PORTLAND – Winthrop’s run has come to an end.

The No. 1 seed Ramblers (11-2) who didn’t have a team in 2018, fell Thursday morning to the No. 3 seeded Waynflete Flyers 5-0 at the Apex Racket and Fitness.

Despite the loss, they kept their heads up.

“I am really happy we made it here for these guys,” Winthrop coach Kelsey Ouellette said. “I knew we were going to be pretty successful this season, but I didn’t think we would make it to the regional championship. There’s a lot to look forward to for next season.”

The Flyers were impressed with the Ramblers athleticism.

“I knew they had basketball players on their team,” Waynflete coach Jeff Madore said. “I didn’t know their skill level or their level of athleticism, which turned out to be very good. Kelsey did a great job with them I thought.”

 

The Flyers will take on Orono in the Class C State Championship on Saturday at Lewiston High School.

In No. 1 singles, Thorne Kieffer defeated Jared McLaughlin 6-3, 6-1. Kieffer got out to a 4-1 lead in the first before McLaughlin closed the gap to 4-3. Kieffer then pulled away.

Kieffer was fighting a head cold which caused him to lose some focus in that opening set.

“I was up 4-1 and he got a couple back, so I started to wake up and started to use my brain a little more,” Kieffer said. “I adjusted and started to loosen up in the second set.”

Kieffer, who went to the semifinals in the state single tournament, is a player McLaughlin isn’t used to playing.

“He definitely moved me around,” McLaughlin said. “That’s probably the most tired I have been in a tennis match this season. He knew how to place the ball. He got the best of me.”

In No. 2 singles, Ben Adey picked up Waynflete’s first point of the morning defeating Josh Deanda-Whaley 6-0, 6-1.

“It’s always important to get the first one, so your teammates know what’s going on, on the other courts and can see how it’s going,” Adey said. “Sometimes, it will encourage them to finish their (match).”

The match of the morning was in No. 3 singles, where Chris Register had to come back in both sets to win 6-3, 6-4 against Noah Grube. He was down 3-0 in the first set before winning the next six games. He was down 3-2 and 4-3 in the second set before winning the final three games.

Register had three three-set matches so far this season, so a long match like Thursday was nothing new to him.

“I feel like he returned my serve very well,” Register said. “He also had a good serve, I had a hard time breaking it.”

There’s not quit in Grube’s game.

“Noah is such a natural athlete and he never gives up,” Ouellette said. “He has a very strong mentality which you need for tennis. He’s always listening to what I have to say about strategy and play. He applies that to his game and a very strong player. He’s only a sophomore. I am excited to see where he is in two years.”

Cooper Sherman and Ben Lualdi defeated Chris Wood and Sam Figueroa in No. 1 doubles 6-1, 6-0. It was the clinching point for Waynflete. John Moon Black and Henry Hart won both sets 6-2 against Beau Brooks and Sammy Lattin.

“I am very proud of (my teammates),” McLauglin said. “We fought hard, but Waynflete is a very good team.”

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