CARIBOU, Maine — Last Tuesday, the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department hosted the County Doubles Tennis Tournament for area youths between the ages of 8-18.
There were over 30 participants from Caribou and Presque Isle. Boys and girls competed in 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 year old age brackets. Each match was best two-out-of-three, six-game sets.
Teams earned two points for every first place finish with one point for a runner-up in the County Singles Tennis Tournament (hosted by the P.I. Recreation Department) and the County Doubles. Caribou was in the lead after the County Singles with 13 points while Presque Isle trailed with four.
At the end of the County Doubles tournament, Caribou earned 14 more points and ended with a final point total of 27. Presque Isle added two and came in second place with six points. This was the 30th consecutive year that Caribou has taken home the team title after the annual youth tennis tournaments.
Only two teams from Caribou played in the 10-12 girls division. Gabrielle Marquis and Kassie Krul defended their title from last year to post a 6-2, 6-4 win over teammates Madison Doucette and Ashley Matlock.
The 10-12 boys age bracket had six teams looking to take home a title. In the end, it was an all-Caribou final. Top-seeded Noah Heidorn and Alec Cyr defeated Parker and Sawyer Deprey, 6-4, 6-2. Earlier in the day, Heidorn/Cyr posted a 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory over Alex Ezzy and Seth Beidelman of Caribou. In the other semi-final, the Deprey boys outlasted Bailey Griffeth and Brandon Manter of Caribou, 6-3, 6-2.
The Presque Isle duo of Isaac Madore and Conner Daigle lost 6-2, 6-0 in a quarterfinal match to Griffeth/Manter while Ezzy/Beidelman defeated teammates Nick Sokolich and Dan Liu, 6-1, 6-2, in the other quarter.
Conner Spencer and Hannah McDonald of Caribou won the the 13-15 girls age division by forfeit.
The 13-15 boys bracket had one team from Caribou and one from Presque Isle. Caribou’s Ethan Plourde and Gabe Massey of Caribou used strong serving and aggressive net play en route to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kyle Plourde and Storm Bonato of Presque Isle.
Carlee Pinette and Alexa Massey of Caribou won the 16-18 girls age division by forfeit.
The boys 16-18 age bracket had only two teams yet provided the most competitive match of the day between veteran varsity rivals from Caribou and Presque Isle. When the dust settled, Zachary Gorence and Tyler Willey of Caribou notched a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Liam Hughes and Mike Picard of Presque Isle.
The Caribou Parks and Recreation Department tennis team is coached by John Habeeb and assisted by Casey Lancaster and Carlee Pinette.
