FALMOUTH — One year after Lana Mavor and Nick Forester had to withdraw from the high school tennis state singles semifinals because of injuries, both are healthy and eager for a title.
Neither Mavor, a Yarmouth High sophomore, nor Forester, a Falmouth sophomore, has lost a set this spring. She is seeded first among the 48 players who advanced from regional qualifying. He is seeded third among 48 boys, behind defending champion Nick Mathieu of Mt. Ararat and runner-up Dariy Vykhodtsev of Thornton Academy.
Because of a wet forecast, Friday’s matches were moved indoors to the Racket & Fitness Center in Portland. Organizers remain hopeful that the Round of 16 and quarterfinals can be played as scheduled Saturday at Colby College in Waterville.
Semifinals and finals are scheduled for Monday at Bates College in Lewiston, but last year marked the third time in four years that weather forced the finals indoors.
“I’m excited for it,” Mavor said. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”
She spoke Monday following an anticipated match with Bethany Hammond of St. Dominic, a three-time semifinalist and 2015 finalist seeded third this spring. Mavor won, 6-0, 6-0.
Only three girls have won a game against Mavor this spring: Rosemary Campanella of Wells (second seed) lost 6-3, 6-1; Grace Campanella of Kennebunk (No. 5) lost 6-1, 6-3; and Izzy Evans of Greely (No. 4) lost, 6-1, 6-1.
“I think she’s improved considerably over last year,” Yarmouth Coach Ann Harradon said of Mavor, the top-ranked USTA player in Maine for girls 16 and under who is also No. 2 in New England and No. 122 in the country. “She’s much stronger. She really hits the felt off the ball.”
Mavor, the top seed a year ago, strained her lower back in a regular-season win over Julia Brogan of Falmouth. Mavor won three matches in the singles tournament before withdrawing, down 4-0, in the semifinals against Rosemary Campanella because of back issues. Brogan, now playing No. 2 singles for Trinity College, beat Campanella 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
“The goal was to win it,” Mavor said. “I wasn’t able to but it was OK, I guess. There’s always more.”
Mavor said physical therapy and “some kind of massage thing, muscle manipulation” on a six-week visit to her mother’s native Ukraine helped her back heal. She has since played in several national events, including one earlier this month on clay in Virginia, where she placed fifth in singles.
Not long after Mavor walked off the court last spring, Forester withdrew from his semifinal after stepping on a stray ball from an adjacent court and suffering two partial ligament tears in his left knee and a fractured growth plate. At the time, he led Vykhodtsev 4-3 in the first set.
“I didn’t need surgery,” Forester said. “I was going to (physical therapy) for about six to eight weeks. As soon as I was cleared to play, I was right back out there.”
Mathieu, a three-time finalist, wound up beating Vykhodtsev 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to win his first singles title.
Forester said it took a few months before he felt on par with his level of play prior to the injury. He and Vykhodtsev met twice in USTA tournaments in the final, once in Massachusetts and once in Maine. Forester won both in straight sets.
“He’s playing much better,” Falmouth Coach Bob McCully said. “He played well last year, but he’s recovered very well from the injury and is playing at a very high level.”
In his first seven matches this spring for unbeaten Falmouth, Forester is a combined 84-13 in games. His style is a bit unusual in that he hits forehand ground strokes from either side.
An accident in a gym class that resulted in a strained lower back caused Forester to miss a few matches as a precaution, but he said he’s been fine for the past two weeks.
“I feel very good,” he said. “I feel ready. I’ve prepared.”
Forester’s match Friday is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. against Thorne Kieffer of Waynflete or Noah Toussaint of St. Dom’s. They play at 8:30 a.m.
Mavor is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. against the winner of an 11:15 a.m. match between Emma Nassif of Thornton Academy and Lindsay Nevin of George Stevens Academy.
“It will be an interesting weekend,” Harradon said.
Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or
Twitter: GlennJordanPPH
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.