Kennebunk again spoils Camden Hills’ quest to Capture state ‘A’ boys tennis title – Knox County VillageSoup

SOUTH PORTLAND The Camden Hills boys tennis team has netted a boatload of state Class B court Championships over the years, but, for whatever reason, a title in Class A has eluded the Talented Windjammers, seemingly slipping through their fingers and rackets again and again.

That also happened on Saturday, June 11 at South Portland High School as the Windjammers (14-2) lost their first three matches to Kennebunk (15-1) and, despite rallying for two final court victories, suffered a 3-2 loss to again finish as Class A Runners-up.

Alas, the Windjammers, of course, have won numerous state Class B titles (5) most recently back-to-back titles in 2016-2017 but have yet to get to the top of the Class A mountain. So close to the Peak, but not quite.

In fact, in Class B, Camden Hills won five state titles and finished the runner-up 10 times. In Class A, the Windjammers have been runners-up four straight times, twice to Falmouth and then past two springs to Nemesis Kennebunk (there was no season in 2020 due to the Pandemic).

The individual state Championship match results, with the Windjammers listed first, were: In singles, Era Lemole lost to George Cutone, 0-6, 0-6; Lincoln Pierce lost to Will Smith, 2-6, 1-6; and Noah Thackeray beat Noah Williams, 6-4, 7-6 (1).

In doubles, Wilson Fedarko and Liam O’Dwyer lost to Jaxson Redmond and Matt Duncan, 4-6, 5-7; and Alex Todd and Sam VanLonkhuyzen beat Parker Smith and Blake Dallara, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Camden Hills rode a 12-match win streak into the Saturdays state final, with its only previous loss of the spring being a 3-2 defeat to the neighboring Medomak Valley of Waldoboro on April 28.

The Windjammers, the top seed in Class A North, defeated No. 8 Edward Little of Auburn 5-0 in the quarterfinals, no. 4 Brunswick 5-0 in the semifinals and No. 6 Mount Ararat of Topsham 5-0 in the final.

Kennebunk, the second seed in the South, beat No. 7 Westbrook 5-0, No. 3 Portland 4-1 and No. 1 Thornton Academy of Saco 3-2 earlier in the Playoffs.

Photos and video from the state Championship match will appear later with this story.

The Windjammer teams also take on Class A North Championships on Tuesday, June 7 at the Wallach Tennis Complex at Bates College in Lewiston and when the final shots were made in the high school postseason matches, the Windjammers settled for a split.

For the Windjammer boys, it was business as usual as they swung to their fourth straight regional title, this time a 5-0 Victory over No. 6 Mount Ararat.

Class A North boys high school tennis Champions from Camden Hills Regional High School. The team members include, front from left, Liam ODwyer, Lincoln Pierce, Ezra Lemole, Will Jurek, Charlie Nicolet, Lucas Wyman, Jackson Strout and Declan Rodgers; and back, Coach Noah Capetta, Oliver Kydd, Noah Thackeray, Sam VanLonkhuyzen, Alex Todd, Wilson Fedarko, Micah Mosheyev and Emmett Edge. Photo courtesy of Jared Todd

The No. 1 seed also prevailed in the girls final, which proved a tough pill to swallow for No. 3 Camden Hills as it dropped a 5-0 decision to Defending state Class A Champion and top-ranked Brunswick.

The following is information from the regional Championship matches:

Boys

The individual regional Championship results, with Camden Hills players listed first, were: In singles, Ezra Lemole beat Landon Weaver, 6-0, 6-0; Lincoln Pierce beat Alex Liva, 6-2, 6-1; and Noah Thackeray beat Charles Scribner, 6-0, 6-2.

In doubles, Wilson Fedarko and Liam ODwyer beat Noah Fusco and Tucker Wnek, 6-0, 6-3; and Alex Todd and Sam Van Lonkhuysen beat Noah Cook and Aaron Paul, 5-7, 7-5, 10-5.

Camden Hills Noah Thackeray, with teammates in background. Photo by Mark Haskell

For the Eagles, the regions sixth seed, they bested No. 3 Skowhegan 3-2 in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Bangor 3-2 in the semifinals.

Camden Hills Alex Todd. Photo by Mark Haskell

It feels great, Camden Hills Coach Noah Capetta won the regional Championship. The boys have worked really hard all season and their efforts paid off. They’re looking forward to the opportunity at our first state Class A title on Saturday. ”

It was the fourth straight state Class A regional title for Camden Hills dating back to 2018. There was no spring sports season in 2020 due to the Pandemic.

Camden Hills Lincoln Pierce. Photo by Mark Haskell

On Tuesday, the Windjammers asserted their will early against the lower-Seeded Eagles as Pierce and Thackeray quickly swung to first-set victories against Liva and Scribner, as did Fedarko and ODwyer against Fusco and Wnek.

Fedarko and ODwyer led 3-2 in the second set before they quickly swept the next three games to put Camden Hills up 1-0.

The focus shifted to Pierce and Thackeray as both led their second sets 4-1, with Camden Hills ever-so-close to clinching a regional title. Pierce got off the court first with a 6-1 win, while Thackeray closed out Scribner with the Championship-winning point.

Each of our players have their MO [mission objective] with the way that they play their games, said Capetta. And they just had to stick to their guns. Ararat didn’t go down without a fight. Despite some of the scores, the sets were quite competitive and my guys just had to maintain their composure to close out their matches.

Camden Hills also beat Mount Ararat twice, by 4-1 outcomes, during the regular season.

Girls

The Windjammers, the third seed in Class A North, defeated No. 6 Brewer 3-2 and No. 2 Hampden Academy 3-2 to advance to Tuesdays regional final. The Dragons, the regions top seed, defeated No. 8 Edward Little of Auburn 5-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Messalonskee of Oakland 4-1 in the semifinals.

Brunswick improved to 14-1, while Camden Hills ended 11-4.

Camden Hills Julia Russell. Photo by Mark Haskell

The individual regional Championship results, with Camden Hills players listed first, were: In singles, Eliza Nickerson lost to Coco Meserve, 3-6, 1-6; Charlotte Delehey lost to Abby Sharpe, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6; and Hattie Moss lost to Sadie Levy, 4-6, 2-6.

In doubles, Mila Bonometti and Julia Russell lost to Hazel Goodwin and Izzy Leitzell, 6-7, 2-6; and Ilanna Lam and Amelia Wold lost to Emily Davison and Logan Brown, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6.

Camden Hills Ilanna Lam. Photo by Mark Haskell

Camden Hills Coach Lana Arau said, despite the outcome, that her squad played great today.

We really took Brunswick by surprise, she said. I think they were anticipating an easy win. Our team had a different plan. We played Brunswick three times this year [and] we made Improvements each match. All our lines came to play. We were patient and played smart tennis, but were not able to upset Brunswick, the Defending state Championship team.

Camden Hills Mila Bonometti. Photo by Mark Haskell

The second doubles tandem of Lam and Wold won their first set against Davison and Brown, while Bonometti and Russell battled Goodwin and Leitzell to a first-set tiebreaker before the Dragons, ultimately, took that set.

Delehey also nabbed a first set Victory against Sharpe, but Brunswick, ultimately, seized control of the match and claimed its second straight regional title.

The Dragons beat the Windjammers 5-0 and 4-1 in regular-season matches.

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