The Townsend girls are leading after the first day of the Class B tennis tournament Thursday in Missoula.
The Bulldogs scored 14 points while Baker and Chinook are at 13 and 12, respectively. Jefferson High's girls are in 10th with five points.
Townsend head coach John O'Dell said they aren't worried about the team scores at this moment. The tournament will last two more days, picking up this morning.
"We don't focus on the team title, we just focus on each individual doing the best we can," O'Dell said. "We figure the team trophy will take care of itself.
"Everybody had a great day, we have all our players still alive."
Every player won their first round matchups while a few scored some second-round wins.
Gaelyn Domino finished up the day with a tough match against Superior's Nicole Lucier. Domino, a sophomore, dropped the first set before coming back to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
It was a big step for the underclassman, O'Dell said.
Kyndra Thompson got roughed up in her second-round match. After surviving the first with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Conrad's Jamie Ries, she lost to Darby's Hannah Honey, 6-1, 6-2.
"She had two wins as well and then just ran into a buzzsaw from Darby," O'Dell said. "We're hoping for her to make all-state again, she was sixth last year."
Jefferson's Tiffany Johnson was all alone in the competition, but had a very successful day. She scored wins over Wolf Point's Cassie Toavs (6-0, 6-0), and Molly Brown (6-3, 6-2) from Chester/Joplin/Inverness.
In the doubles competition, Townsend's No. 1 team of Becky Moudree and Lindsey Little dropped their first set of the year, and the first set of the match at state.
However, they came back to win against Anna Pearson and Katie Schlepp of Conrad 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
"They stood their ground and won their next two sets convincingly," O'Dell said.
The Bulldogs' No. 2 team of Jess Sagissor and Jen Johnson won their first match in three sets before dropping their second to Sarah Harshman and Kelsey Hansen of Chinook 7-5, 6-2.
Posted in Sports on Friday, May 16, 2008 12:00 am
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