Windham 5

South Portland 0

It’s hard to argue that the Windham boys’ tennis team is one of the top teams in the state. Going into their quarterfinal round matchup with Windham on June 5, the South Portland boys knew they had their work cut out for them. In the end, the Eagles proved why they were the top seed with a convincing 5-0 win.

“Windham is a solid team straight up and down,” said South Portland coach Cory Snow. “We knew coming in it was going to be a tough match. But I felt like our players battled pretty well. They played well and they have depth. I think most of the team is sophomores, so I guess we’ll have a burr in our side for years to come.”

Windham grabbed the day’s first point in the No. 2 doubles match. The pair of Fernando Leon-Prado and Kyle Morrell defeated South Portland’s Keegan Hyland and Bryce McOsker in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. The first set was a battle from beginning to end. The Eagles duo won the first game and the teams swapped games for the remainder of the set until Leon-Prado and Morrell had the win.

The second set went much more smoothly for Windham’s pair. They took an early 4-1 lead in the set and cruised to a 6-1 win to take their match and a 1-0 lead in the overall points.

Shortly after that match ended, the Eagles picked up their second point. Dan Crocker made quick work of his opponent, Tanner Burgdorf. Crocker won the match, 6-0, 6-0.

Windham took their third point and clinched the match when Dan McGovern finished off Corey Doucette. McGovern cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win. McGovern never trailed in his match and the win sent the Eagles to the semifinals.

No. 1 doubles was the fourth match to end with Windham’s Kurt Stultz and Nick Rallis besting South Portland’s Aiden Boyce and Mark O’Donnell, 6-2, 6-4. Stultz and Rallis took the first set 6-2 after pulling away. The second set was much tighter. Rallis and Stultz won five straight games before Boyce and O’Donnell bounced back to take four in a row. But the Eagles held on for the win.

“That was good to see,” Snow said of the comeback bid. “They battled back. Perhaps in other matches this year they wouldn’t have. But they gained a lot of focus this year.”

No. 1 singles was the final match to end, with Windham’s Nate Johnson coming away with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Nick Lagios. Both sets were a battle. Johnson took the early lead each time but couldn’t put Lagios away. Eventually he wore Lagios down and won the match.

“Nick is a senior this year and it was a great way to go out,” Snow said of Lagios. “He has been one of the finest players that I have coached in terms of coachability, dedication and focus on the team. He will do anything to win and to support his team. It’s been great working with him and he went out on a high note.”

The Riots got to the quarterfinals after a big preliminary round win over Biddeford.

“It all came down to that first doubles in the third set,” Snow said of the Biddeford match. “I have a team that has swung for the fence often and hasn’t really been too consistent. They buckled down hard. All the other matches were over and everyone was watching. They settled in and found their groove and took it to them. It was good to see that at the end of the season.”

The Riots missed the playoffs for two straight seasons before returning this year. Snow says the year was a fun one.

“We had a lot of fun this year,” he said. “We won just about all the matches we should have and we had a great match against Westbrook to finish off the regular season. My No. 2, who had his struggles throughout the year, had a great match and that put us in a home match in the preliminary round. We played a tough Biddeford team and took it to them. We had a lot of fun this year.”

Copy the Story Link