When you’ve been winning as consistently, as impressively, as long as the Lewiston High School tennis program, it isn’t easy to set new standards.

Three women who formerly wore Devil blue are doing just that, even after leaving the community and the courts where they honed that game.

“I’ve never had that many girls play college tennis at once and do so well, too,” said Lewiston coach Anita Murphy.

Winning was a common theme when Chantalle Lavertu, Julia Bergeron and Katelyn Ouellette were at Lewiston. The Blue Devils have won five straight Class A girls’ championships and seven of the last eight boys’ titles.

The tradition continues. The trio combined for five match wins at their respective colleges last weekend.

Lavertu, now at Bowdoin College, provided two of the Polar Bears’ triumphs in a 7-0 shutout of Division I Holy Cross. She defeated Mary McAuliffe, 6-0, 6-1, in the No. 4 singles match and teamed with Emma Lewis for an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles.

Bergeron was a bright spot for Clark University of Worcester, Mass., in 7-2 loss to Wellesley. She provided one of those points by joining forces with Emily Schweitzer for a doubles win.

Ouellette swept her two appearances for the University of Southern Maine against Worcester State, dominating both in singles and with doubles partner Tegan Talbot.

High and mighty

One year after an impressive Division I cross country debut, Dani Paul of Auburn (Edward Little) has picked up the pace and emerged as one of the top runners at High Point (N.C.) University.

Paul was High Point’s top finisher at the Hagan Stone Classic in Greensboro. The sophomore finished the course in 19 minutes, 40.1 seconds. That was nearly a half-minute improvement for Paul upon her time of 20:09 in the season-opening Covered Bridge Open.

High Point is trekking toward the Big South Conference championship on Oct. 29. Paul finished 32nd in that race a year ago.

Huskies hit stride

Local runners helped both the men’s and women’s cross country teams from the University of Southern Maine earn impressive wins at recent meets.

The Southern Maine men took top honors at the Pop Crowell Invitational in Wenham, Mass. Twenty-three teams and more than 250 runners lined up for the event at Gordon College.

Junior Tim Even of Stoneham (Fryeburg Academy) finished sixth in that expansive field.

Crossing the wire with top-30 results for the Huskies were senior Dan Pontbriand of Auburn (Edward Little) and freshman Alex Luchini of New Sharon (Mt. Blue).

USM’s women swept the first six spots at the Hunter College Invitational in New York City.

Robyn Parsons of Rumford (Mountain Valley) ran 20th out of 121 competitors.

Warm it up

This weekend’s brisk winds and below-freezing temperatures make it feel like a good time to fire up the hot stove season.

Saint Joseph’s College has named its four softball captains for the 2011 campaign, and two of them are tri-county athletes.

Senior Natasha Howard of Farmington (Mt. Blue) and junior Maria Labbe of Lewiston will join Alyssa Dunn and Madylan Kluna as leaders for the Monks.

Howard and Labbe both are catchers, with Labbe also seeing designated hitter duty. Labbe batted .362 with 13 RBI. Both women were conference all-academic selections last year.

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