tennis team competed in the Western divisional tournament against Big Sky High School, Sentinel High School, and Butte High School. The tournament consisted of the top four singles players and doubles teams from each school in a double elimination bracket style tournament.
The day before the tournament, May 20, the head coaches from each school met up and decided on the top four seeds overall in each bracket (girls singles/doubles and boys singles/doubles). These seeds are determined by position in the overall lineup and record over the regular season.
The seeds in the girls singles bracket were Elliotte Banziger (HHS), Lucia Savoia (HHS), Claire Karlovich (SHS), and Jocelyn Cheyney (SHS) in that order. In boys singles the seeding was Brady McInnis (BSHS), Ben Stake (SHS), Charlie Young (HHS), and Van Doherty (HHS).
For girls doubles it was Weslley Banziger/Emma Duman (HHS), Katie Williams/Chloe Dosier (BSHS), Addie Terwilliger/Elly Stokman (HHS), and Arnica Riggers/Taylor Peterson (BSHS). In boys doubles the seeds were Jack Currie-Welch/Andrew Duman (HHS), Colter Elam/Ethan Strizich (SHS), Josh Schrader/Matthew Weldon (BHS), and Everett Peters/Blaise Olsen (SHS).
Over the next two days, players from each school play two out of three sets (full third), leading to long days and difficult matches.
In girls singles, the top four players ended up being Banziger, Savoia, Georgia Moore (HHS), and Eva Green (SHS). Both Moore and Green played the other two seeded players in matches to go to state. Green beat fellow Spartan Cheyney (6-1, 6-1) and Moore beat Karlovich (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).
In boys singles, the seeding held true and McInnis beat Stake in the final (6-3, 6-1), earning his first ever divisional title and the number one seed from the west going into state. Doherty unfortunately had to play fellow Knight, sophomore Coen Miller, in order to go to state and he won (6-2, 7-6(2)). Young and Doherty, both freshman, met in the finals of the consolation and had a friendly match for seeding resulting in Young winning (6-1, 6-1).
Contrarily, girls’ doubles seeding did not hold true. The Banziger/Duman duo stayed and secured the first seed from the west but they met their teammates in the final instead of the predicted Big Sky team. Terwilliger/Stokman beat Williams/Dosier (1-6, 6-4, 6-1), knocking them to the backdraw and securing the top two seeds for Hellgate teams. Similarly to the boys’ singles backdraw, two Hellgate teams had to face off for the chance to go to state. senior/freshman duo Anais Currie/Georgia Hanford had to play seniors Ariana Roberts/Ella Stone. Currie and Hanford knocked out Roberts and Stone in straight sets (6-2, 6-4), leading to a Knight vs. Eagle consolation final where the Eagles came out on top with a (7-6(5), 6-0) win.
In boys doubles, the seedings were fairly accurate. The Hellgate team of Currie-Welch and Duman easily secured the first seed going into state by beating the number two seed from Sentinel, Elam/Strizich (6-1, 6-0) in the final. The 3rd seed from Butte was knocked out by unseeded Sloan Kindseth/Trask Johnson (SHS), who then were knocked out by fellow Spartans Peters/Olsen. The unseeded team to make it to state ended up being Hellgate’s own Aiden LaTrielle-Marsh/Gabe Hammitt, this duo ended up taking the 3rd seed heading into state by beating Peters/Olsen in the consolation final (6-2, 6-4).
Overall, it was a great couple days to be a Knight and set both sides up for exciting performances at the states tournament.
