HELENA– For over two decades, Helena High tennis head coach Lance Bouchee has been a part of the Helena ‘Crosstown’ rivalry. Bouchee, who spent four years at Helena Capital before spending two decades with the Bengals, said the rivalry has always been fun for him.
For Helena High junior Pilar Santos, the rivalry actually seems friendly.
“There definitely is a good relationship between Capital and Helena . We have a good competitive relationship; where we want to win obviously and we still get along with each other,” said Santos.
As shown by softball delays earlier this year, spring sports in Montana can be tricky. Poor weather and a lack of melting snow limited the Bengals ability to practice early in the season, “It’s pretty tough when you’ve got seventy kids on either two or three courts, so not a lot of hitting, but we got as much as we could in,” said Bouchee.
Despite the continuity of practices this year, Bouchee still expects the best from his players. “I’m looking for a lot of consistency, a lot of energy going out there, and I‘m looking for some really good scores for us,” said Bouchee.
The Bengals and the Bruins will square off tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. The boys matches will be played at Barney Park and the girls matches will be played on the Helena Capital campus.
