After blasting one final forehand winner, Lana Mavor relaxed and began the walk to the net for the congratulatory handshake.

As Mavor reached the service line, she glanced at her fingernails as if wondering if they needed a trim. No celebration seemed necessary. The outcome certainly was never in doubt.

Mavor, a Yarmouth sophomore, had defeated Rosemary Campanella of Wells 6-1, 6-1 to become a state champion for the first time. In five matches of the singles tournament, the top-seeded Mavor lost only six games. She shut out her first two opponents and limited the final three to two games apiece.

“Showing emotion makes it easier for the opponent to play you,” Mavor said later. “So it’s good to keep it contained.”

Mavor, who also led Yarmouth to the regional final of the Class B team tournament, is the Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year in girls’ tennis. Her father, Brian, was the 1982 singles state champion for Cape Elizabeth.

“When she’s on the court, she’s taking care of business,” said Yarmouth Coach Ann Harradon. “You don’t see any expression. There’s no happy. There’s no sad. Occasionally she’ll slap her thigh, then I know she’s not happy with what she’s just done.”

There was some question whether Mavor – a nationally ranked player who does schoolwork online through Maine Virtual Academy rather than attend classes at Yarmouth High – would play for the Clippers this spring. As a freshman, a back injury forced Mavor to withdraw from the state singles tournament in the semifinals against Campanella.

“I didn’t get a chance to finish states,” she said. “I wanted to see how I did. And I like being part of a team.”

Mavor didn’t drop a set in her 10 matches for the team, including three in the playoffs. Her games record was 120-13. Yarmouth had two other sophomores who were Mavor’s classmates back at Harrison Middle School.

“So she gets along with the kids,” Harradon said. “She had a team dinner at her house and they all came.”

On the court, Mavor had no peers in Maine.

“They watch her and they’re amazed,” Harradon said. “She’s something we’ve never had before. She’s very athletic and puts a lot of time and effort into making herself better. She works out in the gym, and she runs and she hits with area pros. We’ve had good players, but nowhere near as competitive and highly ranked as she is.”

Mavor’s busy summer schedule began this weekend with a trip to a sectional tournament at Yale University. Next weekend, she has intersectionals in Louisiana. After that are tournaments in Pennsylvania and Virginia, followed by up to three in California.

In the fall, college coaches can begin the recruiting process.

“I just focus every match,” Mavor said, “and try to practice my skills that I’ve been working on in practice.”

Telegram All-Sate Team

Grace Campanella, Kennebunk freshman: Campanella reached the semifinals of the state singles tournament, losing a total of only two games in her first three matches before being stopped by eventual champ Lana Mavor.

Rosemary Campanella, Wells junior: The two-time singles finalist and older sister of Grace won four matches by a combined games score of 48-10 before falling 6-1, 6-1 to Lana Mavor in the final. She helped lead Kennebunk/Wells to first tourney berth.

Liv Clifford, Cape Elizabeth senior: The No. 7 seed, she reached the quarterfinals with a pair of straight-set victories before falling to eventual finalist Rosemary Campanella, 6-3, 6-2. She plans to continue playing tennis at Colorado College.

Lexi Epstein, Waynflete senior: The No. 9 seed, Epstein reached the quarterfinals by beating No. 8 Gabrielle Marquis of Caribou 6-1, 6-0 before falling 6-0, 6-2 to eventual champ Lana Mavor, then helped the Flyers win the Class C team title. She plans to continue playing at Dickinson College.

Izzy Evans, Greely junior: After a year abroad, Evans returned to lead the Rangers to their third Class B title in four years, 3-2 over Caribou. Seeded fourth in singles, she reached the quarterfinals before falling 6-0, 6-2 to Grace Campanella.

Bethany Hammond, St. Dominic senior: A four-time singles semifinalist and the 2015 runner-up, Hammond fell 6-1, 6-2 to Rosemary Campanella in the semifinals. She plans to continue playing tennis at Stonehill College.

Lana Mavor, Yarmouth sophomore: The top seed in the singles tournament, she rolled through the field by a combined games score of 60-6 to win the title, culminating in 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rosemary Campanella. In team play, she led the sixth-seeded Clippers to the Class B South final.

Kira Wolpow, Brunswick senior: The sixth seed in the singles tourney, she rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Falmouth’s Meredith Kelley to reach the quarterfinals before falling 6-3, 6-2 to Bethany Hammond. She led the Dragons to the Class A North title. After a gap year teaching English in Colombia, she’ll attend Northeastern.

Coach of the Year

Bill Goodspeed, Falmouth: In his second season after rising from assistant coach to head coach, Goodspeed continued Falmouth’s run of state titles to 10 and match winning streak to 157. Falmouth won the Class A state title with a 5-0 sweep of Brunswick to cap a 19-1 tournament run despite, for the second straight year, losing the state singles champion to graduation and having to rely even more heavily on the bottom of the lineup. Goodspeed even found time to self-publish a book this spring called “Alternative Facts: Fake News, Tweets & the 2016 Election.” “We never talk about it,” Goodspeed said of the winning streak. “I don’t know if it’s superstition or it’s one match at a time. It’s like looking ahead in the draw. We don’t look ahead in the draw.”

CORRECTION: This story was updated at 10:22 a.m. on June 26, 2017 to correct Lana Mavor’s record in the singles tournament.

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or:

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH

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