LEWISTON – The only thing that kept the Lewiston High School tennis teams from winning every scheduled match on Thursday was the weather.
The Lewiston girls cruised past Erskine Academy in their Eastern Class A quarterfinal, dropping just four games in five matches to win 5-0 in under an hour.
The boys rolled through four of their matches, including three in just more than 30 minutes. But thunder and lightning interrupted the fifth match, at No. 2 doubles, between the host Blue Devils and the visiting Skowhegan Indians, leaving Lewiston to win 4-0.
“It’s tough at this time of the year, because there’s such a long wait between matches,” said Lewiston coach Anita Murphy. “It’s hot, too. It’s good to play in this weather now and get used to it.”
The girls started quickly, slicing and smashing balls through the soupy air with as much precision as possible, trying to beat the weather.
No. 2 doubles tandem Ashley McWhorter and Audrey Bergeron finished first, taking the first Lewiston point with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Astrid Gleaton and Michelle Pinkham of Erskine. Julia Bergeron and the No. 1 doubles team of Jessica Roy and Kasey Boucher followed to clinch the match.
“It’s just an honor, in our first year in Class A, to be able to come down here again and play this team,” said Erskine coach Richard Albert. “We did well to finish where we did and win a playoff match to get here.”
Chantalle Lavertu and Katelyn Ouellette also won at singles for Lewiston (12-0), which faces Mt. Ararat this afternoon in their Eastern Class A semifinal. The Eagles knocked off Hampden Academy on Thursday.
On the boys’ side, Mike Butler and Mike Sarrazin gave the Blue Devils a quick 2-0 lead with efficient wins over Ian Dorko and Justin Enman, respectively.
“We played some new combinations with certain guys being out today,” said Lewiston coach Ron Chicoine. “I was pretty happy with Ben McDonough and Matt Letourneau playing solid and Christian and Andrew are trying to learn how to play together in case we need them down the line, too.”
McDonough and Letourneau followed with the clinching match at No. 1 doubles seconds later, and James Morin cruised in with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Eric Axelman at No. 1 singles to finish the match off.
The Lewiston boys (12-0) will now host Brunswick in their Eastern Class A semifinal this afternoon.
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