Silverman 4-time singles finalist

LEWISTON

In the fall, Brunswick High School girls tennis player Maisie Silverman will make the Wallach Tennis Center her home when she becomes a Bates College Bobcat.

Silverman was hoping for success a bit earlier, as the Dragon senior and the No. 2 seed advanced to her fourth consecutive Maine Principals Association Schoolgirls Singles Championship on Monday after defeating St. Dom’s freshman Bethany Hammond in the morning semifinal session.

However, Silverman’s bid for her second singles title came up short, and to someone real familiar as Falmouth’s Olivia Leavitt, the tournament’s top seed, defeated Silverman for the second straight year, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a long, and hotly-contested match.

On the hottest day of the spring so far, Leavitt used a six-game run in the second set and a five-gamer in the third.

“It was really hot out there,” said Silverman. “I played my hardest, and it was a battle. But, you could tell that she really wanted it.”

The turning point of the match came in the third set. Silverman led 3-2 and had Leavitt on the ropes. She hit three solid shots, with Leavitt running from side to side to keep the ball in play, eventually winning the point and going on to take the final four games.

“It is tough when you hit three great shots and they come back, then you lose the point,” said Brunswick girls tennis coach Rob Manter. “That was a bit of a turning point. And, Maisie got into Olivia’s game a bit, and I felt that if she would have stayed with her game that she could have had a different outcome.”

“At that point, with this temperature, it was going to be all about fitness, and that point really set the momentum, and I knew then that I could do it,” said Leavitt.

“I was falling more into her strategy and just hitting it back,” said Silverman. “But, she fought for it, and I feel she really truly deserved it. It could have gone either way, but she was better today.”

In the opening set, Silverman broke Leavitt’s serve four times, using her power to keep Falmouth’s top player on her heels. She held an 8-3 edge in winners, with Leavitt committing 17 unforced errors.

“She was being really aggressive and I was being defensive,” said Leavitt, who talked with her coach and began attacking in the second set. “In between the first and second set, I told myself to drive the ball. I began being the aggressor.”

Leading 2-0 after breaking Leavitt’s serve for the fifth consecutive time, Silverman was broken when Leavitt drove a forehand winner just inside the sideline to close to 2-1. Leavitt kept rolling, taking the next five games to even the match.

Both players tried to cool off between sets.

“I sat in the room and put ice on my head, trying to cool down,” said Leavitt, while Silverman took refuge in the shade.

With a new set of balls for the final set, Silverman seemed to find her power game again, breaking Leavitt and jumping out to a 3-1 lead. But, Leavitt continually ran down Silverman shots to take a 5-3 lead. After Silverman double-faulted at 30- 30, Leavitt watched as Silverman’s final shot sailed long to end the three-hour match.

Silverman advancing to four consecutive championship matches was not lost on both players and Manter.

“ It is an unbelievable accomplishment and I am so proud of her,” said the Brunswick coach. “ She played great, and I know a few things here and a few things there the outcome could have been different.”

“It is always a big deal to make it here, and of course you want to win,” said Silverman.

“ She has had an unbelievable career, four championship matches,” said Leavitt, a junior. “Maisie deserves a ton of credit and will do so well at Bates.”

Semifinals

In the morning semifinals, Silverman faced Hammond, who like Silverman did three years ago rolled through the competition this year as a freshman.

Hammond had difficulty with Silverman’s power and consistently, falling 6-0, 6-3.

Silverman saw similarities to herself in Hammond.

“Bethany is going to be a winner in this tournament during her career,” said Silverman. “ Her and I hit together a lot, and she has the skills to be really good. I will be watching her when I am in college for sure.”

“I look up to Maisie, and I see how far that she has come in her career,” said Hammond. “It means a lot that she says nice things about me. Her power and the way she puts shots away are tough to combat.”

Leavitt faced Waterville’s Colleen O’Donnell, the No. 5 seed, in a semifinal and rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win.