There are a lot of new faces \u2014 and some familiar ones \u2014 taking the tennis courts for Glacier and Flathead in 2026.<\/p>\n
The Braves and Bravettes see a plentiful group of underclassmen picking up the sport, while Glacier has only three boys returning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the girls side for the Wolfpack, returners are all over the roster that only saw four girls exit the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both sides will see exactly what they have Friday as the season opens with a pair of duals against Helena and Helena Capital at FVCC. Matches are slated to start at 10:30 a.m. weather permitting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Glacier\u00a0<\/p>\n
The plethora of depth returning to Glacier includes junior standout Leilani Lennarz, who worked her way to a sixth-place finish a season ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has room to grow and goals for bigger things and can definitely compete with some of the rest,\u201d Wolfpack coach Josh Munro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joining Lennarz in singles play is sophomore Autumn Bashara, who also made state last spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girls are experienced and building a foundation off last year,\u201d Munro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In doubles, Miley Fritz returns to the No. 1 position as a senior. She is joined by fellow seniors Cadence and Cassidy Daniels \u2014 who return to the courts this season following knee injuries suffered in basketball season a year ago \u2014 and Quinn Berkram.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophomore Reid Sanders also is back and expected to compete for state spots in a deep Wolfpack line up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the Glacier boys, Ethan Ronngren, Carson Stafford and Weston Heller make up the short list of returners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronngren and Stafford move from the No. 3 and 4 doubles spots up to No. 1, while Heller is slotting into the No. 2 singles position.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The top singles spot is taken by transfer Colton Mantovani, who comes to Kalispell from Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Munro noted Mantovani stepped right into a leadership role with the squad and he is excited to see where he ends up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flathead\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across town, Flathead coach Kaitlyn Schelbert is ready to see her young group take the courts this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A strong freshman class has the Braves and Bravettes filling out full varsity and JV squads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of excited freshmen who are picking it up quick,\u201d Schelbert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the boys side, Schelbert mentions Kolbe Gehkiere as a leader who has stepped up over the offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunny Miller is one of the freshmen boys that Schelbert thinks can make an impact, saying he is picking up the sport quick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the girls side, Courtney Preble is also quickly making herself known inside the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a young team, but lots of young players who are excited and we are hopeful for the season,\u201d Schelbert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for state this season, home court advantage is on the menu as FVCC hosts both the Northern AA divisional and State tournaments in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have the best facility in the state and it isn\u2019t close,\u201d Munro said. We are appreciative of the city and college. It\u2019s a long drive for everyone else, but they love to play at the venue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone seems excited that it is up here,\u201d Schelbert said. \u201cWe are happy to represent on our home turf.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n