LEWISTON — The Edward Little girls tennis team ended a 40-year rivalry drought Friday.
The Red Eddies defeated Lewiston 4-1 at Lewiston High School, their first victory over their rivals since 1982 — the year Edward Little won its only state championship.
“It’s pretty insane for us,” Mya Vincent, Edward Little’s No. 1 singles player, said. “We were pretty excited going into this match, and we thought we would do really well. It’s amazing Lewiston could win for that long.”
Edward Little coach Kevin Vincent have significantly improved since last spring.
“I am proud of them all,” Kevin Vincent said. “They have all been working really hard. It’s always more about progress than about results. I helped out (the team) last year, and seeing the progress the girls made from last year to this year has been exciting. I see them all playing more consistently, directing the ball better.”
Lewiston coach Lorraine Bowen said the Blue Devils have several new players this season who will improve as they gain more experience.
“It’s hard to lose, it’s been a long time, but we will do better the next time we play them,” Bowen said. “That’s going to be my words this year, patience and perseverance.”
The Red Eddies (2-2) won two matches simultaneously Friday when Rhashya Kamel and Mai Luu won first doubles against Lewiston’s Bella Dube and Nyaziel Deng, 6-2, 6-2, and Edward Little’s Paige Morgan won third singles against Claudia Cucubica, 6-2, 6-2.
Kamel and Luu said they communicated well on the court throughout their match.
“I feel like we really wanted to win, and we make sure we encourage each other after playing every single point,” Luu said.
Morgan’s service games helped her defeat Cucubica.
“Today, I think my strengths were my serves and my head game, staying calm and positive,” Morgan said.
Morgan said she had to refocus after dropping the first game of the second set. She also used dropped shots on Cucubica.
Kevin Vincent said he wants the Red Eddies to make their opponents run to return shots.
“Drop shots are important, if they make them,” Kevin Vincent said. “It’s something we don’t work on very much. What we work on is making sure we move our opponent around.”
The Edward Little boys also defeated Lewiston, 3-2, on Friday at Lewiston High School. Last spring, the Red Eddies’ boys team ended a losing drought to the Blue Devils that dated back to 1998.
The girls match of the day was in second singles, which was won by Edward Little’s Isabella Trombley over Lewiston’s Emma Omiecinski 6-2, 7-5.
To clinch the win, Trombley had to bounce back from a 4-3 deficit in the second set.
“It was really tough. I got discouraged a little bit because it was getting pretty close,” Trombley said. “I was able to regain my confidence and pulled through.”
Lewiston (0-2) picked up its point in second doubles, in which Alexia Landry and Honora White defeated Myesha Baker and Mariah Kirouac 7-5, 6-3.
Landry and White said that they tell each other to shake it off when things aren’t going their way during a match. Like the rest of the competitors, they had to contend windy conditions, and they found a way to use it to their advantage.
“I figured out which way it was blowing, and I tried to hit the opposite (way),” Landry said.
In the No. 1 singles match, Mya Vincent dispatched Lewiston’s Libby Forgues, 6-1, 6-0, for Edward Little’s fourth point.
“Consistency and footwork are the most important when it’s windy,” Mya Vincent said. “It gets hard to know where you have to be and make adjustments when the wind is blowing.”
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