LEWISTON — Waynflete junior John Van Dyke looked around at his teammates warming up for the Class C boys’ tennis state championship Saturday morning and didn’t like what he saw.

“Everyone was nervous,” he said, “like it was our first time here.”

First time? Hardly. The Flyers captured their ninth straight state title Saturday under overcast skies at Lewiston High with a 4-1 victory over George Stevens Academy.

In the girls’ Class C title match, St. Dominic completed its perfect season with a 5-0 victory over Mattanawcook to claim the third state championship in school history and first since 1995.

“Usually in the playoffs we’ve had a hard time with NYA and Waynflete,” said Andrew Girouard, coach of the all-junior St. Dom’s squad. “This year we beat both of them.”

The outcome for St. Dom’s (16-0) was never in doubt; Mattanawcook (13-3) failed to win a set.

The boys’ match was much more competitive, with a doubles split and two Waynflete singles players falling behind by two games in their opening sets. The Flyers (14-2) had no reserves Saturday because four teammates, including two starters, were on a school trip to China.

That meant senior Peter Michalakes moved up to No. 2 singles and sophomore Shuhao Liu switched from doubles to No. 3 singles.

“We started out a little shaky,” said Michalakes, who prevailed 6-4, 6-1 over GSA senior Beowulf Urban, “but eventually we realized we’re out here for fun and we pulled through.”

Liu won his match 7-5, 6-0 not long after Van Dyke and freshman Thorne Kieffer won 6-1, 6-2 at first doubles. Junior Brandon Ameglio provided the other point by winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

George Stevens (13-3) averted the shutout when Christian Jones and Kent Fang won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at second doubles. It marked the seventh straight year the two schools have met in the Class C state finals.

In addition to the China trip, Waynflete (14-2) had to deal with arm injuries to five players during the season, including Michalakes, one of three players who borrowed a racket from head coach Jeff Madore on Saturday.

“He had us switch to these rackets from the ’90s,” Michalakes said. “They’re heavier, but they made our arm injuries go away.”

The pain stopped. The reign continues.

“All the injuries and changes to our line-up actually worked in our favor,” Madore said, “because people had to step up in different positions and play with different people. It became: Play by our system. Don’t worry about the guy next to you.”

 

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