by Scott Sacry
Both the Hamilton boys and girls tennis teams hoisted 1st place trophies at the Southwest A Divisional Tennis Tournament in Butte on May 14-16th.
“I am just so proud of the players,” said Hamilton head coach Bryan Dufresne. “They work hard and are so supportive of each other. We have a great team culture, which means more to me than wins and losses.”
The Corvallis girls took 2nd place and the Corvallis boys took 3rd. The Stevensville girls and boys both took 4th place.
In the girls singles title match, Hamilton’s Ciara Hanley defeated her teammate Tallulah Pinjuv (6-2, 0-6, 6-3).
In the boys singles title match, Hamilton’s Andy Purcell, the defending state champion, defeated Stevensville’s Angus Trangmoe (6-0, 6-3).
In the boys doubles title match, Hamilton’s Finn Dufresne and Jason Chaplin defeated Dillon’s team of Puga/Fluckiger (6-3, 6-2).
In the girls doubles title match, the Corvallis team of Jayde Venema and Brecklyn Jessop defeated Hamilton’s Emma Hollingsworth and Gwen Wolfe to claim the title. Jessop and Venema were the state runners up last year, and are poised for another deep state run.
The Class A State tennis tournament is in Kalispell at the FVCC courts on May 23-24.