2019 Sun Journal All-Region Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Lewiston’s Julia Svor

Lewiston’s Julia Svor sets up for a backhand during her No. 1 singles match against Brunswick’s Lea Scrapchansky in June. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Julia Svor’s first test of the season was a battle with her twin sister Abby.

Julia was the No. 2 player on the Lewiston girls tennis team in 2018, but as a sophomore in 2019 she overtook her sister as the Blue Devils No. 1 singles player in a series of ladder matches — which determine who plays Nos. 1, 2, 3 and Nos. 1 and 2 doubles — prior to the regular season.

It went down to the wire.

“We know we both wanted to be No. 1,” Julia Svor said. “It was very competitive, the first day it was a tiebreaker, we just ended up keeping going and ended up at three sets.”

Lewiston coach Anita Murphy said she totaled up all the games they played in the ladder matches and Julia had won two more games than Abby, giving her the No. 1 spot.

Julia had a solid season as the team’s No. 1 player, and she helped Lewiston to its first state championship since 2011. She also has earned the Sun Journal’s All-Region Girls Tennis Player of the Year honor. Svor went 10-6 on the season and made the Round of 16 in the state singles tournament.

After an undefeated freshman season playing No. 2 singles, Julia Svor said facing tougher competition this year made her a better tennis player.

“I had to face different opponents (this year), but it just helped me get better at moving them and overall hitting (the ball) harder,” Svor said.

One example she gave was when she faced Lauren Bourque, Messalonskee’s No. 1 player. In the regular season, Svor lost in straight sets. When the two met again in the playoffs, Bourque did end up winning the match, but Svor forced a third set.

“It was just exciting. I got a set off Lauren Bourque even though, I felt like I could have won, that was OK,” Svor said. “I was able to improve my game from the last time I played her. Overall, she’s a really good player.”

Svor’s favorite part of the season was taking the court as the final match of the state championship, knowing her teammates had already clinched the title.

“I was just in shock. I saw everybody get off the courts and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, we won states,” Svor said. “I started thinking about it during our match: We are state champions.”