The tennis season started poorly for the Greely girls.
It ended perfectly.
In two preseason scrimmages with neighboring Falmouth, Greely lost nine of 10 matches. Not until early May, halfway through the schedule, were the Rangers able to put forth their best lineup.
“That’s when I knew we were pretty good, and we would compete,” said Greely Coach Mark Ouellette, who credited all the early lineup juggling with helping to build a resilient squad. “It gives everyone experience, and they have to adjust.”
The Rangers beat Foxcroft Academy 5-0 in the Class B state final Wednesday afternoon at Apex Racket & Fitness in Portland to cap a 16-0 season. Senior Becca Carlson, who is most comfortable behind the baseline, delivered the championship-clinching forehand volley to cap a 6-4, 6-4 victory alongside junior Amara Quimby at first doubles.
“It was really nerve-wracking, standing there and knowing that this could be the ending point,” Quimby said. “Sweat all over your body. This is it, but keep a cool head. It was just really exciting.”
The state title is the fourth for Greely, which reached the final for the first time since winning its third crown in four years in 2017. Foxcroft finishes 10-6.
In the Class B boys’ final, Yarmouth extended its championship streak to four by beating Foxcroft 4-1. Like the Greely girls, the Clippers finished their season at 16-0.
Sophomore Andre Violette won 7-6, (4), 6-0 at No. 2 singles to clinch the title after junior Andi Cobaj won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles and senior Nate Hagedorn and freshman Alexander Gordon won 6-2, 6-3 at second doubles.
Seniors Ethan Lombard and Will Best earned a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory at first doubles. Foxcroft’s lone point came at No. 1 singles, where sophomore Khang Nguyen defeated Yarmouth senior Quinn Federle, 6-2, 7-5.
“That’s all you can ask for, a perfect season,” said Best, who led the singles lineup last year but found a home in doubles this spring. “I don’t know what else we could possibly want.”
Foxcroft (14-2) fielded a lineup made up entirely of foreign boarding students who hail from Vietnam, Mexico, Spain and Germany. The result was quality competition across the board.
“They’re an exceptionally good team, and we knew we were going to be in for a war,” said Yarmouth Coach Bill Shardlow, who is retiring. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a match where all five matches have this level of play.”
Greely’s girls proved dominant in singles, with Spanish exchange student Anne Alfaro winning 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 and junior Emma Lindsey and sophomore Isobel Wright both winning 6-1, 6-1. Seniors Ruth Weeks and Chloe Pierce prevailed 6-1, 7-5 at second doubles.
“Once we got our lineup set,” Carlson said, “we saw what we had and we’re like, ‘OK, we got this!”
Reflecting back to April, Quimby said the prospect of a state title was a long-term goal rather than an expectation.
“I was sure we were going to go far, just didn’t know to the extent,” she said. “It was a good outcome.”
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