Loggers tennis battle in losses to Cfalls, Whitefish

Apr. 18—The Libby Loggers tennis squads hit the road for a dual against Columbia Falls on April 10, coming away with valuable experience in a pair of tight matchups.

The boys fell 5-2 while the girls narrowly missed a team victory in a 4-3 loss, with several matches decided in third sets or tie-breaks.

In No. 3 singles, Isaac Lamere delivered a marathon effort against Bruno Feijoo Vazquez, splitting the first two sets 5-7, 7-6 (9), before narrowly falling 8-6 in the deciding third set.

Kale Hall picked up Libby’s lone singles win, leading 5-2 when his match against Isaac Crockett was called. In No. 1 singles, Dylan Warner showed flashes in the second set but ultimately fell 6-0, 6-3 to Jax Ramage. Eric Thompson also put up a solid fight at No. 2, dropping both sets 6-3 to Sol Masters.

Libby’s top doubles team earned a hard-fought win. Ryan Beagle and Alderic Martineau rallied from a first-set loss to top Will Pickard and Silas Ypma 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 in a back-and-forth contest. At No. 3 doubles, Cole Sunell and Teague Thompson came within a few points of a win but lost a narrow 6-2, 1-6, 9-11 heartbreaker to Jason Donsbach and Brady Heitz.

Blaise Erickson and Lyzander Gassmann dropped their No. 2 doubles match 1-6, 4-6 against Jackson Scholz and Jackson Bowler in a contest that tightened up in the second set.

Libby’s girls nearly pulled off a road win, with strong play in singles helping the Loggers tally three match victories. However, Columbia Falls edged out enough doubles points to secure the 4-3 overall win.

Maggie Fantozzi set the tone at No. 1 singles, delivering a composed 6-2, 6-4 win over Aliyah Arends. Marissa Hollingsworth followed suit at No. 2 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Bailey Windauer. Libby looked poised for a sweep of the top three singles spots before Claire Fantozzi was forced to retire from her match against Ella Heppner while leading 5-0 in the first set.

In No. 4 singles, Olivia Martineau battled through two close sets but fell 3-6, 4-6 to Ava Scholz.

The doubles courts proved decisive. At No. 1, Aubrey Davis and Isabella Meyer won the opening set and looked in control before falling 6-1, 5-7, 6-10 in a comeback win by Columbia Falls’ Alanis Peterson and Lucre Love. The second doubles match saw Shya Huck and Augie Bailey forced to retire after dropping the first set 3-6.

Libby Tennis Faces Tough Test Against Whitefish

The Libby Logger tennis teams played a road matchup against Whitefish on April 10 for a challenging day on the courts, coming away with a pair of tough losses against a strong Bulldog squad.

The Logger boys picked up two wins in singles action but ultimately fell 5-2 in the team match. Beagle led the way at No. 1 singles, earning a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Whitefish’s Jack Oehlerich. Beagle’s steady play and consistent shot placement helped him outlast his opponent in a tight first set before pulling away in the second.

Martineau added Libby’s second win of the day in a hard-fought three-set match at No. 2 singles. After dropping the opening set 2-6 to Owen Erickson, Martineau rallied with aggressive returns and improved court coverage to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-2.

On the girls’ side, Whitefish swept all seven matches to take the team victory, though several contests featured competitive stretches from the Loggers.

Marissa Hollingsworth turned in Libby’s strongest performance in singles, pushing Ainsley Grubb to a second-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles before falling 4-6, 6-7(4).

In doubles, the No. 3 doubles duo of Olivia Martineau and Kayla Mesenbrink managed to take three games in the first set, but couldn’t overcome Whitefish’s steady baseline attack.

The Loggers played at Bigfork, with Columbia Falls, Thursday. They are scheduled to face Glacier High’s junior varsity team at 3:30 p.m. Friday.