The Thomas College men’s tennis team didn’t have any senior leadership this season. Or junior leadership, for that matter.

The Terriers had a roster composed entirely of freshmen and sophomores, but still finished 8-6 overall. Thomas was third in the North Atlantic Conference in the regular season and lost in the NAC championship match.

“We just have a high-character bunch,” Thomas coach Jeff Fowler said.

“The kids are coachable and responsible.”

The Terriers have a form of veteran leadership in veteran Eric Morin, a sophomore who plays No. 1 singles.

“He’s matured beyond his years, so he was a stabilizing force again this year,” Fowler said.

Tyler Small, a freshman from Ellsworth, had an outstanding season at No. 2 singles. Dakota Duplissie, a Maranacook graduate who was part of Thomas’ NAC champion men’s soccer team this fall, was also a big part of the team.

“He learned the game very quickly,” Fowler said. “He started at No. 8 and worked his way up.”

Duplissie also had the deciding victory in Thomas’ biggest win of the season, in the NAC semifinals against Castleton. Thomas had lost to the Spartans, 6-3, less than a month earlier. With the teams tied at 4-4, the last match on the courts was at No. 6 singles, where Duplissie won, 7-5, 6-3.

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One of the latest recruits for the Husson women’s basketball program is Amy Hilton, a senior at Mt. Blue.

“It was always one of my top three or so choices,” Hilton said. “The cost is good and I think I can play a role as a freshman.”

Hilton was a steady point guard at Mt. Blue and was with the Cougars as they went from an 0-18 team to back-to-back Eastern A tournament appearances. She described the process of being recruited and choosing a college as “different.”

“Having other schools want me, too and trying to decide which one was best for me was kind of tough,” she said. “Once I went there and visited, it just kind of clicked.”

Husson has announced several other incoming freshmen for its women’s basketball team, including Chandler Guerrette, the star of Presque Isle’s win over Lake Region in this year’s Class B state final.

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The Colby women’s lacrosse team plays Middlebury on Saturday in the New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals. The game will be played in Hartford, Conn. on the campus of top-seeded Trinity.

The regular-season matchup against Middlebury isn’t a pleasant memory for the Mules, who came in looking to make a statement and instead fell behind 11-0 by halftime on their home field. Middlebury went on to a 14-6 victory.

Middlebury (14-1) is ranked No. 3 in the country in Division III and its only loss was to No. 1 Trinity. Colby is 12-3 and ranked seventh.

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Thomas is set for the conference baseball tournament, which will be played Friday through Sunday in Castleton, Vt. The Terriers play Castleton, the host and No. 1 seed, at 11 a.m., Friday, in the first game of the double-elimination tournament.

Thomas is 15-23 overall and 13-11 in the NAC.

The Terriers lost back-to-back doubleheaders to Castleton on April 20-21.

The Spartans are 25-11 overall and 22-2 in the NAC. Husson (23-17, 18-6) and Colby-Sawyer (19-17, 14-10) are the other two teams in the tournament.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com