Windham and Gorham square off in boys’ tennis showdown
On Friday, May 4, a pair of 4-0 boys’ tennis squads from Windham and Gorham faced one another on the gusty Windham courts in a battle to stay ahead of the pack in tightly contested Western Maine Class A. These same two teams went head-to-head last spring in a regional semifinal with Windham coming out on top.
At second doubles, Windham’s Kyle Morrell and Justin Kuliga got their team an early lead with a convincing win over Gorham’s Jacob Shorty and Kyle Reinheimer. The Eagle duo rolled to a quick 6-1 win in the first set, but the Rams made them fight for it in the second.
Kuliga is battling a shoulder injury that he said may be due to changing his serving form during the offseason. The overhead range of motion just isn’t there and he’s now trying to develop a new serving style on the fly, leading to some double faults that helped Gorham close to 5-4 in the second set. But Kuliga took care of business down the stretch, finishing three consecutive volleys at the net to seal the 6-1, 6-4 win.
At third singles, Gorham sophomore Pat Shaw and Windham freshman Dan McGovern squared off in a brief, but entertaining match. Gusty winds limited lengthy volleys and McGovern displayed a good all-around game, controlling the angles and limiting mistakes on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
Gorham trailed 2-0, but top singles player Aaron Bergeron got them on the scoreboard with an impressive performance against Windham’s Nick DiFiore. Bergeron hadn’t lost a set all season and he jumped on DiFiore for a convincing 6-1 win in the opener. DiFiore battled back in the second, seeming to frustrate Bergeron as he closed to 4-3.
A year ago, this might have been a problem. But Gorham coach Viet Ly said the big difference in Bergeron this season is his mental game. He can hammer the ball, but at the top spot, Ly said his ace has learned that power alone isn’t enough to win. Bergeron showed good composure and regrouped and he held off the DiFiore challenge in the second, taking a 6-1, 6-3 win.
With Windham leading 2-1, Adam Mitchell looked to seal the deal in a No. 2 singles clash with Gorham’s Isaac Pease. Mitchell displayed good power on his way to a 6-2 win in the opening set, but Pease battled back in one of the most competitive sets of the day. Mitchell maintained a narrow lead throughout and took a 6-5 advantage into the possible clinching game. Pease made it interesting, but Mitchell took over in the final few volleys, sealing the Eagle victory with a blast to the back corner.
The remaining match was at first doubles and the unbeaten Gorham duo of Kiet Thai and Eric Custeau showed good chemistry and awareness to hand Eagle freshmen Dan Crocker and Nate Johnson their first loss of the season. All four players were hitting the ball well, but it was Thai’s slick playing style that made the difference. Slice-heavy sideline shots were finding their mark and Thai closed out the 6-2, 6-4 win with a chip shot just over the racket of a leaping Nate Johnson.
After the 3-2 Eagle win, Windham coach Wayne Martin said he was happy with the performance, but that “we’ve still got a few things to fix. They’re young and they’re only going to get better. The kids in this program have come to expect to win and it’s nice to see that with these guys.”
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