AA Tennis: Mantovani moves on

The Glacier Wolfpack entered Thursday’s State AA tennis tournament seven strong, but as day one came to a close only one athlete was in the hunt for a state championship.

Colton Mantovani took a pair of straight sets victories to set up a Friday showdown with Helena Capital’s Cooper Laslovich, who managed a three-set win over Billings Skyview’s Connor Shea after an injury default advancement in the opening round.

Mantovani took a 6-2, 6-2 win over Capital’s Evan McClain before downing Missoula Big Sky’s Brady McInnis 6-1, 6-3.

“I was very consistent today,” Mantovani said. “I used the heat to my advantage because I could tell my opponent was getting worn out, and coming from a hot background I was able to harness the heat and use it to my advantage.”

Mantovani came to the Wolfpack from Texas, so a hot, humid day was little trouble for the junior.

CMR’s Fleming Daniel and Gallatin’s Mason McCarty are in the other boys singles semifinal.

Glacier sits in seventh in the boys team standings with four points, CMR tops the list at 11 with Hellgate (8) in second and Skyview tied with Capital for third at seven.

The Wolfpack girls are fifth with six points. Hellgate leads at 12 with Gallatin in second at 10 and Billings West third at nine.

The other Wolfpack qualifiers are not without shots at the podium though as Autumn Bashara took down teammate Leilani Lennarz in the consolation bracket to set up a match with Billings Senior’s Bella Rogge with the winner earning their place in the consolation semifinals.

In girls doubles Cadence and Cassidy Daniels took an opening round victory over Gallatin’s MacKenzie Campos and Amaya Plumley before falling to Billings West’s Piper Abrams and Marissa Bruyere 6-1, 7-5.

“We have really good twin chemistry, but this last game we didn’t have that as much,” Cadence Daniels said. “I think that is part of the reason we lost is that we couldn’t quite click the way we wanted to. We just get to come back stronger and do our best to place the highest we can.”

That set up a showdown with fellow Wolfpack pair Quinn Berkram and Rowyn Speer who held on for a three-set win in their first consolation match. The Daniels claimed a 6-0, 6-1 victory to advance.

Meanwhile in the other semifinals Saturday, West’s Anna Beacham meets CMR’s Georgia Pike in girls singles. Hellgate’s Elliotte Banzinger battles Gallatin’s Darta Egle as well.

CMR pair Quincy Weymouth and Lola Habel meet Hellgate’s Wesley Banzinger and Emma Duman in girls doubles while Abrams and Bruyere face Gallatin’s duo of Alex Mansour and Raena Wilson.

Skyview’s Karsh Wohler and Isaac Mosser showdown with CMR’s Eli Crist and Howard Daniel in boys doubles while Hellgate’s Jack Currie-Welch and Andrew Duman square off with Bozeman’s Harrison Rotar and Collin Gross.

Glacier’s girls doubles duo of Cassidy and Cadence Daniels celebrate a point against Billings West’s Piper Abrams and Marissa Bruyere at the Class AA State Tennis Tournament at Flathead Valley Community College on Thursday, May 28. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider

Glacier’s girls doubles duo of Quinn Berkram and Rowyn Speer tap rackets as they face Billings Skyview’s Tori Wright and Kinsey Lierow at the Class AA State Tennis Tournament at Flathead Valley Community College on Thursday, May 28. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider