Sports Editor
WATERVILLE — When a pair of unbeaten teams clash for a regional crown, one thing is for certain … one of them is getting their first loss.
Staff Photo/Joseph Cyr
Charging hard to get a drop shot is Caribou’s Laura Collins.
Fortunately, the Caribou girls tennis team were the ones who remained perfect as the No. 3 Vikings (15-0 overall) beat No. 1 Camden Hills (14-1) 4-1 Wednesday for the Eastern Class B championship at Colby College.
Caribou advanced to the state championship Saturday, were the Vikings fell to Falmouth 5-0. (See accompanying story.) Dominating the tennis scene is something the Vikings have done frequently in the past decade. Caribou won back-to-back regional titles in 2004 and 2005 and also won the Eastern Class B title in 1999 and 2000. The last state championship the Vikings won was in 1995.
“Last year, we were so close to Waterville in the Eastern Maine championship,” Caribou coach John Habeeb said. “We’ve faced Camden Hills before for the Eastern Maine title. We faced essentially this same squad in last year’s semifinals and won 4-1. We just needed to play our game. We seem to be peaking at just the right time.”
“Each match took its own course and I really feel that some of our girls played their best tennis today,” Camden Hills coach Karen Brace said. “It’s very difficult playing a team that we don’t see during the regular season.”
The individual results from Wednesday’s match, with Vikings listed first, were: in singles, Jenna Selander defeated Carissa English, 6-4, 6-1; Laura Collins fell to Emma Blakely, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6; and Carlee Pinette defeated Julia Kosowsky, 6-4, 6-0.
In doubles, Melissa Nadeau and Elizabeth Barbosa bested Jessie Matthews and Kayla Hart, 7-6 (match decided by tiebreaker), 6-3; and Ashley Richards and Catherine Keaton beat Jamie Burgess and Erika Alex, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Played under hot, sunny conditions, which seemed to bother both teams at times during Wednesday’s match, it was the Vikings who got off to a slow start against Camden Hills. All five Viking groups fell behind early, but quickly rallied to take command of the match.
Wearing her lucky pink striped socks and playing with “Layla,” a tennis racket purchased at T.J. Maxx two years ago, Selander was the first to finish her opponent. Selander made quick work of English, a freshman for the Windjammers, winning in straight sets.
Staff Photo/Joseph Cyr
Returning a backhand slam is Viking Catherine Keaton.
“It was nice,” Selander said of finishing first. “Usually, I am waiting in anxiety, trying to figure out how important my match is for the team. Today, since I didn’t know how the other matches were going, I just went out and played hard.”
Selander said English hit great sideline shots and had a strong forehand for such a young player.
“I tried to just wear her down, because that is how I like to play,” Selander said.
Pinette was next to finish as she overcame a 4-1 deficit in her first match by winning the next six points. She then shut out Kosowksy in the second match 6-0 giving Caribou a 2-0 lead in the match.
The senior tandem of Nadeau and Barbosa, the only seniors in the Vikings starting lineup provided the game-clinching victory as they won in straight sets.
“We didn’t realize until we stepped off the court that we had just won [regionals] with our match win,” Nadeau said. “Being seniors, it feels great that we were able to give our team the victory. We have a strong team.”
