Wildcat boys venture into EM Class B tennis finals
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The Presque Isle Wildcats’ boys tennis team is back in the Eastern Maine Class B finals.
PI, which made it into the regional championship last year, returns after upsetting No. 2 Camden Hills, 3-2, in Monday’s semifinal round match held in Rockport.
Dave Allen Graphics photo
PRESQUE ISLE senior Caleb Mathers rips a forehand over the net during his match against Caribou’s Ezra Duplissie-Cyr in Friday’s Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal played at UMPI. Mathers collected a straight-set win.
The third-seeded ’Cats won both doubles matches and a singles match against the previously-undefeated Windjammers to advance to today’s EM championship against top-ranked Ellsworth, being held at 4 p.m. at Colby College in Waterville.
Ellsworth defeated Presque Isle in the first match of the season April 23 by a 4-1 score. Since then, PI has reeled off 13 consecutive wins. The Eagles are undefeated at 14-0.
On Monday, the Wildcats’ doubles teams of Osman Castro-Andrew Legassie and Brock Cassidy-Mike Picard scored straight-set wins over their Camden Hills opponents. Castro-Legassie bested Tyler Coleman-Devon Gordon, 6-2, 7-5, while Cassidy-Picard downed Henry Owen-Sam Predham, 6-2, 6-3.
PI clinched the match when Caleb Mathers topped Evan Drinkwater in first singles, 6-0, 6-4.
The Windjammers won the two other singles matches. John Vannorsdall stopped Connor Shaw, 7-6 (6-1), 6-3, and Isaac Hirschfeld handled Emerson Castro, 6-4, 6-4.
In Friday’s quarterfinal, PI defeated Caribou for the third time this season, 5-0.
Mathers got past Ezra Duplissie-Cyr, 6-2, 6-1; Shaw needed three sets to overtake Matt Coty, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2; and Emerson Castro dominated Phil Smith, 6-2, 6-0.
Photo by Ron Hawkes/MSRPhotos.com
CONNOR SHAW hits a winner down the line during Monday’s semifinal match against Camden Hills of Rockport. Shaw was unable to defeat his opponent in the No. 2 singles match, but Shaw’s Wildcats still won the match and advanced into today’s Eastern Maine Class B championship match against Ellsworth, to be played at Colby College in Waterville beginning at 4 p.m.
In doubles, the Osman Castro-Legassie duo eased past Lucien Caverhill-Tyler Willey, 6-0, 6-3, while Cassidy-Liam Hughes had little trouble with Zac Gorence-Cameron Hill, winning 6-0, 6-1.
The state singles tourney took place May 30 and 31 at Bates College in Lewiston. Mathers made it into the Round of 16 before losing to eventual champion Patrick Ordway of Waynflete, 6-2, 6-1.
Mathers had beaten John Szewczyk of Bangor in the first round, 6-0, 7-5.
Shaw and Emerson Castro both lost in the first round. Shaw was beaten by Sam Leeman of Morse, 6-0, 6-4, while Castro fell to Rodrigo Cepeda of Brunswick, 6-0, 6-1.
Dani Wolland of the PI girls also qualified for the event and dropped her first-round match to Aimee Keushguerian of Lincoln Academy, 6-0, 6-2.
