University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Luke Saunders and Falmouth High senior Julia Brogan made the most of their second trip to the finals at the 26th annual Betty Blakeman Memorial Tennis Tournament on Sunday.

Saunders, who was the runner-up two years ago, rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over defending champion Tyler Adams of Buxton to capture the men’s singles title. Brogan, who was the runner-up last summer, rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Rosemary Campanella of Wells to capture the women’s singles title.

The tournament is named for Betty Blakeman, who died from breast cancer in 1989. More than $200,000 has been raised since the start of the event, with proceeds this year going to the Cancer Community Center in South Portland.

More than 200 players competed in nine divisions during three days of competition on tennis courts in Yarmouth, Cumberland, Falmouth and Portland. Rain forced Sunday’s championship rounds to be moved from Yarmouth to The Racket & Fitness Center in Portland.

The top-seeded Saunders won 60 of 66 games during the tournament. He used his powerful serve and forehand returns to keep Adams, the top singles player at the University of Southern Maine, pinned behind the baseline.

“I really just try to establish a good base on my serve and try to get as many holds as I can in a match,” said Saunders, who is from Halifax, Nova Scotia. “From that, you can try to loosen up on your return game and swing out. I just try to get my feet as best I can with my serve and then determine what’s next from there.”

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The second-seeded Adams was unable to move forward behind his return shots.

“When I tried to step up I couldn’t hit the big shots,” he said Adams. “He put a lot of pressure on me. I played a lot of defense.”

Adams was part of a winner at the tournament, pairing with Jesse Butler to win the men’s open doubles title.

It was the second win in a Maine tournament this summer for Saunders. In June, he won the M&M Classic held at The Racket & Fitness Center. Last weekend, he won the Atlantic Open in Prince Edward Island.

“I kind of have a little Maritime (provinces) and New England circuit that I do,” Saunders said. “I just go wherever I can play.”

Brogan, the top seed in her division in her fifth appearance in The Blakeman, was a model of consistency against Campanella, an incoming sophomore at Wells High School making her first appearance in the tournament.

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“I just tried to keep the ball in play and wait for her to make the error,” Brogan said. “Her serve is really powerful so I concentrated in getting (the ball) back in play and not going for too much.”

Brogan trains with Campanella, but the two have never played against each other in a tournament.

“The biggest thing is she came out really strong in that match, and I wasn’t prepared for her to come out that strong,” Campanella said. “She played really well. She broke my serve that first game, and that was really big.”

Brogan and her teammate at Falmouth High, Olivia Leavitt, won the women’s open doubles title.

Other winners were: Augie Lozano in the men’s 35-plus singles; Sue Strasenburgh in the women’s 35-plus singles; Justin Brogan and Meghan Kelley in mixed doubles; Eva Harrison and Donna Dwyer in the women’s 35-plus doubles; and Roger Gagne and Charlie Craig in the men’s 55-plus doubles.


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