WATERVILLE — Heat exhaustion and chills had set in, her team already had clinched a state title, but Waynflete senior Kiera MacWhinnie was determined to finish her tennis match.

After applying ice during a 5-minute medical break, she returned to the court and won the 10-point tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set to complete a 5-0 victory over George Stevens Academy on Saturday afternoon at Colby College.

As soon as the 6-1, 5-7 (10-3) match ended, MacWhinnie’s teammates stormed the court, enveloping her and Coach Linda Cohen in a group hug.

“It was a great moment for our team,” MacWhinnie said. “Everyone was excited for each other. You could feel the energy.”

The Class C title was the first in three years for Waynflete, which also celebrated – in more muted fashion – a 10th straight boys’ title with a brisk 5-0 victory, also over George Stevens.

“It’s more expected for them,” said MacWhinnie, who plans to continue a swimming career in college.

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“For us, we have six seniors and we won as freshmen, so it was great to be able to bookend our high school careers with two state titles.”

Senior Lexi Epstein and junior Molly McNutt also won singles matches for Waynflete. Seniors Randall Seder and Almu Canales provided the clincher with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 doubles.

At No. 1 doubles, senior Sidara Cash-Sortwell and sophomore Chloe Fisher overcame a slow start to win 0-6, 6-4, 7-5.

A lefty and a righty, Cash-Sortwell and Fisher switched their service rotation after the first set so that neither would have to make their tosses into the bright sun.

The decade of dominance for the Waynflete boys (15-1) matched a feat first achieved a few hours earlier by the Class A champion Falmouth girls.

Brandon Ameglio, Thorne Kieffer and Jacob Greene won all but five games in singles.

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Shuhao Lin and Nick Wagg at No. 1 doubles and John Van Dyke and Cooper Sherman at No. 2 doubles also won in straight sets.

Waynflete (15-1) lost only to Class A champion Falmouth this season.

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or:

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH


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