Loyola tops Superior-Alberton in tennis

SUPERIOR – On May 1, Superior-Alberton hosted Mission from St. Ignatius whom they split the match with 3-3. 

The team had a relatively busy schedule to start May, as the girls were set to take on three different teams. 

“We had our first loss against Loyola May 2, was rained out against Eureka May 3, which we were supposed to play a dual match with them and Bigfork,” said Rick Berreth, Superior-Alberton Tennis head coach. 

In singles competition, Superior-Alberton’s Hailie Bahm was defeated by Mission’s Briar Ahlborn, 6-1, 7-5; Kayla Billette of Mission defeated Heather Kelly, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-2; Mission’s Daisie VanderBos defeated Sophia Williams, 6-2, 6-3 and Brittney White of Superior-Alberton defeated Hannah Vaughan, 8-3.

The Mountain Cats excelled in doubles as the team of Geneva Plakke and Alise Ruthford defeated Mission’s team of Vaughan and Lina Koethke, 7-5, 7-5; Sammi Francis and Mackenzie Spence of Superior-Alberton defeated Allie Koserbek and Julia Gisell, 7-5, 5-7, 10-6. 

The next day, Friday May 2, Superior-Alberton headed to Loyola to play arguably one of the best in the conference. 

Loyola took the match winning 5-1. It was the first team loss for Superior-Alberton, who hasn’t lost since April 2010, or 45 matches, according to Berreth. 

“We went there at 1 p.m. on a hot day, and Loyola wasn’t at the courts,” Berreth said. 

The Mountain Cats squeezed in a practice while they waited for their competitor to hit the courts. 

“We had a full practice before the match in the heat of the day,” Berreth said. “It’s also hard to have a practice and then play.” 

Apparently, the Loyola athletic director made a scheduling error so that’s why the team was late to play Superior-Alberton that day. 

Hailie Bahm was defeated in singles to Loyola’s Jocelyn Caldwell, 6-1, 6-1; Olivia Round, 6-1, 6-3, defeated Heather Kelly of Superior-Alberton; Sophia Williams was defeated at the hands of Loyola’s Kelcey Dailey, 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 and Brittney White lost to Maddie Kaleva from Loyola, 7-5, 6-4. 

The only doubles win for the Mountain Cats was the result of an injury default with Sammi Francis and Mackenzie Spence beating the team of Tyler Bostwick and Kenzie Wells. In the other match, Kally Hacker and Casey Cummins of Loyola beat Geneva Plakke and Alise Ruthford, 6-0, 7-6 (5).

It was a busy week schedule wise for the Mountain Cats, however the team only ended up playing two of the three meets they were scheduled for because of a rain cancellation. 

“We have Loyola again this weekend the eighth at home, so anything close can be a different story,” Berreth said. Loyola had most players return to the court this season, where Superior-Alberton mainly had new players. 

“Our last home match is with Fort Benton at 1 p.m. May 9,” Berreth said. 

The next day, Superior-Alberton will host the Jules Carlin Classic in Missoula. 

“We have it there because it’s a big tournament with 12 teams,” Berreth said. “We don’t have it in Superior for that reason.”