AUGUSTA — The Erskine and Waterville girls tennis teams weren’t separated by much in the regular season finale Wednesday at Colby College.
“It was a slugfest,” said Erskine coach Ryan Nored, whose Eagles prevailed 3-2. “It was a tough match. It could’ve gone either way. We are looking forward to seeing them again.”
Nored and the Eagles won’t have to wait long.
The fourth-seeded Purple Panthers (10-2) will host No. 5 Erskine (9-3) in a Class B North quarterfinal match that is tentatively set for Thursday at Colby College.
“We’ll have a chance to turn it around for us,” Waterville coach Jill Cristan said. “They are a strong team. We know what we are in for.”
Waterville is scheduled to play at Camden Hills for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B title Tuesday.
The Maine Principals’ Association finalized the girls tennis Heal points Friday with regional prelim matches set for Tuesday.
Erskine defeated Waterville 3-2 thanks to victories in third singles and both doubles. The Purple Panthers won at first and second singles. Junior Samantha Saulter defeated sophomore Elle Hodgkin 6-1, 6-0 while junior Maggie Brock edged Cassidy Penney 6-3, 5-2.
Erskine sophomore Regina Harmon defeated Clio Bazakas 6-3, 6-0 at third singles while Kayla Hubbard and Paige Leary defeated Sophie Weston and Mackenzie St. Pierre 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) at first doubles. Annemarie Allen and Kaili Shorey defeated Nora Greene and Lauren Smith to help the Eagles take the match.
“Their one and two beat us handily,” Nored said. “We just came ready to play mentally. I’d like to think that we are still the underdog here.”
In Class C South, Carrabec finished 9-1 to earn the top seed and looks to make a postseason run after falling short to Winthrop in the Mountain Valley Conference championship, 4-1.
The Cobras played without injured key singles player Kelsey Creamer, although coach Nora Ellis said she will play in the playoffs.
“We are feeling a lot more confident now that she is back,” Ellis said. “We are glad she is feeling better and she is going to help us.”
The Cobras will host No. 8 Dirigo in the quarterfinals.
“We beat them 5-0 in the regular season so we are feeling confident, but we don’t want to get complacent,” Ellis said.
Katrina Mason, who was seeded 11th in the state singles tournament, and Makayla Vicneire lead the Cobras at singles as well.
In other C South quarterfinal matches, No. 3 Hall-Dale (8-2) will host No. 6 St. Dominic (8-4) while No. 2 Winthrop (9-1) will play No. 7 Boothbay (4-6).
Mt. Blue (No. 4), Messalonskee (No. 6) and Cony (No. 8) qualified for the A North playoffs. The Cougars (8-4) will host No. 5 Brewer while the Eagles (5-7) and Rams (5-7) will play at No. 3 Brunswick (10-2) and No. 1 Lewiston (11-1), respectively.
Maranacook (8-4) clinched the No. 3 seed in B South and will host No. 6 Yarmouth (7-5) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
“I am hoping we can do something against them,” Maranacook coach Louis Gingras. “We know they are very tough. If we are going to stand a chance it will probably be in doubles. We don’t have any common opponents so we’ll see.”
The boys playoff field had yet to be finalized because not every regular season match had been completed.
However, unofficially, Waterville (9-3) will enter the B North playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Mt. Desert Island (7-5) in the quarterfinals. In Class C South quarterfinals, No. 4 Hall-Dale (7-3) will host No. 5 Dirigo (7-3) while No 3 Madison (9-1) will play No 6 St. Dominic (6-6). No. 8 Winthrop (3-7) will play at top-seeded Boothbay (9-1).
Bill Stewart — 621-5618
bstewart@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @billstewartMTM
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