The Columbia Falls boys tennis team had a tough time against Polson, Corvallis and Stevensville last week, losing to the Pirates 7-1, Corvallis 7-0 and Stevi 6-1.

Miroslav Zvygelskiy in No. 2 singles got the lone win for the Cats against Polson, defeating Christian McCurdy 6-1, 6-1.

Miroslav's brother, Vadim, nearly beat Matt Roberts of Polson, taking him to three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Vadim struck the ball well against Roberts, but had a few too many unforced errors in the match.

Coach Gary Yee said he's been working on Vadim's backhand and it is improving. Miroslav in his win "played really smart," Yee noted.

Nathan Carr got the lone win for the Cats against Stevi, dropping Josh Schmidt 6-0, 6-2.

The Cats had several athletes out because of the district musical festival. Even in the losses, the Cats are seeing progress.

"We're still experimenting some," Yee said. "We'll start settling down next week."

Yee said he was most impressed by his JV athletes, who won all their matches — not bad for first and second year players. This team could take time to sort out. It has many athletes, but not much tennis experience.

Yee also gave credit where it was due. Particularly Corvallis.

"Corvallis is incredibly strong this year," he said.

The Cats are scheduled to face Whitefish away today (Thursday). Matches start at 3:30 p.m.