Superior/Alberton Tennis cancelled due to rain
RONAN - When it rains, it pours.
Despite practicing days before and packing up the buses for a routine tennis trip on the road, The Superior/Alberton Tennis team didn’t get too far, in a sense.
The team drove all the way to Ronan April 17 to meet up with their competitor, only to be doused by rain upon arrival.
Even though the skies were gray most of the day, and raindrops fell sparingly in some locations around western Montana, it didn’t allow the Mountain Cat’s to get a single match in, which was the only one scheduled for the week before the Easter holiday.
The weather certainly hasn’t cooperated, which is common for spring, but conditions have been less than favorable on game days.
“It was raining, and this week we didn’t get any matches in,” said Head Coach Rick Berreth.
Ronan, which is a first year tennis school, probably still won’t face Superior/Alberton by season’s end.
“I don’t think we will have to make it up, because they aren’t in our division,” Berreth said. “It can get real complicated with some schools as far as makeups are concerned.”
However, Berreth is still anxiously anticipating his team’s next match against Valley Christian in Loyola.
“They have almost everybody back from last year and are definitely the favorites in the conference,” Berreth said.
A lot of teams can be shorthanded for a variety of reasons, mainly because most schools in the conference are small.
However, some athletes also participate in other school events like band, and some play in other sports as well.
Also, if there is an illness or a family reason, the player could be away from the team for some time, leaving a void that most likely can’t be filled because of the limited depth.
“In a way the Ronan trip turned out OK, because one of our girls had a sprained ankle, and two were sick,” Berreth said. “But it was frustrating driving all the way over there.”
Berreth doesn’t think the long week off will hurt his team in the upcoming meets.
“Long weekends should be good for us, it’s a time to get everybody healthy for the upcoming week,” he said.
The Mountain Cats should be looking forward to a little rest, as there will be little of it the remainder of the season. The team is on the road for the rest of the schedule which ends May 24 during their state meet in Missoula.
The Cats have been dominant so far this season, limiting most competitors to zero or single wins.
Before Missoula, the team takes on Eureka and Bigfork, Darby, Granite and Mission, who can be pesky at times.
The team will head to the University of Montana on May 10 to participate in the Jules Carlin Classic in Missoula.
Superior/Alberton Tennis has been having a great season, as last week the Mountain Cats hosted Darby at Superior High School, beating them 6-0.