After a superb run through 2015 competition, the Morse High School boys tennis team found itself at Bates College’s Wallach Tennis Courts on Thursday, one step away from a berth in the State Class B Championships, slated for this Saturday at Lewiston High School (9:15 a.m.).

On the other side of the courts were defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth, a formidable foe for sure, but not one that the confident Shipbuilders feared.

After a 4-1 loss to the Capers, the Morse players still had a look of confidence, one it will likely carry into next season when all but senior captain Stephen Tapia return.

Cape Elizabeth (12-3) advanced to the Class B title match, with Eastern B champ Camden Hills the opponent. The Shipbuilders finished 13-2 and with more hardware. With the runnersup plaque in tow, the award will sit next to the team’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference title, won by the way over the Windjammers of Camden Hills a week earlier, 3-2.

“It was a lot of fun and it was fun watching these guys with their eyes wide open,” said Morse coach Steve Boyce.

Capers dominate

Early on, Cape Elizabeth’s experience came through. The top Morse doubles team of Wade Daigle and Josh Trottier quickly dropped the first set, 6-0, and the No. 2 doubles squad of Oskar Matero and Collin McCarthy followed suit moments later. A chat with Boyce seemed to get the Shipbuilders pointed in the right direction.

“I was pretty nervous, and not that confident at first,” said Matero. “We started figuring out a strategy and were able to play to a 6-4 second set. We thought we could play their frustration to our advantage.”

“It was our first time here, and it was fun and exciting,” said Daigle. “We were really nervous, but our coach talked to us and told us to calm down and focus on hitting it in. We played smart and it helped. We lost it at the end, but this season was so much fun. We have a great team. We expected to go to KVAC’s, and we won that and went further. Cape Elizabeth is a great team.”

Matero and McCarthy pushed the Cape Elizabeth duo of Connor Sullivan and James Salerno. Trailing 4-1 in the second set, the Shipbuilders won three straight games to even the set, 4-4. But, Sullivan held his serve and the Capers broke the next Morse service game to close out the 6-0, 6-4 win.

“I told them to have fun and do what you can do, and once the nerves were dashed, they came back and did what they could do,” said Boyce of his doubles teams.

The second doubles victory gave Cape Elizabeth the Western B title, as Daigle and Trottier fell to Parker Dinsmore and Matthew Chipman, 6-0, 6-3, and Capers’ No. 2 singles player Luke Gilman finished off a 6-0, 6-0 win over Tapia.

Still left to be finished was the No. 1 and 3 singles matches, with Thomas and Matthew Jarmusz representing the Shipbuilders.

In the No. 3 singles battle, Matthew Jarmusz claimed the opening set over Ethan Murphy, 6-4, but trailed 5-2 in the second as the match approached the two-hour mark in the increasing heat. But, the Morse standout refused to quit, winning five straight games to close out the second set, 7-5, and gaining the Shipbuilders a point.

“I wanted to win, but it would have been fun going on,” said Matthew Jarmusz, who said, “I didn’t change anything up, I just got more of my shots in and got really lucky. This was very good this year and the team is very happy to have made it this far. We hope to do well next season and have some more matches here.”

About 20 minutes later, Matthew’s brother Thomas Jarmusz was defeated in the No. 1 singles spot by Cape’s hard-hitting Michael Mills, 6-3, 6-1, to conclude the match.

After watching his players receive their awards, Boyce discussed his pride in his team.

“I am very proud in just the fact that they were not overwhelmed with the competition and the environment,” said Boyce. “They were able to represent themselves very well. I can’t ask for anything more.”