The Windham and Scarborough boys tennis teams faced off Tuesday in Windham in a late-season match up of SMAA heavyweights.
Windham (No. 1 in the latest Heal Points) and Scarborough (No. 2) both entered the match unbeaten. It was the final regular season match for Scarborough, while Windham had its final makeup match Wednesday against Cheverus (after the Lakes Region Weekly’s deadline).
Windham pulled out a 3-2 win, all but locking up the No. 1 seed for the Western Maine A playoffs.
“Last year, there were three 11-1 teams – Westbrook, Scarborough and us – Westbrook got that No. 1 and they had a much easier time getting through the playoffs than we did,” said Dan McGovern, Windham’s No. 3 singles player. “We had to beat Scarborough again, which was very tough. (The No. 1 seed) gives you a much easier path through the playoffs and is a lot less stressful.”
McGovern got the first win of the day for the Eagles, defeating the Red Storm’s Tim Przybylowicz 6-3, 6-4. It was a crucial victory, as McGovern saw teammate Dan Crocker fall to Nick Tolman 1-6, 1-6 on the court next to him at No. 2 singles in the first match to conclude. It was Crocker’s first loss of the year.
McGovern recognized going into the match that the stakes were high.
“With two undefeated teams, every match is must-win,” he said.
McGovern struggled a bit to start the second set, but soon recovered to even the team score at 1-1.
“My backhand was going really well for me in the first set then I faltered a little bit at the beginning of the second,” McGovern said. “But I got it back and it helped me get back in.”
The Eagles got wins two and three in quick succession to clinch the team victory. The No. 2 doubles team of Fernando Leon-Prado and Kyle Morrell edged Zach Porter and EJ Conceison 7-5, 6-3.
“When we came out, coach (Wayne Martin) said, ‘It was a little too close, that first set. Start moving your feet, stepping into shots,'” Morrell said. “So that’s what we did and it worked a lot better.”
Morrell is the only senior in the Eagles’ top seven. His teammate, Leon-Prado, is a junior. The other five players are sophomores.
“Our team lies in the hands of sophomores,” Morrell said. “At one point this season, the whole varsity team was sophomores. They’re going to be strong for years to come.”
A few moments after the No. 2 doubles match finished, one of those sophomores, Nate Johnson, wrapped up his No. 1 singles match against Scarborough’s Adam Saltz, also a sophomore, 6-3, 6-2. In his first season of playing singles, Johnson is 10-1 in the top spot.
The Eagles may be young, but their commitment to the sport makes up for a lack of experience.
“We lost some seniors last year, but we play so much all year round that we’re doing just as good, if not better, than we were doing last year,” Johnson said. “We’re ready for the playoffs.”
In the final match of the afternoon, Scarborough’s Nate Gove and Ryan Eddy outlasted Kurt Stultz and Nick Rallis 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. The three-set battle lasted nearly two and a half hours. Even though the team outcome had been determined before the second set concluded, the two teams kept their intensity the entire way through.
The match began under dark skies and the threat of thunderstorms but play was not interrupted despite a brief shower about an hour into the action. A contingency plan was in place to move the matches to an indoor facility if the storms struck, as Wednesday was the final possible day to play matches and the Eagles were looking to avoid a doubleheader.
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