LEWISTON — They waited on a hillside at Lewiston High, adjacent to the tennis courts, knees tucked under identical black T-shirts to ward off a light sprinkle on a cool Saturday evening.

When it was over, and their first doubles team finally prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker, the Falmouth High girls rushed the court to envelop Mary Hyland and Amanda Watson, and celebrate yet another state title, their ninth straight overall and third straight in Class A.

“It was so fun to be able to enjoy that moment with them one last time,” said senior Julia Brogan, who made quick work of her No. 1 singles match and had plenty of time to join her teammates on the hill. “It’s always a more enjoyable bus ride home when we all win.”

Falmouth beat Lewiston 5-0 to cap a ninth straight 16-0 season and extend its winning streak to 141 matches. The Blue Devils finished 15-1.

In the Class A boys’ final, Thornton Academy claimed its first state title with a 5-0 victory over Lewiston that was closer than the score indicated. Both doubles reached a first-set tiebreaker.

“We had a rocky start,” said Dylan Gooch, who teamed with Jared Waterhouse for a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 victory at first doubles. “Then we won some crucial points and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Gooch and Waterhouse played their tiebreaker concurrently with Jackson Dohse and Adam Lovejoy on an adjacent court at second doubles. Dohse and Lovejoy won 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 for the clinching point of the match.

A year ago, Thornton lost 3-2 to Falmouth in the regional final. On Thursday, the Trojans (16-0) avenged that loss with a rain-delayed 3-2 victory.

“To be the first team in school history to get this far and to get the results we wanted,” Gooch said, “makes it that much better.”

Lewiston (12-4) rallied to beat Mt. Blue in the regional final after losing every opening set, but couldn’t force a third set against Thornton Academy. Freshman Dariy Vykhodtsev completed the sweep with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles after Viktor Schwarz (6-4, 6-2) and Junxi Xiao (6-2, 6-3) won at No. 2 and 3 singles.

“We’re really fortunate,” said Thornton Coach Andy Carlson. “We’ve got kids from all different backgrounds, different grade levels and with different levels of experience.”

The Falmouth girls jumped to a 2-0 lead with singles victories from Caroline Ray (6-0, 6-1) and Kate Kelley (6-1, 6-1). The clincher came from Annie Gott and Mia Cooney at second doubles, 6-3, 6-1.

It was a poignant match for Gott, who came straight to Lewiston from her grandfather’s funeral service earlier Saturday afternoon in Brunswick.

“He was a huge tennis player,” Gott said of Harold “Bud” Edwards, who died last month at age 92. “So it meant a lot for me to be able to play in his memory.”

Thursday’s regional final went poorly for Gott, who twice needed an inhaler for her exercise-induced asthma in a loss to Scarborough completed indoors because of rain. On Saturday, she joined the group hug after Hyland and Watson capped the season with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory that took 2 hours, 10 minutes.

“It was a bittersweet day,” Gott said, “but really, really nice.”

Related Stories