One of the best examples of the “two Maines” concept in interscholastic sports each year is found in the Maine Principals’ Association state singles tennis tournament.
Individual champions routinely come from southern Maine, which not only features a longer outdoor spring tennis season than northern areas but also is much more populous. That means more competitive players and more indoor courts available for the most driven prospects to improve throughout the year.
Not since Laura Stein of Camden Hills of Rockport won in 2004 has a girls champion come from north of Greater Brunswick. The boys title has a similar recent geographic backdrop, with only Lincoln Academy of Newcastle’s Jordan Friedland’s victories in 2012 and 2013 breaking into the championship dominance of players from the Brunswick area and south since Hampden Academy’s Eliot Potvin won back-to-back crowns in 2005 and 2006.
As for players from northernmost Maine, only Erin Moakler of Greater Houlton Christian Academy has emerged as a singles state champion, winning titles in both 2002 and 2003. No other player, boy or girl, from north of Greater Bangor has ever been crowned a state singles champ.
This year’s top seeds, defending boys champion Nick Mathieu of Mt. Ararat in Topsham and Lana Mavor of Yarmouth, are perhaps the best evidence that little is likely to change in 2017.
When the state tournament resumes Friday with the singles Rounds of 48 and 32 in Portland, the odds of a northern breakthrough aren’t great. Not even for the three seeded players from Bangor and points north — Caribou juniors Gabrielle Marquis and Alec Cyr and senior Paul Branch of Orrington and John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor.
That doesn’t stop Branch, for one, from having high aspirations.
“(The goal is) I guess to win states,” said Branch, who reached the Round of 32 each of the last two years and is ranked 12th this year after being seeded ninth in 2016. “That’s the end goal when you think about it. I am ranked 12th, so maybe I’ll surprise a few people.”
Among the other challenges for northern players in the field each year is travel, as typically all matches after the regional qualifying playdowns are held at Colby College in Waterville or Bates College in Lewiston, two of the larger tennis facilities statewide capable of handling such events.
Marquis and Cyr plan to leave Caribou after school Thursday for Waterville, but now when they reach their hotel rooms they’ll only be part way to the match site as Friday’s schedule has been moved from Colby College indoors to the Racket & Fitness Center in Portland due to predicted rain.
But traveling long distances to compete isn’t anything new for players such as the No. 11 Cyr.
“This weekend I just want to go in there with a positive attitude, know that it’s going to be tough and play as hard as I can,” he said. “I really want to win definitely my first match, and if I can win my first match I feel I can carry that momentum into my second match and keep going.”
Marquis is ranked eighth in the girls’ field after reaching the Round of 16 as the No. 10 seed last spring.
“It’s exciting,” Marquis said of being seeded to reach the quarterfinals, “but since it’s been raining a lot and we had a really late season this spring. We haven’t had much court time to play so I’m nervous that I haven’t gotten too many practices in.”
The weather is another part of the reality for the northern-based singles players.
“The shorter season is a lot of it and not having indoor courts at our disposal,” said Cyr. “This year we played our first match after being on the court for two days, so the snow really kills us.”
The later start to the spring, weather-wise, as well as limited access to tennis facilities with enough courts to quickly complete matches, also has led to northern leagues traditionally playing single eight-game pro set matches throughout the regular season. Most leagues from the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference south play best-of-three set matches.
All matches in the state singles tournament are best-of-three affairs.
“It’s not a major disadvantage but it’s definitely a disadvantage because you don’t have the experience of going into a third set or of someone coming back on you,” said Branch, whose John Bapst team is based indoors at the Armstrong Tennis Center in Hampden. “When it’s just an eight-game pro set there’s not as much of a chance for a huge comeback because there’s no break when you can think about it.”
“It’s definitely a mental change going from playing eight games to potentially 12 or more,” added Marquis, “but that’s where we just need to keep our mental game in focus and our physical strength up throughout.”
The state singles tournament is scheduled to continue with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals Saturday at Colby College, followed by the semifinals and championship matches at Bates College on Monday.
