The final two rounds of the state singles tennis tournament today at Colby College will have a familiar look, with three boys and three girls from last year’s semifinals making return appearances.
Waynflete junior Patrick Ordway, the No. 1 boys’ seed and defending state champion, reached the semifinals for the third straight year. Also back are 2011 runner-up Justin Brogan of Falmouth, seeded second, and No. 3 seed Matt Gilman of Cape Elizabeth. The lone newcomer is fifth-seeded Jordan Friedland of Lincoln Academy.
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Brunswick sophomore Maisie Silverman, the girls’ runner-up a year ago, will be joined in the semifinals by Falmouth’s Annie Criscione, Analise Kump and Olivia Leavitt. It’ll be the fourth straight trip to the semifinals for Criscione and third straight appearance for Kump, who finished second in 2010.
YORK’S BOYS’ outdoor track and field team captured only its third conference title in 30 years Saturday when it edged Falmouth for the Western Maine Conference Division I championship, 184-175. The Wildcats also won in 2002 and 2006.
Depth was a big factor for the Wildcats. They had only two individual winners — Josh Brooks in the 400 meters and Tom Reid in the 300 hurdles — but they also won two of three relays and scored in every event except the 1,600 and shot put. York secured its title with a victory in the 1,600 relay.
“Our boys led most of the way, but then at the end Falmouth started pouring on the points in the jumps and the two mile, and going into the final relay there was a five-point difference,” said Coach Ted Hutch.
York is the reigning Class B indoor state champion but hasn’t won a state championship outdoors since 1987. The Wildcats will try to end that drought Saturday at Mt. Desert Island High School, in what is likely to be a three-way battle with Falmouth and Waterville.
TOM DAUBNEY, 70, was hired as the new football coach at Noble High in North Berwick last week, returning to the sidelines as a head coach for the first time since 1992.
That’s when he retired as the coach at Portsmouth (N.H.) High after a 22-year career in which his teams won three state championships.
Daubney isn’t very concerned about the 20-year absence from head coaching — he kept in the game by helping Portsmouth until 2003 and occasionally coaching in the New Hampshire Shrine Game.
“My concerns are not so much with the game,” he said, referring to football strategies. “My concerns are with other things. People now scout with computer software named The Huddle. That’s changed from when I coached.
“Everyone’s on the computer. I don’t know how to turn one on. I’m going to have to teach myself. But I am surrounding myself with people who know more than I do.”
Daubney, who lives in Epping, N.H., knows a little about Noble, having watched his grandson, Ethan Beaulier, quarterback the Knights the last two seasons. Beaulier will be a senior in the fall.
And Daubney knows a little bit about the Maine work ethic. When he was an assistant coach at Boston University in the mid-1960s, he coached several Mainers, including Tom Thornton from Cheverus.
“I know Noble has been down for a while,” said Daubney. “The school has a nucleus of kids who have wrestling on the front burner, and that program is always good. And until we get 20 to 25 kids whose focus is football, it’s going to be a tough thing to turn around. That’s the challenge.”
Daubney said he wants to get the Knights to believe in themselves again, to have confidence that they’re doing the right thing.
“I think if the kids are prepared each week and someone can influence them into having more self esteem in their abilities, it can become fun.”
WITH ALL the rainouts that have occurred this spring, several softball teams had to play back-to-back games last week.
Medomak Valley played Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the last game resulting in a 9-0 loss to Oceanside in an Eastern Class B showdown for the top spot in the Heal point standings.
Oceanside’s Rachel Frye threw a no-hitter, as the Panthers didn’t even hit the ball out of the infield.
Afterward, Medomak Coach Richard Vannah said his team simply couldn’t keep up with the Mariners, who had a practice to prepare for the Panthers’ small-ball game.
“We’re laboring,” he said. “We needed a practice. They were ready for us.
“I would like to have had a day of practice.”
IT’S BEEN SAID all season that the Western Class A baseball tournament will be wide open.
The latest indication came Saturday when Biddeford beat Windham, 8-2. Windham was coming off a 4-1 win Thursday over Scarborough that temporarily boosted the Eagles to No. 1 in the Heal point standings. Marshwood reclaimed the top spot over the weekend.
The top four teams in the current rankings — Marshwood, Windham, Scarborough and Cheverus — have all occupied the No. 1 spot.
And Biddeford? The Tigers are 7-8 but are ranked fifth, mainly because they’ve knocked off three of the top four teams, with wins over Marshwood, Cheverus and Windham.
TIM LERETTE of Gray-New Gloucester became the school’s all-time hits leader when he collected three hits Friday. In the last three games, Lerette is 6 for 10 with a double, a triple and four RBI.
— Staff Writers Deirdre Fleming, Mike Lowe and Tom Chard contributed to this report.
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