Calliope Hagan drops low to hit a backhand return during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Cony 4 – Lincoln 1
The Lincoln Academy girls tennis team lost to Cony on Monday, May 11 in Augusta. It was the first loss of the season for LA. The Rams swept the singles matches 3-0.
Kira Gregor defeated Ruby Glenn 6-1, 6-0 in first singles. Lilah Goldey beat Calliope Hagan 6-1, 6-1 in second singles. Ava Habib won 6-2, 7-6 over Elise Lupien in third singles.
Lincoln won its only match of the day in first doubles when Lauren Lee and Caroline Allan beat Delta Goonesekare and Olivia Folsom 6-3, 6-4. Cony’s pairing of Lucy Lord and Adhanta Bhatl beat Allison Philbrick and Quyen Tran by default. The Eagles retired due to an injury before the deciding third set when the match was tied 1-6, 6-1.
Ruby Glenn stretches to hit a return shot during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Cape Elizabeth 3 – Lincoln 2
Cape Elizabeth beat Lincoln Academy 3-2 in girls tennis on Tuesday, May 12 in Cape Elizabeth. It was the second loss in a row for the Eagles, who dropped to 6-2 on the season.
Cape Elizabeth improved their record to 6-2.
LA’s Ruby Glenn won the first singles match 6-2, 6-1 over Emma Gebhart. Calliope Hagan lost 2-6, 2 6 to Cape’s Allegra Adler in second singles. Lincoln’s Gigi Blake lost in three sets to Sen Murdock in third singles, 6-2, 4-6, 5-7.
The Lincoln pairing of Lauren Lee and Caroline Allan lost 2-6, 6-7 (4-7) to Gillian Lench and Kaia Craig in first doubles. Elise McManus and Elise Lupien won Lincoln’s second match of the day by edging Noelle Mallory and Genny Carignan 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in second doubles.
Gigi Blake won the deciding match in overtime during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Lincoln 3 – Waterville 2
The Lincoln Academy girls tennis team had to dig down deep to remain undefeated during a battle lasting over three hours against Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. The Eagles rallied from a one set deficit to win two of the singles matches, which made the difference toward winning 3-2.
“This match might go down as one of the finest matches I’ve witnessed in my time coaching,” said Melissa Burroughs, who has been the Eagles head coach since 2020. “There have been lots of great moments (over the past several years), but the girls showed me a whole new level of conviction. This group played our nemesis Waterville with more determination and heart than I’ve witnessed in a high school match before.”
Every contest between two of the top Class B programs in the state had to be settled in three sets, with the exception of the second doubles match, which ended in the middle of the second set when a Waterville player had to retire due to an injury.
The early finish in the second doubles match, with LA’s Meara McManus and Arabella Chapman leading 6-3, 0-4 over Nina Mitchell and Tessa Donovan, staked the Eagles to a 1-0 lead.
Elise Lupien chases down a shot at the net during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
The next match to conclude was first doubles. The Lincoln duo of Lauren Lee and Elise Lupien dropped the first set against Brooklyn Hart and Ava Libby 4-6 but bounced back to win the second 6-1 to force an exciting third set that had to be settled in overtime. After a 6-6 draw in regulation, Hart and Libby won the close tiebreaker 8-6 to win the third set and the match to even the team score at 1-1.
LA’s first singles player, first-year student Ruby Glenn, had to stage a spirited comeback after losing the first set 3-6 to a strong Purple Panther opponent. Glenn won the final two sets 6-3, 6-4 to defeat Piper Hamilton and boost LA into the lead, 2-1.
At the same time, Calliope Hagan was in the midst of a tough battle in the second singles match against hard-hitting Sadie St. Peter. Hagan lost the first set 5-7 but forced the contest to three sets by edging St. Peter in the second set 6-4. Hagan sustained an injury but stayed in the match and lost the third and deciding set 0-6.
Waterville had tied the competition 2-2 with only the third singles match left to be decided. The athletes on both teams showed a lot of sportsmanship and emotion during the long battle that unfolded until after the sun went down.
Calliope Hagan launches a serve during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
“Seeing kids cry because they want it so badly, it is sad but it doesn’t get better in coaching,” said Burroughs. “As much as I wanted to make the girls feel better, I knew in my heart that their tears were a totally fair representation of how they felt. It was high school tennis at its absolute finest. By hour three we’d witnessed two injuries, one default, a spellbinding first doubles match, a resounding comeback, and our team found itself at 2-2 with one match left on the court.”
With four matches settled, spectators were treated to a thrilling finish in the third singles match between Lincoln’s Gigi Blake and Waterville’s Hannah Zeimetz.
Blake had lost the first set 6-4 but responded by earning a 6-2 win in the second set to square the match. The two girls dueled until after sundown with long rallies of 15-20 shots, forcing each other all over the court from side to side, fore and aft. Blake and Zeimetz traded game wins until they were tied at 6-6, so their match, and the whole contest, would come down to a tiebreaker.
“Gigi had lost her first set, but she knew what she had to do and was determined to do it,” said Burroughs. “They ran down every ball, and when it was all said and done, the two competitors were completely exhausted and all they could do was hug and ask for a photo.”
Gigi Blake won a tiebreaker 8-6 in the third set of her 2-1 victory over Hannah Zeimetz to boost Lincoln Academy to a 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Blake won the third set tiebreak 8-6, and there were more tears, but this time on the Waterville side.
“Everyone gave it their absolute all today, even though it was some of the longest, toughest matches we’ve had,” said Lee. “No one gave up no matter what the scoreboard said, and that takes some serious skill.”
Ruby Glenn drives a forehand shot at Purple Panther Piper Hamilton during Lincoln Academy’s 3-2 win over Waterville on Wednesday, May 6 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Lincoln 5 – Oceanside 0
The Eagles swept Oceanside 5-0 on Friday, May 8 at Oceanside.
Ruby Glenn shut out Adia Abdullah 6-0, 6-0 in the first singles match. Gigi Blake won the second singles match 6-0, 6-1 over Estelle Chase. Elise Lupien won the third singles match 6-4, 6-1 over Isabelle Tyler.
The Eagles pairing of Lauren Lee and Caroline Allan won 6-1, 6-1 over Vanessa Edwards and Ava Curtis in first doubles. Meara McManus and Allison Philbrick teamed up to win the second doubles match 7-6 (7 5), 6-0 over Lucy Fales and Payton Levo to complete the sweep.
Here are some more photos from the epic Waterville match:
