It was a battle for Polson tennis as they competed for a Northwest A title from May 20-22. While the Pirates couldn’t win it, they still showed a resilient effort against one of the state’s top tennis squads.

Starting girls singles, Baylee Lemm was the top finisher, nabbing third place. She earned a win over Bigfork’s Ashlynn Dunham before losing to Bigfork’s Cassie Schlict.

She took wins over Whitefish’s Delila Vine, Libby’s Claire Fantozzi and teammate Karly Smith for a chance at third place. She clinched that spot over Bigfork’s Grace Holtmeyer.

Smith’s best finish was to the consolation bracket’s semifinal round. Polson’s Zoe Schroeder and Eva Kline also both lost out in the winner’s bracket but each took wins of their own in the consolation bracket.

For the girls doubles, Greta Lund and Hinkley Moss almost won out with three straight wins, two of which came against Whitefish duos. They faced off in the final against Whitefish’s Camry Kelch and Allie Shors but fell short of winning the bracket. They still finished second out of 16 teams.

Vivian Grainey and Josie Henriksen also won their opening round match against Columbia Falls’ Fiona Bryant and Ava Scholz. Despite a loss in the winner’s bracket, they nabbed a win in the consolation bracket over Libby’s Aubrey Davis and Bella Meyer. They fell to Whitefish’s Lucy Marzo and Aubrey Talbot in their final game of the divisional.

For the boys singles, the top finisher was Ruger Ellis. After wins over Bigfork’s Graham Munson and Whitefish’s Eli and Owen Erickson, it was time for a final matchup against Whitefish’s Jack Oehlerich. Ellis ultimately fell but nabbed second place in this one.

Polson’s Cash Brown, Maddox Bird and Brody Kline all qualified for the divisional as well with each of them winning games on either side of the bracket. Kline and Bird nabbed two wins in the winner’s bracket with Brown earning a win in his opening round.

Finally, the boys doubles, Teague McElwee and Marcus Lucas, were the best Polson duo with three wins in the winner’s bracket before falling to Whitefish’s Aaron Anderson and Marcus Mercer.

They went on to take wins over fellow Polson duo Zayne Newman and Strider Gage before placing third with a win over Columbia Falls’ Jackson Scholz and Blake Perry.

Newman and Gage’s best finish was that run in the consolation bracket and one win in the winners' bracket over Bigfork’s Curtis Scherferberg and Rhett Feiker. The only other Polson duo was Truman Sawyer and Parker Hendrickson, who lost in their opening round match against Scholz and Perry.

All top four finishers in the divisional will head to state. That puts Lemm and Ellis as the two Polson singles participants headed to state. For doubles, Lund and Moss will head to state for the girls. McElwee and Lucas will also go to state for the boys.

    Alexa Kinaman hits the ball back towards the opposing team during the divisional matches in Polson on Thursday, May 21. (Emily Messer/Leader)  Truman Sawyer strikes the ball back across the net during the divisional matches hosted in Polson last week. (Emily Messer/Leader)  Hinkley Moss gets ready to strike the ball back over the net during the divisional matches hosted in Polson last week. (Emily Messer/Leader)