MISSOULA -- Missoula Loyola swept the team titles at the Class B-C state tennis tournament in Missoula. The meet started with first-round matches on Wednesday and concluded with the consolation finals and championship matches on Friday.
Loyola's boys scored 38 points to edge Valley Christian (33) and Cut Bank (28) for top honors. Bigfork was fourth with 21 points, and St. Ignatius rounded out the top five with 19. Loyola boasted the singles champion, Jake Bellamah, who defeated Riley Reimer of Valley Christian in the final, and the third-place doubles team of Finn Richardson and Carter Topp.
Cut Bank's Brett Sneed and Dillon Gray won the boys doubles title, defeating St. Ignatius' pair of Lalo Bravo and Kayden Carter in the final.
Loyola's girls won their second consecutive title, scoring 54 points to coast to this year's championship. The Breakers also claimed the 2019 title, but the 2020 tennis season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Choteau (22 points), Simms (20), Chinook (19) and Fairfield (18) rounded out the top five on Wednesday.
The girls singles final was an all-Loyola championship, with 2019 state champion Evelyn Dechans defeating teammate Gio Horner for the 2021 title. The Breakers also won the doubles championship, with the tandem of Grace Daniel and Ava Bellamah defeating Choteau's Christine Funk and Soren Cummings in the final.
State B-C tennis
May 19-21 at Missoula
Boys
Team scores: Missoula Loyola 38, Valley Christian 33, Cut Bank 28, Bigfork 21, St. Ignatius 19, Great Falls Central 11, Darby 8, Conrad 4, Lone Peak 4, Anaconda 2.
Singles
Final: Jake Bellamah (Loyola) def. Riley Reimer (Valley Christian)
Third/fourth: West (Bigfork) def. Barrows (Bigfork)
Fifth/sixth: McCloy (Valley Christian) def. Rouse (Darby)
Doubles
Final: Brett Sneed/Dillon Gray (Cut Bank) def. Lalo Bravo/Kayden Carter (St. Ignatius)
Third/fourth: Richardson/Topp (Loyola) def. Hoaglin/Centifanto (Valley Christian)
Fifth/sixth: Burke/St. Goddard (Cut Bank) def. Caras/Kirschenmaen (Loyola)
Girls
Team scores: Missoula Loyola 54, Choteau 22, Simms 20, Chinook 19, Fairfield 18, Fort Benton 17, Townsend 13, Conrad 10, Bigfork 9, Baker 7, Alberton-Superior 5, Jefferson 4, Three Forks 4, Valley Christian 4, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 3, Great Falls Central 3, Forsyth 2, Wolf Point 2, Darby 1, Harlem 1, St. Ignatius 1.
Singles
Final: Evelyn Dechans (Loyola) def. Gio Horner (Loyola)
Third/fourth: Zietzke (Simms) def. Broesder (Conrad)
Fifth/sixth: Major (Choteau) def. Howard (Townsend)
Doubles
Final: Grace Daniel/Ava Bellamah (Missoula Loyola) def. Christine Funk/Soren Cummings (Choteau)
Third/fourth: Rosenbaum/Willson (Fairfield) def. Cecrle/Richman (Chinook)
Fifth/sixth: Vielleux/Wang (Fort Benton) def. Cook/Halko (Fort Benton)
Complete brackets and results can be found here.
