PI Wildcat tennis teams post victories
Sports Editor
PRESQUE ISLE — The wins continue to pile up for the Presque Isle boys and girls tennis teams as both squads have enjoyed a fair share of success on the court this season.
In the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points standings as of Tuesday morning, the Wildcat boys (4-1, 23.6111 points) were second in Eastern Class B, just behind top-ranked Ellsworth (5-1, 28.611), while the Presque Isle girls (3-2, 19.5833) were fifth in the region.
The Presque Isle girls bested Fort Kent 3-2 Friday and defeated Houlton 5-0 Wednesday, May 5, while the Wildcat boys beat Fort Kent 5-0 and defeated Houlton 4-1. Presque Isle’s match at Hermon Saturday was postponed to May 14 due to rain.
The regional singles tournament will take place Saturday in Presque Isle, with the top five boys and the top five girls advancing to the state singles tournament slated for later this month.
Summaries of matches played through Monday are as follows:
Presque Isle girls 3, Fort Kent 2 — At Fort Kent Friday, in a cold and windy match, the individual results, with Wildcats listed first, were: in singles, Kailee Ireland (2-3) lost to Becca Martin, 7-9; Madelyn Carson (2-3) lost to Carissa Pelletier, 0-8; and Dani Wolland (3-2) bested Sam Landry, 8-1.
In doubles, Lindsay Michaud (3-2) and Divya Bisht (3-2) beat Roxy Pelletier and Amelia Stevens, 8-4; and Melissa Carson (3-2) and Deidre Dicker (3-2) beat Abby Stevens and Kiara Caron, 9-8 (7-5 in tiebreaker)
In an exhibition match, Elise Jones and Kayla Girardin beat Katie Ouellette and Savannah Paradis, 8-1; and Bethany Beckwith, Kathryn Sharp and Chelsey Carroll (with the three girls alternating play) beat Becca Hebert and Vicki Bernard, 8-0.
“It was a very tough match in very cold and windy conditions,” Presque Isle coach Moncia Bearden said. “Kailee Ireland and Becca Martin were very evenly matched. After Martin went up 1-0 they kept winning two games back-to-back and alternating who was up by one. The two wins in a row would happen when the player had the wind to their back which was obviously a strength.”
In the Carson/Pelletier match, Bearden said despite the fact that Presque Isle lost 8-0, most of the individual matches were competitive. The coach added she was pleased with the progression of her doubles teams thus far.
“Michuad and Bisht are steadily showing improvement,” she said. “Melissa (Carson) and Deidre (Dicker) gave up a big lead, but held their composure to win in the tiebreaker.”
Presque Isle girls 5, Houlton 0 — At Houlton Wednesday, the Shiretowners were no match for visiting Presque Isle as the Wildcats blanked Houlton. The individual results, with Wildcats listed first, were: in singles, Ireland defeated Hiba Bilal, 8-2; Ma. Carson bested Holly Bouvier, 8-4; and Wolland beat Courtney Bragan, 8-1.
In doubles, Michaud and Bisht beat Ashley Hannigan and Megan Gerath, 8-1; and Me. Carson and Dicker defeated Lizzy Garcia and Maggie Garcia, 8-2.
In an exhibtion match, Elise Jones and Kayla Girardin beat a team of Houlton players 8-1.
“I am pleased with the continued individual improvement of the tennis skills of my players,” coach Bearden said.
Presque Isle boys 5, Fort Kent 0 – At Fort Kent Friday, the Wildcats roared to the shutout over Fort Kent. The individual results, with Wildcats listed first, were: in singles, Caleb Mathers (4-1) beat Isaac Mitchell, 8-1; Connor Shaw (5-0) defeated Alex Charette, 8-0; and Chris Cawley (3-2) bested Martin Doustou, 8-1.
In doubles, Emerson Mendieta-Castro (3-2) and Kyle Gilson (3-2) defeated Logan Doak and Lucas Woodward, 8-1; and Osman Mendieta-Castro (5-0) and Mike Picard (5-0) beat Alex Chasse and Curtis Jandreau, 8-0.
Presque Isle 4, Houlton 1 — At Houlton Wednesday, the individual results, with Wildcats listed first, were: in singles, Mathers beat Zach Harvey, 8-1; Shaw bested Tyler Delano, 8-3; and Chris Kelley lost to Luke Anderson, 5-8.
In doubles, E. Mendieta-Castro and Gilson beat Cody Woods and D.J. McGary, 8-3; and Picard and O. Mendieta-Castro bested Craig Thomas and Zach Ritchie, 8-0.
“I am pleased with the way the guys are playing right now,” Presque Isle coach Sam Picard said. “It’s hard to gauge where we stand in the Eastern Class B standings because of how many Class C [Aroostook] County teams we play. I am hoping the success we have had thus far carries forward to when we begin playing downstate later in the month.”
BACKHAND SLAM
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
Presque Isle’s Kyle Gilson delivers a backhand during the Wildcats match with Houlton last Wednesday, May 5. Gilson and his doubles partner, Emerson Mendieta-Castro, came through with an 8-3 win over their Shiretowner opponents and helped lead the Wildcats to a 4-1 victory. Presque Isle took a 4-1 record into yesterday’s home match against Caribou.
