Falmouth tennis sweeps Class A championships, again
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Falmouth celebrates its win over Brunswick in the Class A girls tennis state final Wednesday at Bates College in Lewiston. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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LEWISTON — Eli Sidhu and Dante Iannetta’s doubles match went final, giving Falmouth its third win of the afternoon, and coach Jamie Hilton walked over to the watching Navigators for a few handshakes.
“Let’s go,” he said. “State champs.”
Once again.
Falmouth rolled to its fourth straight Class A state title and 16th overall, defeating Camden Hills 5-0 in a rematch of last year’s final. It was also the 64th straight victory for the program.
“The culture around the school, a lot of kids play tennis, a lot of kids have fun playing tennis,” said Sidhu, a senior. “I think we’re going to be going for a while.”
For the third straight year, it was a championship sweep. Falmouth’s girls team won its 48th straight match, beating fellow unbeaten Brunswick, 4-1.
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“Ignorance is bliss, sometimes,” said coach Larry Nichols, whose team earned its 18th state championship without a senior on the roster. “Sometimes I wonder if they know where we’re at in a match, and the fragile state it’s in. Just when I think they’re unaware of that, they do things or don’t quit, and end up turning the tide.”
Similar to a 5-0 win over Thornton Academy in the South boys final, the Navigators (16-0) flexed their muscle against the Windjammers (14-2).
Adrian Mazurenko took a 6-0, 6-0 win over Oscar Barnes at No. 2 singles, Luke Kusel and Blake McAteer won 6-2, 6-0 at second doubles over Manny Mosheyev and Zac Mason, and Sidhu and Iannetta clinched the title with a 6-4, 6-1 win at first doubles over Mac Pierce and Graham Eggena.
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Once the championship was official, the celebration was quiet and understated.
“I think everyone was focused on their own match,” said No. 1 singles player Matt Morneault, who defeated Joey Scordino, 6-0, 6-0, while No. 3 Alex Kirtchev earned a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (7) victory over Blake Christie. “My goal was just to beat my player, and I think that’s what every single (player) went out and did: ‘I’ve just got to beat my guy, and do my job for this team.'”
The Falmouth girls (16-0), meanwhile, got a fight from the Dragons (15-1).
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The No. 1 doubles team of Helena Nelson and Cici Benson earned a quick 6-3, 6-2 win over Sophia Robertson and Bella Farkes, and No. 2 singles player Sophia Turker made it 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Ellie Meserve.
But No. 3 singles player Jules Kotzan trailed Lila Patient 5-2 before rallying to win 7-5, 6-2, and the second doubles team of Ava Draeger and Lilly Woolf lost their first set to Caroline Martin and May Wickwire before coming back to prevail, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (8).
No. 1 Phoebe Reilly fell to Molly Tefft, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (5), but the come-from-behind wins were enough to seal Falmouth’s title.
“We were a little more unsure going into this, because it honestly could have gone either way,” Turker said. “There were a lot more nerves than I’ve had in the past for states.”
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Another title wasn’t a foregone conclusion at the start of the year, as the Navigators found out that 2025 singles champion Sofia Kirtchev was sitting out because of scheduling conflicts.
As it turned out, Falmouth still had plenty of firepower.
“We weren’t really expected to win, so it’s really nice with such a young team,” said Reilly, a sophomore. “We weren’t as confident as we were last year, but we still believed we could do it.”
Tefft, a senior who was the runner-up in the state singles tournament, shook off a loss in the first set to earn Brunswick’s only point.
“All that was on my mind was that this was my last match as a high schooler,” she said. “I just wanted to go out, not with a loss, but go out with a win. … I’m very grateful for my whole team, and I wanted to show them that I could win.”
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Tagged: brunswick dragons, camden hills windjammers, falmouth navigators, times record sports
Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. More by Drew Bonifant
