Libby's Mee hopes to power her way to success
File/The Western News Junior Jackie Mee prefers power over finesse on the tennis court.
When sizing up this year’s potential on the Libby High School tennis teams, a logical place to start would be with Jackie Mee.
The lone state qualifier for the Loggers last season, Mee returns with aspirations for a third straight trip to the Class A tournament in Kalispell. And she’s just a junior.
“She’s got a power game; she’s not much of a finesse player,” LHS head coach Kyle Hannah said about Mee when asked to describe her style on the court. “In Class A, a lot of girls like to play a finesse game but Jackie likes to pound the ball.”
Mee’s abilities on the court led to a fourth-place finish at state during her freshman year. Last season, she settled for sixth.
Hannah said having her on the roster is a plus with the younger players.
“She helps out in practice … she’s a nice girl that gets good grades,” Hannah said. “She’s there for any athlete on the team – middle-school aged on up. She knows the game really well and can help you with any stroke. She’ll hit with anybody.”
In all, Hannah and assistant coach Barb Mee saw 35 tennis players come out for the sport. That breaks down to 20 boys and 15 girls.
“We’ve only been outside for a day-and-a-half,” Hannah said on Wednesday. “And we’re supposed to have our first match on Saturday. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll have to rely on last year’s experience to get through the first match.”
Libby will play host to Bigfork, Mission and Eureka on Saturday afternoon beginning at noon. Only the girls will face Eureka. Matches are played at both the high school and the Herb Neils courts.
For the boys, Hunter Sheffield returns along with Cody Ercanbrack and Cyrus Maloney.
“Those three boys are my leaders coming back,” said Hannah, who is entering his fourth year at the helm. “They’ve been with the program for four years so they’re looking to make it to state this year.”
Hannah said he has “quite a few new kids” out for the sport and with such limited time outside, it has been difficult to gauge talent. In fact, he had planned on playing matches on Wednesday to determine what 10 girls and 10 boys would make varsity but it appeared as though he would have to wait at least one more day.
The schedule includes five home dates along with one trip over to Troy.
Schedule
BOYS
Date, Opponent, Time
March 28, Bigfork, Mission, Noon
April 4, at Polson, 10 a.m.
April 4, Hamilton (at Polson), 1 p.m.
April 9, Polson, 3 p.m.
April 14, at Troy, 4 p.m.
April 17-18, at Cutbank Tourney, TBA
April 24, Sandpoint, Idaho, 2 p.m.
April 24, Troy, 5 p.m.
April 25, at Bigfork w/ Mission, Cutbank, 8 a.m.
April 30, Whitefish, 4 p.m.
May 1, Columbia Falls, 4 p.m.
May 8, at Whitefish, 4 p.m.
May 9, at Columbia Falls, 10 a.m.
May 9, Ronan (at Col. Falls), 2 p.m.
May 14-16, Divisionals at Kalispell, TBA
Note: Class A State Meet scheduled for May 21-22 at Kalispell
GIRLS
Date, Opponent, Time
March 28, Bigfork, Mission, Noon
March 28, Eureka, 3 p.m.
April 4, at Polson, 10 a.m.
April 4, Hamilton (at Polson), 1 p.m.
April 9, Polson, 3 p.m.
April 14, at Troy, 4 p.m.
April 17-18, at Cutbank Tourney, TBA
April 24, Sandpoint, Idaho, 2 p.m.
April 24, Troy, 5 p.m.
April 25, at Bigfork w/ Mission, Cutbank, 8 a.m.
April 30, Whitefish, 4 p.m.
May 1, Columbia Falls, 4 p.m.
May 2, at Eureka, TBA
May 8, at Whitefish, 4 p.m.
May 9, at Columbia Falls, 10 a.m.
May 9, Ronan (at Col. Falls), 2 p.m.
May 14-16, Divisionals at Kalispell, TBA
Note: Class A State Meet scheduled for May 21-22 at Kalispell