Last month, after graduation from Falmouth High School, Olivia Leavitt visited Acadia National Park, took a ferry to Little Cranberry Island and hiked Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on Mount Desert Island. It was her first trip to Bar Harbor, less than a three-hour drive from her home.

“I realized,” she said, “that was my first real vacation – not visiting family or going to a tennis tournament – in a really long time, since I can remember.”

Forgive her. She’s been busy.

Leavitt wrapped up her four-year high school tennis career with a third straight singles title to go along with Falmouth’s eighth straight team state championship. She didn’t drop a game as Falmouth swept Lewiston for the Class A crown, not quite two weeks after she held off a spirited challenge from St. Dominic sophomore Bethany Hammond in the singles final.

“It was my last year, so I wanted to finish it out on top and win states, both individually and team,” she said. “It’s great to know my years of training and my hard work on and off the court, mentally and physically, were able to keep me at a high level.”

For the third year in a row, Leavitt is our choice as Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year for girls’ tennis.

She entered the singles final having dropped only four games in five matches, but the left-handed Hammond forced Leavitt to dig deep. It was 4-all in the first set, and Hammond led 6-5 in the second after surviving five match points before Leavitt finally prevailed 6-4, 7-6 (1).

“It was definitely tough at the end, especially not winning all the match points I had,” Leavitt said. “It was very mentally draining. If I was a sophomore doing that, I don’t think I would have had the same outcome. But I’d been in that situation before, so it was more familiar ground for me.”

Leavitt required three sets to win the 2014 singles final against Maisie Silverman of Brunswick. She also beat Silverman in straight sets in the 2013 final after losing a three-setter in the 2012 semis, also to Silverman, the eventual champion who now plays at Bates College.

Leavitt plans to continue her career at Brandeis University. In four years at Falmouth, she was a combined 69-2.

Her only other loss came in the 2013 Class B team state finals against Waterville because of injury default after Falmouth had clinched the match.

This spring, only one player other than Hammond was able to win more than two games in any set against Leavitt. Greely freshman Izzy Evans lost 6-2, 6-3 in mid-May.

Leavitt plans to play in the Betty Blakeman Memorial in Yarmouth in July before a trip to Norway to visit relatives.

She has yet to decide if she’ll bring her racket.

THE ALL-STATE TEAM

Margot Andreasen, Portland senior: Quarterfinalist in state singles tournament as 11th seed, knocking off No. 6 Sarah Gray of Morse before falling to No. 3 Rosemary Campanella of Wells. In team play, she never lost a set until the Western Class A semifinals against Falmouth.

Julia Brogan, Falmouth junior: Unbeaten in team competition for the two-time Class A state champs. Fourth seed in the singles tournament who reached the semifinals before her only loss of the season, to eventual champ (and teammate) Olivia Leavitt.

Rosemary Campanella, Wells freshman: Because her school doesn’t offer tennis, Campanella played only in the state singles tournament and reached the semifinals as the No. 3 seed before falling 6-1, 6-2 to runner-up Bethany Hammond.

Izzy Evans, Greely freshman: Fifth seed in singles tournament who reached the quarterfinals before falling 6-4, 6-3 to Falmouth’s Julia Brogan. In team play, she led Rangers to their second straight Class B state title, providing the clinching point in both the regional and state finals.

Bethany Hammond, St. Dominic sophomore: As second seed in the state singles tournament, she advanced to the finals before falling 6-4, 7-6 (1) to three-time champ Olivia Leavitt of Falmouth. A singles semifinalist a year ago, Hammond led the Saints to Western Class C semifinals.

Olivia Leavitt, Falmouth senior: Three-time singles state champion who overcame a challenge from Bethany Hammond in the finals 6-4, 7-6 (1). Led Falmouth to its eighth straight state title, second in Class A. Will play tennis at Brandeis.

Caroline Ray, Falmouth junior: Tenth seed in singles tournament who reached quarterfinals before falling to Bethany Hammond. Unbeaten in team competition, helping Falmouth extend its winning streak to 125 matches.

Lena Rich, North Yarmouth Academy junior: Eighth seed in state singles tournament who reached quarterfinals before falling 6-1, 6-1 to Olivia Leavitt. Led NYA to Class C state championship, ending Waynflete’s four-year reign in regional finals.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Ben Caswell, Greely: In his third year as head coach, Caswell led the Rangers to a second straight Class B state title – the first two in school history. The Rangers are 29-3 over the past two seasons and have all three singles players scheduled to return.

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