With five straight divisional titles for the Lady Pirates and an up-and-coming boys team, the Polson tennis program heads into this year with high expectations and the talent to back it up.

With five straight divisional titles for the Lady Pirates and an up-and-coming boys team, the Polson tennis program heads into this year with high expectations and the talent to back it up.

GIRLS

With nine returners from last year’s team, which placed fourth in state, Polson looks like the favorite for the conference.

While they lost senior leader Kendyall Rochin, the depth of the program will help fill the void.

Whitney Zimmerman is an incredible talent coming back for the Lady Pirates after her third-place finish in the singles bracket last season. Her hard work at summer camps, tournaments and lessons should pay divdends out on the court.

“Whitney never quit playing tennis,” head coach Bob Hislop said. “She continued right into the offseason. She’s done so much, she had two girls in the state (from Hamilton and Glendive) that will be her main competition.”

Another Lady Pirate who committed to work over the offseason was Sara Robinson, who placed third at divisionals last year.

“Sara has put tons of time in,” Hislop said. “She surprised a lot of people at divisionals and has really caught the tennis bug.”

Tegan Bauer will be another returner for the Lady Pirates and will add a tremendous amount of depth to the lineup. Hislop said that she and several other girls in the singles lineup could play in the No. 1 spot on other teams in the conference.

Karmen Borchers and Audra Engeberetson should be a strong doubles group after placing third at divisionals last season. Kenzie Clay and Mollybeth Hendrix should make a great team out on the court, as will Karly Rochin and Jordan Quinn.

“The three teams are pretty even and we’ll try to rotate them,” Hislop said. “Our goal is a divisional championship and making it to the state tournament.”

Lauren Dupuis, Hallie Hovenkotter and Kylie Wegner should also be solid for the Lady Pirates. In the conference, Whitefish has a lot returners on its squad while Columbia Falls had two good singles players in the lineup.

“A lot of these girls and some girls before them have kind of put tennis on the map here,” Hislop said. “At Polson, we’re blessed with a lot of great girl athletes. We’re just so full of depth and we have another year of maturity.”

BOYS

Polson has a strong group of athletes on the roster to challenge for the Northwestern A divisional championship after finishing second last season.

“The big thing in boys tennis is you have to have a great core of athletes who play two sports or more,” Hislop said.

Basketball and football players Will Davey and Ian Laimbeer will fill the No. 1 doubles spot on the team. Davey was on the conference’s best doubles team last season and Laimbeer was on the conference’s fourth best team.

“Will is learning to take on more of a leadership role and he’s one of the best athletes in the school,” Hislop said. “Ian is one of our three-sport athletes too and has really improved with tennis. I think we have the two best doubles players in the conference, we just have to build on it.”

Taking the No. 1 singles spot will be Brady Hislop, who looked very impressive last season on the court. He combined forces with Laimbeer in doubles and also played singles last season. Hislop also played football and basketball.

“Brady has put a ton of time in his tennis,” Hislop said.

Hayden Congdon should also be a strong singles player for the Pirates after playing golf and basketball this year.

“Whatever sport he’s in he knows every nuance. He’s

solid around the net,” Hislop said.

Congdon and Dylan McCrumb should be the next two top tennis players on the roster. Also looking to perform well this year will be Sam Peel, Reed Hovenkotter, Sam Kinzle, Tommy Mercer, Lane Zimmerman, Tyler Dupuis and Jared Gallatin.

“They’re great athletes,” Hislop said. “They love tennis. It’s a different kind of sport and they eat it up.”

For the conference, Hislop said that Whitefish will be tough with its depth and Columbia Falls returns state tennis player Parker Johnson. The Wildcats also have a good doubles team, but not the depth of the Bulldogs.

“Our boys are really competitive and that comes with being an athlete,” Hislop said.