PORTLAND — St. Dominic Academy No. 1 tennis player Bethany Hammond had been here before, facing a tough opponent in the Maine Principals’ Association Schoolgirls Tennis Championships.
This time around, Falmouth top player Julia Brogan stood across the net at the Racquet and Fitness Center, with both players trying to outthink and outhit the other.
It was Brogan who stood tall this time around, taking a close 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory in the Schoolgirls semifinals, ending a solid run by Hammond.
“I was not connecting with the ball, and she is a really tough player,” said Hammond of the opening set that saw Brogan reel off the final four games, including breaking Hammond twice.
But the Saint came out strong in the second set. Down 3-1, she broke Brogan’s serve and held to even the match. Tied 4-4, Hammond broke Brogan two more times in the set, leading 5-4 and 6-5, only to watch as Brogan did the same to force a tiebreaker. Brogan trailed 2-0 in the tiebreaker, but reeled off seven of the final eight points to end the match.
“She changed her strategy in the second set and started going to my backhand more and ran around her forehand, which I wasn’t expecting,” said Brogan of Hammond. “She hit the ball a lot harder in the second set. She is a great player and a fighter. It is tough to come back from 6-2, but she did.”
“I knew that I had to fight back. It is awesome competing with her,” said Hammond, whose Saints begin the Class C South postseason with a quarterfinal matchup at home on Wednesday against North Yarmouth Academy. A likely opponent for Hammond is Panthers No. 1 Lena Rich. “Now it is about fighting for the team, knowing that we have a great team.
“I am proud of myself. If there is anyone to lose to, it is Julia. She is such a good player and a good competitor.”
Brogan moved on to the girls’ final against Wells’ Rosemary Campanella, who led top-seeded Lana Mavor of Yarmouth 4-0 when Mavor was forced to retire due to an upper body injury.
Despite the added rest, Campanella struggled against the consistent Brogan, who rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 victory, keeping the Schoolgirls title at Falmouth after former Yachtsmen Olivia Leavitt captured the crown the past three seasons.
Boys’ competition
The boys final came down to top-seeded and two-time MPA Schoolboys finalist Nick Mathieu of Mt. Ararat and third-seeded Dariy Vykhodtsev of Thornton Academy.
This was Mathieu’s year, as the junior earned a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory to finally capture the title that former Eagle and Mathieu mentor Mike Hill owned from 2007-09.
Mathieu advanced to the title match by surviving a slow start against No. 4 Michael Mills of Cape Elizabeth for a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win.
Vykhodtsev advanced when second-seeded Nick Forester of Falmouth was forced to retire after injuring himself in the opening set. Vykhodtsev led 5-4 when Forester, who had taken a tumble two games earlier, was unable to continue.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
