Staff Writer
The Caribou girls team competed in Hampden on June 10 in the Eastern Maine Class B girls tennis championship, but fell to Waterville 3-2 before the day’s end.
Despite the rain, smiles abound as the Caribou Lady Viking tennis team stops for a picture with their Eastern Maine Class B runners-up plaque outside of the indoor courts in Bangor on June 10. In front, from left, are Aly Michaud and Katie Keaton. Back row: coach Jane Hunter, Jenna Selander, Carlee Pinette, Missy Nadeau, Elizabeth Barbosa, Cintamini Johnson, Laura Collins and coach John Habeeb.
The event, which had been previously scheduled for Colby College, was moved to the indoor courts in Bangor. Parents, athletic directors and teams from Presque Isle, Ellsworth, Waterville and Caribou crowded into a small lobby as instructions for the day’s event were addressed. Though the four courts were enclosed, glass windows offered ample viewing opportunity but created a relatively silent atmosphere for the individual and doubles matches. First to take the courts were first doubles Elizabeth Barbosa and Missy Nadeau and second doubles Aly Michaud and Katie Keaton.
Barbosa and Nadeau started up against Katie Jacobs and Lexi Russo and, though the Viking athletes lead with the first point, Waterville came back to defeat Caribou 7-5 and 6-1 for their first team point.
The biggest disadvantage Caribou faced against Waterville was the fact that neither team had yet to meet up in the regular season. “We didn’t know what it would be like playing them,: said Nadeau. “We could only look at their scores against Presque Isle and compare but that’s not the same.” Nadeau and Barbosa struggled to regain the lead once Waterville took control.
“We can blame [our loss] on not having the elements in our favor,” began Barbosa, referencing playing inside as opposed to outside. “But I think we went in being too confident and in the end we couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole.”
Michaud and Keaton fell 6-4 in their first set against Nikki Shanos and Kelsie Stevens but pushed the second set to a 7-6 (7-1) tiebreaker, falling again to Waterville.
With Caribou down 2-0, it was up to third singles Carlee Pinette to keep their chances for a championship win alive. Pinette faced off against Alex McAuliff but was defeated in two consecutive sets at 6-2 and 6-0 for Waterville to take their third point to secure a victory. But both second and first singles Laura Collins and Jenna Selander proved that Caribou was just as well matched with their Waterville opponents by each take their matches, to give the Lady Vikings two team points.
Collins defeated Jen Nale 3-6, 6-3 and 6-2, coming back from a one-set deficit to take the match and Selander took on Katherine Batten in two sets, winning the first 6-2 and the second 6-4.
