FARMINGDALE — There will be a new state champion in Class C girls tennis in 2022.
Waynflete defeated top-ranked Hall-Dale 4-1 in Monday’s regional semifinal match. The Flyers won in straight sets at No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and doubles and won via third-set tiebreaker in No. 2 singles to dash the Bulldogs’ hope of back-to-back state title wins.
“They just made less mistakes than we did, and unfortunately for us, that’s what made the difference,” said Hall-Dale head coach Guy Cousins. “Part of what you really have to work on strategically is keeping the ball in play and limiting unforced errors, and they did a really good job doing that.”
After Waynflete’s Vivienne Cook beat Hall-Dale’s Ella Schaab 6-1, 6-2 in third singles, Hall-Dale (10-3) soon tied it at a win apiece as Jenna Lee and Moira O’Connor beat Jane Livingston and Maeve Mechtenberg 6-2, 6-3 in first doubles. Then the Flyers then moved within one win of advancing as Anna Farmer and Jenny Morrill topped Katie Allen and Grace Leach 6-2, 7-5 in second doubles.
Although Hall-Dale’s Allie Young got out to a 4-1 lead over Lucy Hart in the opening set of first singles, the Waynflete sophomore fought her way back to earn a 7-5 win. Hart then earned a 6-3 win over Young in the second set to seal both the match victory and a spot in the Class C final for the fourth-ranked Flyers (10-4).
In No. 2 singles, Hall-Dale’s Kayla Lee earned a 6-4 win over Vivian Rallis in a back-and-forth first set before Rallis responded with a 6-2 win in the second set. Rallis then won the first-to-10 tiebreaker 10-2 to put the icing on the cake of the Flyers’ upset victory.
The loss meant a bitter end for a solid season for Hall-Dale, which fought its way to the No. 1 seed again this spring despite dealing with COVID-19 troubles all throughout the season. Even this week, Cousins said, the Bulldogs had players who were returning to action having missed valuable practice and match time after being in COVID protocols.
“We’ve had a lot going on with COVID and other extracurricular activities and trying to manage it all, and they put the work in and did all they could,” Cousins said. “Most of them experienced a different pathway last year. This was a tougher one this year, and unfortunately, this is where it stops.”
The defeat also marked the last match for Hall-Dale seniors Allen, Lee, O’Connor, Schaab and Young. Those seniors were tasked with keeping the Bulldogs as a Class C South contender after the losses of standouts Naomi Lynch and Savannah Millay a year ago, and their leadership, their coach said, will be sorely missed.
“They’ve brought a lot of sweat and toil and leadership to this program, and they’ve also been great in teaching the game to younger players,” Cousins said. “They really represent the culture that you want to build in being good teammates, good competitors and good ambassadors to the sport and the school.”
Waynflete will face No. 3 Maranacook (13-1) in the regional championship match at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bates College.
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