Liana Bates rarely loses a match, or even a set for that matter.
Bates, the runner-up at the Class AA state girls tennis tournament last year, has picked up where she left off in 2008. The 16-year-old sophomore from Glacier High School hasn’t lost a set in this young season and nobody’s gotten close. Winning sets by a score of 6-0 isn’t uncommon.
Bates understands that if she plans on improving from last year, there’s only one place she can end up – as the state champion. But she knows the road goes through Great Falls High’s Ellie Crum, a junior who is currently considered the top Class AA player in the state.
Not to mention, a few other girls expect to battle for the top spot when the state tournament rolls around. Bates sees one of them almost everyday: Cami Mathison, a 15-year-old fellow sophomore at Glacier who finished fifth at state last year. As a team, the Glacier girls were third overall.
With Bates and Mathison, the Lady Wolfpack tennis team has two of the top threats to challenge Crum. Last year, Crum breezed through the season and the state meet before losing to eventual champion Missy Harris of Billings Senior, perhaps the greatest girls player in state history, in the semifinals. Harris, who now plays at Montana State University, finished her career undefeated, winning four state titles and never even dropping a set.
Harris beat Bates in the state championship in a match that Bates said was the only moment of her entire freshman year when she felt intimidated. Bates had defeated Mathison in the semifinals to advance to the title match. Head coach Josh Munro said the way the state brackets look this year, the two could end up in another semifinal match against each other.
“They could be heading for another showdown,” Munro said.
Glacier’s tennis program has an impressive turnout this season with more than 70 athletes total, boys and girls combined. Bates and Mathison are the No. 1 and No. 2 players for girls singles, while brothers Phillip and Patrick Phattharaampornchai fill out the top spots for boys. In doubles, the top team for girls is Rachel Sherrill and Lindsea Vaudt, and for boys it’s Kyle Schmauch and Brandon Simpson.
Munro said both Bates and Mathison, a lefty, are naturally gifted athletes. Bates also plays soccer while Mathison is in basketball and volleyball. But aside from sheer athleticism, the girls have several advantages that help push them into the upper echelon of Class AA tennis, Munro said.
For one, they have each other. They push each other in practice and in United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments in the offseason. Over this past year, they met each other in consecutive USTA championships matches, with Bates winning one and Mathison prevailing in the other. Munro said he never has to worry about infighting, as they both get along, even in the heat of competition.
“They’re both very coachable,” Munro said. “They want to see each other succeed and they look out for each other.”
Another competitive advantage the girls have is family. Bates’ parents both are tennis enthusiasts and her 13-year-old brother is an emerging star. When he was 12, he won a large regional tournament in Las Vegas, Munro said. He serves as a formidable playing partner for his older sister. Mathison’s older brothers, Dayson and Wes, were both state qualifiers at Flathead High School.
Tennis is a year-round endeavor for Bates and Mathison, which is not the case for all high schoolers in the sport. Along with competing in numerous USTA tournaments, the two girls adhere to a diligent training schedule. Bates trains twice a week with Jimmy Cripe, a coach at the Summit Medical Fitness Center. Mathison plays with her brothers as often as she can and is looking to again start working with a coach.
Munro said Bates and Mathison are always finding ways to improve, an admirable quality in such young players. Munro calls Bates “a very intelligent player” and says in matches where she overmatches the opponent, she uses those times as an opportunity to work on her weaknesses. The same goes for Mathison.
And they both know their weaknesses. Without hesitation, Bates says that her “serve needs so much work” and Mathison says she’s “been struggling with my ground strokes a lot.”
If they meet again in the state tournament, Mathison hopes for a different outcome. But she’d be happy to see her teammate in the championship again too. There aren’t any hard feelings.
“I don’t hold any grudge against her,” Mathison said.