LEWISTON – With all due respect to the hundreds of high school tennis players in Maine, there was no girls’ match more anticipated by more people than Monday afternoon’s final between Scarborough’s Camille Jania and Waynflete’s Christine Ordway.

Ordway was the two-time defending state singles champion.

Jania breezed through the field her freshman year – when Ordway was an eighth-grader – dropped just one game, won the tournament, and then left the team to train at a higher level.

This year, Jania returned to the Red Storm, and to the MPA singles draw, where the matchup between two young ladies who had never dropped a set was the most anticipated in recent memory.

Jania handled Ordway easily.

Using an impressive display of groundstrokes and match management, Jania overcame what she called “a lot of nerves” early in the first set to post a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ordway at Bates College’s Wallach Tennis Complex.

“I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous in the beginning,” Jania said. “I don’t know why. I know Christine has a lot of game, and she always brings a lot to the court.”

“You basically have to play perfect tennis against her,” Ordway said.

That match capped a day during which Jania dropped her first game in MPA competition in three years – to Lewiston’s Chantalle Lavertu in the semifinals.

“It was the hardest match so far,” Jania said of the match against Lavertu. “We hit together at (Maine Pines Tennis Academy), and I think she did a great job today. Her down-the-line shots were great.”

But Lavertu’s exasperated look told the true tale Monday.

“What are you going to do?” Lavertu laughed. “It’s actually kind of exciting going into a match like this, because no one is expecting anything of you, and you can go out there and do whatever.”

“Whatever” included doing something no one else has been able to do this spring: Lavertu stole a game from Jania, and nearly at love.

“I was so nervous,” Lavertu said. “My mind was going crazy. Then I figured, even if I don’t win the game, at least I’ll have made it to deuce.”

Jania defeated Lavertu, 6-0, 6-1.

On the boys’ side, junior Mike Hill of Mt. Ararat made it back-to-back titles, dropping just nine games over four sets in wins over Brandon Thompson of Waynflete in the semifinal round and Neall Oliver of Deering in the final.

“All the pressure’s gone,” Hill said.

Hill sped out to a 3-0 lead in the final before Oliver came back with a break to draw within a game at 3-2.

“I had a couple of mental lapses, a couple of games in a row in that set,” Hill said. “I had to get my head back in the game.”

Hill put Oliver away, though, winning the next nine games to go up one set, and ahead 5-0 in the second.

Jania has accepted a full scholarship to Harvard and will play tennis for the Crimson. More immediate plans, after the MPA team tennis championships are completed, include attempting to qualify for the qualifying rounds of the Pilot Pen tournament in Connecticut.

“I’m going to try to break through on that circuit,” Jania said. “Just try to see what I can do, try to get exposed to the highest level I can.”

Hill has another year left of high school, and his immediate focus is trying to help his Eagles past Lewiston in the state team tournament.

“Hopefully I can help Mt. Ararat win the states,” Hill said. “We’ve beaten everybody except Lewiston, we lost 3-2. Hopefully we can return the favor at states.”