The Corvallis girls won the Southwest A Divisional tennis tournament which had been moved to the Peak, a facility just out of Missoula, because of the rain. Seven Blue Devils will advance to the state tournament which will be held at Flathead Community College in Kalispell. That tournament begins Thursday.
Even though Corvallis won the team title, Hamilton’s Eliana Foss defeated Corvallis’ Madeline DeLeo for the championship, 6-4, 7-1. But it was all Corvallis in the doubles championship. The team of Megan Kirkland and Christina Weidkamp came into the tournament with the No. 1 seed. They defeated the Butte Central team of Riordan and Anderson, 6-3, 6-1, to move on. They then topped Stevensville’s Eyre and Hawthorn, 6-1,6-3 to move to the championship match.
On the other side, Corvallis team of Molly Powell and Bailey Jessop began their quest. They defeat4ed Hasquet and Kelly of Butte Central, 6-2, 6-2. Then they moved past Jamyn Beller and Callie Cavill of Stevensville, 7-5, 6-4. That put the team into the championship where they defeated the favorites, Kirkland and Weidkamp, 4-6, 6-4,6-1. Beller and Cavill finished third with a 6-4, 6-1, win over Corvallis Cecily Gerber and Danielle Coates.
On the boys’ side, Corvallis’ Caleb Warnken came in as the No. 1 seed and had a first round bye. He defeated Matt Hock of Stevensville, 6-0, 6-0, to advance to the semi finals. There, he met Dillon’s Sam Jones and defeated him, 6-0, 6-2. That advanced Warnken to the finals where he played Bradley Rakich of Dillon. Rakich is the defending state champion. The match went three sets with the two battling for every point. Rakich eventually prevailed, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, to take the championship. Aubrey Portier of Corvallis finished third with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, win over Matt Knight of Dillon.