Staff Writer
For the first time in school history, the Presque Isle boys tennis team will head downstate this afternoon for a shot at the Eastern Maine Class B title, after defeating Foxcroft in the quarterfinals and Waterville in the semis.
With a first round bye thanks to their first-place standings, the Presque Isle boys tennis team prepared to host the Foxcroft Ponies June 4 for the quarterfinals. The Ponies had a Heal Point standing of ninth and fell to the Wildcats 4-1.
With a quarterfinal win behind them, Presque Isle headed to the June 6 semis to take on fourth seeded Waterville at the UMPI courts. The Wildcats defeated Waterville 3-2 as the match came down to the final set between Wildcat Caleb Mathers and Waterville’s Ashton White. First singles Alex Carter easily defeated his Waterville opponent in two sets and Ben Picard defeated Charter Boyle in three sets, coming from behind to take the final two. With both Presque Isle doubles teams losing, the win came down to sophomore Mathers, and the teams gathered around his court to wait out the fate of the championship.
Mathers defeated White in the first set 7-6, but struggled to grasp a lead during the second set. “The second set, he didn’t play his game,” observed Presque Isle coach Tim Dolley. “He was more tentative and he and [White] were almost mirror images of each other. They liked to move their opponent and make them come to the net. He didn’t know what to do because it felt like playing himself.” By the end of the second set, Mathers had lost 5-7 and, with the slate essentially wiped clean, the day came down to the final set. Mathers jumped off to a 3-0 lead, starting the set with confidence and maintaining that throughout the next seven points.
“The last point of the game was a Caleb Mathers point,” Dolley said, echoing a statement he’s repeated to his team the whole year. “They’ve got the experience and they know what they need to do: be cool and calm, relaxed and confident. They need to have that swagger with them so they know the team they’re playing against can’t roll over them.”
Dolley hopes his team will remember that as they head down to Colby College for the EM championship today. “All three singles match up well with mine,” he said earlier in the week, referencing Ellsworth’s team. Presque Isle did not meet up with Ellsworth during the regular season, so this afternoon’s game proves to be an enlightening experience.
“Ellsworth is actually undefeated in their regular season, and they’re very strong. Their only loss was to a Class A school, so they’re technically undefeated in Class B,” remarked Dolley. “We need to work on finishing our plays and become more consistent. Eliminating their unforced errors is the biggest thing for us to do on Wednesday. We need to jump on them early, because you just don’t fall behind on an Ellsworth team.”
For Dolley and his team, tennis is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical and, “if you lose your perspective,” cautioned the Wildcat coach, “you can lose the game.” Regardless of regular season statistics, the Wildcat tennis team will give a good show this afternoon. “They’re really pumped,” Dolley said of his boys, “and they want to prove to everyone that they deserve to be there. They’re going to give it a fight.”
Results from Saturday’s match against Waterville are as follows. Singles: Alex Carter def. Nate Buteon 6-4, 6-1; Ben Picard def. Charter Boyle 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Caleb Mathers def. Ashton White 7-6, 5-7, 6-4. Doubles: Nick Stinson-Cam Mitchell def. Chris Cawley-Kyle Gilson 6-4, 7-6; Matt Lynch-Nico Schultz def. Connor Shaw-Mike Picard 6-2, 6-7, 6-2.
Results from the June 4 match against Foxcroft are as follows. Singles: Alex Carter def. Hadi ElRabbat 6-0, 6-1; Ben Picard def. Josh Kasprzak 6-2, 6-4; Caleb Mathers def. Ian Fariel 6-1, 6-1. Doubles: Andrew Larson-Connor Paydo def. Chris Cawley-Kyle Gilson 6-1, 3-6, 6-2; Connor Shaw –Mike Picard def. Jordan Kim-Adrian Simon 6-2, 6-1.
The Lady Wildcat tennis team was on their way to the Eastern Maine championship when they were stopped in the semifinals by second seeded John Bapst. Presque Isle defeated Ellsworth in the quarterfinals on June 3, but fell 3-2 to John Bapst on Saturday. “All of Saturday’s singles matches went to three sets,” said Dolley. “I hated for it to come down to that, but I was very proud of them because of the circumstances. We had to travel down the night before,” he said, explaining that the seniors didn’t arrive in Waterville until midnight on Friday because of senior week activities. Still, Sarah Porter and Brittany Bearden were able to defeat their opponents, albeit in three sets. But with both doubles teams losing in two sets, it was difficult to recover.
Results from Saturday’s match against John Bapst are as follows. Singles: Sarah Porter def. Katherine Batten 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Brittany Bearden def. Jean Nale 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; Alex McAuliff def. Kailee Ireland 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Doubles: Katie Jacobs-Lexi Russo def. Jen Steeves-Madelyn Carson 6-4, 6-2; Nikki Shanos-Kelsie Stevens def. Lindsay Michaud-Dani Wolland 6-4, 6-3.
Results from the June 3 match against Ellsworth are as follows. Singles: Sarah Porter def. Miranda Grant 7-5, 2-0; Brittany Bearden def. Ashley Harding 6-2, 6-1; Kailee Ireland def. Clarissa Winkelmann 0-6, 6-1, 6-3. Doubles: Holly Wadman-Caitlin Maloney def. Jen Steeves-Madelyn Carson 6-1, 6-3; Paige Lewis-Danel White def. Lindsay Michaud-Dani Wolland 6-3, 6-0. Presque Isle defeated Ellsworth 3-2.
Staff photo/Abigail Hunt
RETURNING A SERVE during a recent home match, Wildcat Caleb Mathers notches another win for the Presque Isle boys tennis team. Mathers led the Wildcat boys team to their semifinal win on Saturday to take the team to the Eastern Maine Class B Championship today.
