LEWISTON, Maine — The Camden Hills Windjammers knocked off the Cape Elizabeth Capers to capture the Class B boys tennis state title Saturday at the Lewiston High School courts.
The Windjammers picked up their first state title since 2005 and emerged with the crown after losing in the state final the last two seasons.
Cape Elizabeth had won three straight state titles entering the match.
Camden’s Luke Burnstein opened the match with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Ted Hall. The second doubles tandem of Shawn Albertson and Josh Pitcairn put the Windjammers up 2-0 when they defeated Carter Brock and Matt Galvin 6-4, 6-3.
Josiah Krul then gave the Windjammers the clinching victory when he beat Jimmy Salerno in their third singles match 6-2, 7-6(2).
Cape Elizabeth’s Declan McCormick and Wyatt Newhall topped Camden’s Colby Arau and Alex Forcillo in first doubles 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 while Cape prevailed in first singles where Michael Mills beat Matt Morse 6-2, 6-1.
Camden Hills finished with a 15-1 record and Cape Elizabeth ended at 13-3.
In the Class A state finals, Falmouth blanked Lewiston 5-0 to win the girls title while the Thornton Academy boys of Saco beat Lewiston 5-0.
St. Dominic Academy of Lewiston captured the Class C girls state crown with a 5-0 victory over the Mattanawcook Academy Lynx of Lincoln while Waynflete of Portland prevailed over George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill in the boys championship 4-1.
In the Class C girls final, St. Dom’s Laurel Christopher and Hannah Phelan closed out their match against Mattanawcook Academy’s Sydney Morrison and Katey Libby at No. 2 doubles in short order, earning the vital third point to push St. Dom’s past the Lynx.
“We were nervous, but we were excited to get it done,” Phelan said.
The second doubles tandem was fueled by an unfamiliar motivator: a loss.
“Until Thursday, they’d gone undefeated all season,” St. Dom’s coach Andrew Girouard said. “That was their first loss, and for them to just bounce back to play as strong as they can play, that shows how good they are.”
Meanwhile, as they have done for most of the season, the Saints’ first doubles tandem of K.K. Linck and Kassaundra Stacy set the tone. Doubles being as important as they are in a team match, the early 6-0, 6-2 dismissal of Mattanawcook’s Abby Morrison and Paige Hasseltine gave the South champs a boost to start the morning.
Rachel Kurtz followed suit. Kurtz was the first off the court in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Waynflete in the regional final, and she nearly was again Saturday in her 6-1, 6-3 win over Ava Broderick.
Clare Kramer, who clinched the regional final for the Saints, closed out Natalie Tilton of Mattanawcook 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles moments after Christopher and Phelan’s win at No. 2 doubles.
In the final match, Bethany Hammond dispatched Ali Hardy at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1. It’s a position with which Hammond, one of the top singles players in Maine, has become accustomed.
The Lynx were far from discouraged with their performance, though.
“We knew this was going to be tough,” Mattanawcook coach Aaron Ward said. “This being our first year making it back in 16 years, we’re really proud of that accomplishment, and we battled as hard as we could, but obviously St. Dom’s is a fantastic team.”
Mattanawcook hadn’t been to the final since 2000, but has rebuilt the program and hopes to be back again in a year.
“A lot of our younger players were unfazed by the way they played today, and our seniors were consistent as well,” Ward said. “The future is pretty bright for us.”
In the boys match, Waynflete team’s depth again shined brightly, and the Flyers soared by the Eagles.
“Every match we had a different lineup because of injuries,” Waynflete coach Jeff Madore said. “I suppose that prepared us for what we faced after four kids, including two starters went on a trip to China this week. We had to revamp the lineup again.”
Top doubles tandem Thorne Keifer and John Van Dyke of Waynflete set the pace with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Aidan Byrne and Leif Lyon-Miller of George Stevens. Shuhao Liu took the next point for Waynflete at No. 3 singles, a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Ben Politte, and Peter Michalakas closed things out for the Flyers at No. 2 singles in a 6-4, 6-1 win over Beowulf Urban.
The Eagles got one point back at No. 2 doubles in a hard-fought, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory from Christian Jones and Kent Fang, but with three points in the bucket for Waynflete, the match was academic.