LEWISTON — Thirteen is no longer unlucky for the Lewiston girls tennis team.
The Blue Devils captured their 13th Class A state championship on their fourth attempt Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 victory over Scarborough.
Lewiston’s Roslynn Wailus and Molly Chicoine celebrate after the win over Scarborough’s Amelia Hardy and Mayne Gwyer in No. 1 doubles at the Class A girls’ tennis state championships match on Saturday in Lewiston. The Blue Devils won 5-0. Portland Press Herald photo by Carl D. Walsh
It’s their first state championship since 2011.
There were nerves heading into the match, but they didn’t last long.
“When (the match) started, I had a bloody nose, so I think the blood pressure was up a little bit,” Lewiston coach Anita Murphy said. “It calmed down once they started playing. The girls were very nervous so it made me nervous. I settled down when I saw them hitting and saw them starting to play. I was like, ‘Oh, my god, they are in a groove, they are in it.”
Murphy, in her 41st year leading the program, has been the coach for all 13 of Lewiston’s state championships.
Maddy Foster, the Blue Devils’ No. 3 singles player, clinched the title with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Kellie Guerrette. Foster was extra-aggressive from the start, grabbing a lead in the first set before trailing and battling back to win. She then cruised through the second set.
“I don’t know, I just had to tell myself this was the last (match) of the season, this is states,” Maddy Foster said of making the comeback in the first set. “I just wanted to win.”
Murphy said Foster took control of her court and took advantage of Guerrette lobbing the ball.
The points quickly rolled in for the Blue Devils as No. 2 doubles team Jill Pelletier and Lauren Foster defeated Ashley Sabatino and Sydney Koukos in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
Pelletier and Foster were in the rhythm early.
“Our serves were doing really good,” Lauren Foster said. “We were setting each other up at net a lot.”
As second doubles was wrapping up the first point of the match, Abby Svor, Lewiston’s No. 2 singles player, claimed the second point with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Carrie Timpson.
Svor, who lost the clinching match to give Falmouth last year’s state title, was happy to put a point on the board in Lewiston’s favor this time.
“I am really happy on the way I played,” Svor said. “This is the best that I played all year.”
Scarborough was able to push the No. 1 doubles match into the third set, but Lewiston’s Molly Chicoine and Roslyn Wailus who hadn’t lost all season, pulled out the victory, winning 6-0, 4-6 and taking the tiebreaker 10-7 over Amelia Hardy and Mayne Gwyer.
The duo were told that the Blue Devils had won the state title during the break between the second set and the tiebreaker.
“I had no idea, I was just playing and thinking it was a close match with all the players,” Chicoine said. “I mean, that was awesome.”
The victory is extra special for Chicoine, whose is Murphy’s granddaughter.
“It’s just pure excitement,” Chicoine said. “To win a state championship with my grandmother is the best feeling in the entire word. I have been dreaming of this moment since I have been playing tiny-tots at the Lewiston Rec. It’s pretty special to win it with her and all my family here.”
By the time No. 1 singles hit the court, the match was all wrapped up. Julia Svor didn’t leave anything in doubt winning 6-1, 6-1 over Abby Ricker.
Julia Svor was happy to have the weight lifted off her shoulders.
“I wasn’t as stressed about it and just had to keep playing and just finish it so everybody could just go home,” Julia Svor said.
Scarborough, which snapped Falmouth’s 187-match win streak in the Class A South final Thursday, is proud of the season it had.
“It’s a hard day, obviously, because we came to play and wanting to win,” Scarborough coach Lincoln MacIsaac said. “It’s never fun to lose, I guess, but to lose to Anita, who’s a great coach and a great program — these girls are classy up here in Lewiston. They played some great tennis.
“My girls worked hard all season and did what they needed to do. We got to play tennis on the last day of the season, which is always goal for us. I am very proud of them.”
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