2022 girls tennis preview capsules

DIRIGO COUGARS
Coach: Kathy Crutchfield (fourth year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 6-6, lost in C South quarterfinals.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Abby Thibodeau, Isabella Lindus, Destiny Leclerc.
Key losses: Page Lueders, Lizzie White, Karlei Carrier.
Promising newcomers: Junior — Koyuki Sato; Sophomores — Lauren Tubbs, Ariana Gonzales, Eliza Amadaei; Freshmen — Diana Cayer, Lauretta Woodcock, Sylvia Hodsdon.
Season outlook: Dirigo lost its top three singles players from last year, so there are some big shoes to fill. Crutchfield is confident in the three returning seniors and the effort they will put into the season. The rest of this year’s players are newcomers who are already showing improvement.

EDWARD LITTLE RED EDDIES
Coach: Kevin Vincent (first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: 6-4, lost in A North quarterfinals.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Mai Lou, Paige Morgan, Isabelle Trombley; Junior — Mya Vincent; Sophomores — Myesha Baker, Rhashya Kamel, Mariah Kirouac.
Key loss: Molly Vincent.
Promising newcomers: Sophomores — Julie Carpentier, Amalie Oinonen.
Season outlook: With several returning players — highlighted by Mya Vincent, who reached the third round of the 2021 state singles tournament — the Red Eddies’ prospects are promising this spring. They are expecting competitive matches with a lot of team growth.

LEWISTON BLUE DEVILS
Coach: Lorraine Bowen (pending school board approval; first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: 11-3, lost in A North semifinals.
Returning athletes: Senior — Libby Forgues; Juniors — Claudia Cucubica, Emily Omiecinski, Whitney Perkins.
Key losses: Julia Svor, Abigail Svor, Lauren Foster, Julia Paquette.
Promising newcomers: Senior — Nyazicl Dang; Freshman — Honora White.
Season outlook: It’s a new era for Lewiston. Pending school board approval, longtime assistant Lorraine Bowen will take over for Anita Murphy, who coached the team for 43 years (and led the Blue Devils to 13 state titles) before retiring this winter. Bowen said this year’s team is young but the newcomers are athletic, which will help them be successful on the court. The Svor sisters have been the top two players for the Blue Devils the past few years, so there will be new names at the top of the depth chart.

MOUNTAIN VALLEY FALCONS
Coach: Don Fuller (fourth year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 5-4
Returning athletes: Seniors — Lauren Pepin, Emily Richard, Alyssa Shaffer, Alana Young; Sophomore — Ella Young.
Key loss: Rylee Sevigny.
Promising newcomers: Seniors — Taylor Duguay, Annet Bucilova, Kimey Marin; Sophomore — Abigail Jones.
Season outlook: Fuller expects another solid season, with a strong senior class leading the team. The Falcons lost to Morse in the Class B South quarterfinals last year but will be in Class C South for the playoffs this season. Alana Young was a second-team MVC all-star last year, while Lauren Pepin and Emily Richard were honorable mentions.

MT. BLUE COUGARS
Coach: Griffin Conlogue (second year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: 9-5, lost in A North semifinals.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Khloe Dean, Grace Bell, Sadie McDonough, Emma Charles, Anna Hyde; Juniors — Kamryn Joyce, Tessa Marcotte, Ella Mayhew; Sophomores — Gracie Ross, Lucinda Carroll, Natalie McCarthy.
Key losses: Haley Walsh, Cadence Maheux, Tricia Souther-Bowering, Kelsey Dorman, Shelby Iverson.
Promising newcomers: Sophomores — Jayla Cuesta, Maia MacIssac; Freshman — Emma Turcotte.
Season outlook: Mt. Blue graduated two singles players and a doubles team but return Khloe Dean, who won nine matches at third singles, and the duo of Sadie McDonough and Grace Bell, which went undefeated in matches at both first and second doubles. The Cougars also have a large group of returning players with exhibition experience who are ready to compete with each other for the four available doubles spots. Conlogue is hoping to build on the success from last season, which included winning in the Class A North prelims before losing to Lewiston in the quarterfinals, by remaining competitive with the other top teams in A North.

OAK HILL RAIDERS
Coach: Liz Tibbetts (10th year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 0-10
Returning athletes: Juniors — Julia Kronstrand, Alexis Spencer, Ariana Thibeault.
Promising newcomers: Sophomores — Kadence Moulton, Nhi Nguyen, Sarah Rossignol, Destiney Samare, Alivia Savage.
Season outlook: The Raiders are already showing a lot of progress. Tibbetts is excited about the season and the team, which has three returning juniors and five new sophomores who are motivated to play and ready to learn.

OXFORD HILLS VIKINGS
Coach: Elizabeth Youngs (fourth year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: 1-12
Returning athletes: Seniors — Sydney Youngs, Abigail Hanson; Juniors — Page Temple, Anna Chalout, Kirstin Coombs, Tori Luz; Sophomores — Cora Pierce, Aila Pawlowski, Adriana Mills, Rayna Button, Ares Heath.
Key losses: Culiandra Nero, Courtney Hinkley, Yuping Wen, Megan Mitchell.
Promising newcomers: Junior — Anyah Fields; Sophomore — Jazmyn (Milo) Knowles; Freshmen — Lidia Melanson, Alyssa Peters.
Season outlook: Elizabeth Youngs said this year’s squad is still inexperienced, with only one player this season who has played for more than one year. Youngs, though, is excited about the new underclassmen and returning juniors potentially making Oxford Hills a dynamic team in the future. Until then, the main focus is teaching the athletes the fundamentals of the game and allowing them to have fun in the process.

SPRUCE MOUNTAIN PHOENIX
Coach: Mary Redmond-Luce (second year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 9-1, lost in B South quarterfinals.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Leah Gilbert, Kaila Godbey; Sophomores — Aubrey Kachnovich, Mary Hamblin, Kasey Burns, Faith Maurais.
Key losses: Hanni Johnson, Sara Henderson.
Promising newcomers: Senior — Ella Plourde; Juniors — Ryleigh Castonguay, Emily Dubord.
Season outlook: Redmond-Luce is excited about the 13 players that are in the program this spring. She said that the returning players are helpful and showing the ropes to their new teammates. In return, the newcomers bring a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm. The players respect and encourage one another while challenging their teammates to go beyond their comfort zone to get the job done. The Phoenix expect to be competitive in the MVC once again.

WINTHROP RAMBLERS
Coach: Lauren McHatten (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 5-6, lost in C South quarterfinals.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Caraline Squires, Olivia Vance, Muriel Lattin, Liberty Wells; Juniors — Sophia Blanco, Aleah Childs, Brooke Belz, Emma Shuman.
Key losses: Kerrigan Anuszewski, Hannah Duley
Promising newcomers: Junior — Alivia Bennett; Sophomore — Kaitlyn Brito.
Season outlook: The Ramblers have depth, with eight upperclassmen, but lost the top two singles players from last season, Kerrigan Anuszewski and Hannah Duley. Muriel Lattin was the Ramblers’ third singles player last year and should move up the depth chart. Winthrop has the potential to be competing as a top team in the MVC this season.