FARMINGTON — Senior Mick Gurney’s remarkable progression over the regular season and gutsy performances by Mt. Blue’s doubles teams came in handy during a Class A North high school tennis quarterfinal Thursday.
Gurney prevailed in his singles match, and the doubles teams cashed in on a pair of victories to lead the No. 4 Cougars (9-4) to a 4-1 victory over No. 5 Brunswick (8-5).
The Cougars move on to face No. 1 Camden Hills (12-0) in Rockport on Saturday.
“I think we were just consistent,” Mt. Blue coach Zac Conlogue said. “We have played these guys before. It was a great match. I just think we were confident.
“We have been here before, in the semis the last five years, so we know now what to do and we were just consistent and were able to figure out our opponents. We didn’t make many mistakes and our doubles were really aggressive. That’s how we won those. They are both very good doubles teams.”
Gurney squared off against Brunswick’s Calvin Doherty, who beat Gurney during the regular season. But the Mt. Blue senior didn’t allow Doherty to repeat in Thursday’s No. 2 singles match. The pair had a good go-around before Gurney came out on top with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
“It felt very nice (to win),” Gurney said. “Just constant practice throughout the season (helped). We had a good practice yesterday and we just came in with the right mindset and we were ready for the match. We all came to play today.”
Conlogue said Gurney upped his game during the season and he clearly demonstrated that in Thursday’s performance.
The doubles matches went the distance before the Cougars were able to collect their hard-fought victories.
In the first doubles match, Mt. Blue’s Ryan Haszko and Aubrey Hoes defeated the Brunswick duo of Kian Murray and Nick DaRosa, 6-4, 6-2.
Mt. Blue tandem Michael Ferrari and Ayden Beisaw took down the Dragons’ Isaac Albaugh and Luke Flanagan, 6-2, 7-5 in the second doubles match.
The No. 3 singles match featured Zack Gunther beating Brunswick’s Alex Hess, 6-0, 6-0.
The Dragons picked up a victory in the No. 1 singles match when Mt. Blue’s Chris Marshall, who was working around an injured hamstring, fell to Brunswick’s Connor Shaw, 6-4, 6-2.
“Our number one showed just how tough he has become in the latter half of the season,” Brunswick coach Chris Leighton said. “He had some losses in the first part, but, man, did he toughen up, so he played very well.
“The rest of my boys, I mean they are playing good tennis. You got to hand it to Mt. Blue. They played solid tennis and just didn’t make as many mistakes. That’s what it comes down to.
“But they (Dragons) improved over the season, and there is always next year.”
Lewiston over Mt. Ararat
LEWISTON — The No. 2 Lewiston boys will also be hosting a regional semifinal match after defeating the No. 7 Mt. Ararat Eagles, 4-1, in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
As with the girls, there wasn’t much drama in the boys’ contest other than the No. 2 singles match, in which Lewiston’s Ben St. Laurent battled back from a 4-1 deficit against Zander Chown in the first set to win the set 7-5 before taking the second set 6-1.
“I started to get use to his serve, and I started to realize where to place it on him,” St. Laurent said. “I found his weakness and kept hitting it there.”
The Eagles won their only match at No. 1 singles when Matt Mosher defeated Caden Smith, 6-4, 10-4 (second was a pro set).
“I just kept getting the ball back and being consistent, making sure every shot was either in or a place he couldn’t hit back,” Mosher said.
Sam Frechette won No. 3 singles for the Blue Devils (12-1), defeating Alex Liva 6-1 in straight sets.
Jacob Smith and Hayden Bavis won No. 1 doubles, 6-2, 6-1, over Nathan Kofroth and Will San Pedro. In No. 2 doubles, Ethan Weiss and Jeremy Hepler defeated Landon Weaver and Luke Curnin, 6-2, 6-3.
Mt. Ararat finished its season with a 5-8 record.
Freeport girls fall
NEWCASTLE — Top-seeded Lincoln Academy picked up a 5-0 win over No. 8 Freeport in a Class B South quarterfinal.
Caitlin Cass, Fiona Liang and Emily Harris took singles wins for the Eagles (12-1), while Harmony Ingham/Sandra Thelander and Anastasiya Oliver/Kate Peters captured doubles victories.
Cass swept past Freeport’s Maya Dowling-Wolfe, 6-0, 6-0, and Liang picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Charlotte Soule. Harris defeated Ayanna Hatten, 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles, Freeport’s Grace Abbott and Rebecca Pierce dropped a 6-0, 6-2 decision at No. 1 doubles, and Falcons Emily Perilla and Caroline Cadorette fell, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 2 doubles.
Freeport concluded its season with a 5-8 record.
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