LEWISTON – Look forward to matches, endure practices. Seems to be the norm for most tennis players.
Not Devin Van Dyke. He’s a Waynflete senior who is the third-best player on his team and, if seedings and results of the state singles tourney provide an accurate guide, the third-best high school player in Maine.
“Practices are really fun,” he said. “We just hit and do little drills. It’s a good time.”
Van Dyke treated his Western Class C championship match like some folks treat a trip to the dentist. Get in. Get out. As fast as possible.
His 6-0, 6-0 victory was the first of three singles shutouts for top-seeded Waynflete, which dispatched previously unbeaten and second-seeded Monmouth Academy 5-0 on Wednesday at Bates College.
In the Western Class C girls’ final, No. 3 North Yarmouth Academy shut out No. 4 Waynflete 5-0 with a pair of three-set doubles matches.
The state finals are scheduled for Saturday at Colby College in Waterville. Waynflete (14-0) will face George Stevens Academy, 4-1 winners over defending Eastern C champion Madawaska, and NYA (14-1) will take on Dexter, 3-2 winners over George Stevens. Both matches are at 4 p.m.
Van Dyke was on court for less than an hour.
“It’s good to work on getting out there, not messing around, and getting through it quickly,” Van Dyke said.
Waynflete dropped only six games, all in doubles. Eric Ordway and Ross Cummings won 6-1, 6-2 at first doubles, and Sam Cleaves and Nate Niles won 6-3, 6-0 at second.
“We want to stay focused,” said Brandon Thompson, Waynflete’s top player and the reigning singles state champ. “We didn’t really know how they play.”
The NYA and Waynflete girls met in May with NYA winning 4-1. The loss was at first doubles, so Charlotte Briggs and Emily Mitchell had something to prove.
“We wanted to deserve the win,” Mitchell said after a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory. “We didn’t want to rely on everyone else.”
Jessica Powers and Ally Morrison also won a three-set match at second doubles. In singles, Thu-Trang Ho (6-1, 6-0), Anna Jaeger (6-2, 6-3) and Sarah Jordan (6-0, 6-0) won.
Staff Writer Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:
gjordan@pressherald.com
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