'Beeters finding their rhythm on the court, gaining momentum
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Sonia Swank Photo
Sugarbeeter senior Bailey Zumbrun has caught the eye of the coaches this spring as she has really stepped into varsity role and will be counted on down the stretch.
The Chinook Sugarbeeter Tennis team had a fantastic week on the courts as the entire team played very well against Havre last Tuesday, and continued their strong play against Harlem two days later.
The team then played exceptionally well in Fort Benton where the faced the Longhorns, Chester-Joplin-Inverness and Boulder in dual matches.
The 'Beeters have been one the premier teams for several years now in the Class B/C Tennis rankings and have developed solid players year in and year out.
Senior Nicole McCracken and junior Jamie Roth along with the doubles tandem of juniors Sierra Swank and Megan Pruttis ran the table going a combined 28-0 this past week.
Chinook Coach Thom MacLean was very pleased with the play of his returning players, "Nicole and Jamie saw a lot of good competition, especially from Havre and Fort Benton. Those teams have developed some players who really hit well and make you work for each point. I am impressed with the results these two have been putting up this season."
The 'Beeters have been able to field strong singles players as well as highly competitive doubles teams through the years largely in part because of the commitment and willingness of the girls to do what is asked of them so deciding who fills what slot can cause some debate in where to play each athlete.
"After much thought, I've decided to put Sierra Swank and Megan Pruttis together as a doubles team. It was a difficult decision for me as both are fantastic tennis players and each would have had an excellent shot to place individually in singles," stated MacLean. "Megan placed 6th in singles last year while Sierra was on the 2nd place doubles team. We experimented earlier in the season with playing them in doubles. After a couple awkward successes, they kinda gelled into a pretty good unit. I think, together, they have an opportunity to do something special."
Sonia Swank Photo
Chinook junior Sierra Swank returns a volley in Fort Benton this past weekend. Swank and double partner, junior Megan Pruttis were perfect on the court winning all eight of their matches.
MacLean continues to be impressed by new additions to the varsity roster, "Bailey Zumbrun has stepped into a varsity role this year and is really coming along nicely. She went to State last year as our alternate. This year I'm counting on her to qualify to play there," said MacLean.
The veterans clearly have done their part but as the case with any strong program the younger athletes are coming along, "Our newer players, MacKenzie Gruszie, Lisa Hwang, and Whitney Doney are also progressing well. They've each taken some lumps, but they've also had some successes and are getting better every day," concluded MacLean.
The 'Beeters hosted Fort Benton Tuesday, results will be included in next Journal. This Friday and Saturday the team will travel to Townsend to take part in the Southern Scuffle Tournament.
The team will close out the regular season on May 6 in Chouteau as they prepare for the Northern B/C Divisional in Havre on May 11-12. Qualifiers from the Northern B/C will advance to the State tournament in Missoula May 18-20.
