LEWISTON — Olivia Leavitt finished off the point with yet another unreturnable forehand.
“Oh my gosh,” said Lewiston girls’ tennis coach Anita Murphy, watching from behind a courtside fence. “No stopping that.”
Indeed, Leavitt and her Falmouth High teammates again proved unstoppable Saturday at Lewiston High, shutting out Lewiston for an eighth consecutive state title and 13th in school history, matching Cape Elizabeth for the most in Maine and bumping Lewiston to third on the all-time list with 12.
“It’s bittersweet,” Leavitt said after being surrounded by the rest of the Falmouth girls to celebrate their 5-0 victory. “It’s a great feeling to finish the season like we did but it’s also sad that I’m not going to come back and play anymore.”
The Falmouth boys also won a Class A title in dominant fashion, beating Mt. Ararat 4-1 with straight-set victories in everything but No. 1 singles, where Eagles sophomore Nick Mathieu – a two-time runner-up in the state singles tournament – held off a spirited challenge from Falmouth senior Aidan McGrory 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the best individual match of the day.
The Mathieu-McGrory affair was still in its first set when everyone else in Class A had finished playing. Falmouth freshman Alex Klemperer and sophomore Peter Stegemann dropped only three and four games, respectively, in winning second and third singles against, respectively, Mt. Ararat freshman Peter Mao and senior Trevor Mayo.
In doubles, Falmouth sophomores Jordan Bruce and Trey Fallon dropped only four games at No. 1 against Mt. Ararat seniors Mike Crawford and Jon Roux. At No. 2, Falmouth sophomore Grayson Cohen and freshman Matt Adamowicz won 6-1, 6-1 over junior Joey Reed and Brazilian exchange student Leonardo Paz Medeiros of Mt. Ararat.
The same two teams met in the boys’ state final last year with Falmouth winning, 3-2. Only McGrory and Fallon returned from that starting seven.
The Falmouth girls, meanwhile, returned six of their top seven and finished with another 16-0 season, extending their winning streak to 125 matches.
Leavitt, the three-time singles state champion, won her match against Lewiston junior Maddi Roy without dropping a game. Juniors Julia Brogan and Carolina Ray won at second and third singles by identical scores of 6-1, 6-1.
Sophomores Kate Kelley and Amanda Watson did likewise at first doubles. Senior Meg Pierce and sophomore Mary Hyland won 6-3, 6-3 at second doubles.
“They had a different game style than we’re accustomed to in Western Maine, which is more of a flat topspin,” Brogan said. “These girls do a lot of lobbing. We had to get used to that.”
The victory marked the end of a 13-year coaching career for Sandra Stone, who departs with 10 state titles and an overall mark of 187-14.
“We especially wanted to get the match for her,” said Brogan, who led an effort to have all the girls wear blue-and-white tie-dyed socks along with a long royal blue wristband.
“We all want her to remember this.”
Leavitt, who plans to continue her career at Brandeis, and Pierce are the only seniors. Assistant coach Bill Goodspeed will take over the program from Stone.
“I prepared the girls mentally for this match,” said Murphy, who led Lewiston to all 12 of its state titles. “We knew what we were up against. Their goal was to stay on the court as long as they could.”
“This was a team that was coming in undefeated,” Falmouth’s Ray said of Lewiston (15-1). “We all knew we would have to play our best tennis. We definitely had some nerves. I don’t think it was easy.”
It only seemed that way.
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