The Brunswick girls tennis team defeated Camden Hills 5-0 to win the Class A North title on Tuesday at Bates College in Lewiston. Mike Mandell/Morning Sentinel
LEWISTON — The Brunswick girls tennis team had beaten Camden Hills twice this year, but neither win was reason for Mary Kunhardt to be overly optimistic.
Entering the week, Kunhardt’s Dragons had defeated the Windjammers 5-0 in their season opener and 4-1 on May 25. Yet both of those matchups came as Camden Hills was missing some of their top players, which wasn’t the case when Brunswick marked the third meeting between the two with a 5-0 victory in the Class A North final Tuesday at Bates College.
“They had their full team this time, and they didn’t have it when we played them before,” the Brunswick head coach said. “When that happens, you just don’t know what to expect.”
Brunswick’s performance, as the score might indicate, was no less thorough in the third meeting between the two teams. The Dragons notched a clean sweep of the Windjammers to repeat as Class A North champs and book a spot in the upcoming state title match.
Sadie Levy gave the top-seeded Dragons (14-1) its first win with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Camden Hills’ Hattie Moss. The Dragons first doubles tandem of Hazel Goodwin and Izzy Leitzell then won 7-6, 6-2 over Mila Bonometti and Julia Russell to put the defending champs on the brink of victory.
Brunswick got that victory courtesy of sophomores Logan Brown and Emily Davidson in second doubles. The duo dropped the first set 6-4 to Camden Hills’ Ilanna Lam and Amelie Wold, but rallied to post 6-2 wins in both the third and second sets.
The Dragons then completed the sweepwith victories by Abby Sharpe and Coco Meserve. Sharpe earned a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Charlotte Delehey in second singles, and Meserve topped Eliza Nickelson 6-3, 6-1 in first singles.
With only four courts at Bates, Meserve had to wait for her chance to put the finishing touches on the sweep. As one of the state’s top players — she was state runner-up in the Maine singles tournament two weeks ago — Meserve has gotten used to the pressure that comes with playing last.
Mt. Ararat’s Alex Liva serves during the Class A North championship boys tennis match against Camden Hills onTuesday at Bates College in Lewiston. Mike Mandell/Morning Sentinel
“There’s a bit more mental pressure knowing you’re the last one to play, but I actually like it because I’m able to watch my teammates first and cheer them on,” Meserve said. “I also sometimes eat too much food on the bus and then have to let it sit for a second.”
There were, despite the score, some unnervy moments early on for Brunswick. The Dragons, as noted, had to battle back in their second singles and doubles matches, and the team’s win at first doubles required a win in a hard-fought tiebreaker.
“I think they came in here a little nervous, and that happens sometimes whenever it’s a championship match,” Kunhardt said. “Once they loosened up, they were able to settle in and play their game, and they did it. I’m super proud of them.”
Brunswick, the defending Class A state champs, has now won 29 of 31 matches dating back to the start of last season. The Dragons will play in the state final at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at South Portland High School.
CLASS A NORTH BOYS: Mt. Ararat’s season came to an end with a loss to top-ranked Camden Hills. The Eagles fell 5-0 as the Windjammers ended their spree of playoff upsets to win a fourth consecutive Northern Maine championship.
Camden Hills (14-1) dominated singles play with wins in all three matches. The Windjammers got wins from Ezra Lemole (6-0, 6-0 over Mt. Ararat’s Landon Weaver) in No. 1 singles, Lincoln Pierce (6-2, 6-1 over Alex Liva) in No. 2 singles and Noah Thackeray (6-0, 6-2 over Charles Scribner) in No. 3 singles.
Camden also got a dominant victory in first doubles as Wilson Fedarko and Liam O’Dwyer beat Noah Fusco and Tucker Wnek 6-0, 6-3. Alex Todd and Sam van Honkhuyzen rounded out the win for the Windjammers with a hard-fought 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (tiebreaker) victory over Noah Cook and Aaron Paul in second doubles.
Mt. Ararat had to grind out two wins over higher-seeded teams just to reach the final. The Eagles claimed a 3-2 road victory over Skowhegan in the quarterfinals before defeating Bangor on the road by the same score in Saturday’s semifinals.
“Those were two tough matches, and our kids just battled,” Mt. Ararat head coach Jack Rioux said. “We knew it was going to be hard just to get to this point, but they knew they could be pretty good. They’re a great group.”
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